The overwhelming majority of all care at home is provided by more than 44.4 million U.S. family caregivers - Caregiving in the U.S (National Alliance for Caregiving [NAC]/American Association for Retired Persons [AARP], 2004).
There are an estimated 1.3-1.4 million caregiving children ages 8-18 years old in the U.S. Of these, 38% provide care for a grandparent and 34% provide care for a parent - Young Caregivers in the U.S. (NAC/United Hospital Fund, 2005).
Nationally there are an estimated 22.9 million caregiving households in which 37% of participants also had children under the age of 18 years living at home - Caregiving in the U.S (NAC/AARP, 2004).
Nearly 3 out of 5 family caregivers work or have worked while providing care; 17% provide 40 or more hours of care per week - Caregiving in the U.S (NAC/AARP, 2004).
Family caregivers contribute $306 billion annually to society - Economic Value of Informal Caregiving, (Arno, P.S., 2006).
Without support, older spousal caregivers have a 63% higher mortality rate than those who have support - Caregiving as a Risk Factor for Mortality in the Journal of the AMA (Schultz & Beach, 1999).
The 2000 U.S. Census shows that 5.6 million children live in a home with a grandparent (Census, 2003).
The population of Palm Beach County has 23.2% elderly compared with 17.4% in the rest of Florida; and 20,000 family caregivers in greater Boca Raton - U.S. Census Bureau.
(Census 2000 Profiles, 2000).
More than 25% of all public school children, grades 6-12 in Palm Beach County, incur adverse effects on their education as a result of young caregiving - What Works Survey Final Report (Miller, Bunker, & Kelley-Miller, 2003).
The average age of a young person who has caregiving responsibilities is 12 years old in England and 13 years of age in Australia (Carers National Association 1997; Carers Australia, 2001).
Educational ramifications for caregiving youth in the U.K. include issues of school attendance, performance, and participation in extracurricular activities for one in three students (Baker, 2002; Dearden & Becker, 1998; Tatum, 1999).
A child's growth and development may be affected with the assumption of physical responsibilities beyond physical readiness, as well as social and emotional burdens for which he/she is ill prepared. (Banks, Gallagher, Hill, & Riddle, 2002; Cournos, 2003).