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This paper examines the needs of children in grandparent care, using data from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. Information on the children was obtained from the adult in the household most knowledgeable about the child's education and health care. Most children in grandparent care live with much older caregivers and caregivers with less formal education. They tend to be younger than children in the care of other relatives. While more children in grandparent care than in other relative care live with a caregiver experiencing poverty and health problems, caregiver struggles with housing and child care appear to be less for children living with grandparents than for children living with other relatives. Similar shares of children living with grandparents and other relatives live with food insecurity if the caregiver suffers from mental health problems. Grandparents care for children with similar challenges in terms of their well-being as do other kin caring for related children. Many children in both groups do not receive services for which they are eligible. Many child welfare agencies are adapting services to better service kin caregivers involved with the child welfare system. (Contains 21 references.) (SM)

This brief presents an overview of the well-being of children within the child welfare system using data from the 1997 and 1999 National Survey of America's Families. Both surveys included economic, health, and social characteristics of more over 44,000 households. This analysis used information on children under 18 years of age. Researchers examined a cross-section of children placed by the child welfare system with nonrelative foster parents or in a relative's home. Overall, many of these children were not faring well emotionally, behaviorally, educationally, or physically. About 27 percent showed high levels of behavioral and emotional problems, 39 percent displayed low school engagement, and 28 percent had physical, learning, or mental health conditions that limited their activities. On each measure, children living with parents were doing significantly better. Children living in single-parent, low-income families had better well-being than children in child welfare. Nearly one-third of children with high levels of behavioral and emotional problems had not received mental health services, 16 percent were not covered by health insurance at some point in the past year, and 20-40 percent received no preventive health or dental care. (Contains 18 references.) (SM)

Wisconsin's new welfare program was a dramatic departure from the old income maintenance system of welfare and moved beyond other states' work-based welfare reform programs. This report describes Wisconsin's approach to welfare reform, using data collected in 1999 and 2000 from state and local administrators, direct service providers, and, in some cases, the families. It begins by describing the state's population and economy, political landscape, and social safety net. Next, it looks at three program areas affected by welfare reform: Wisconsin Works (W-2) and related efforts, child care programs for low-income families, and the child welfare services for children who have been abused and neglected. The report concludes with a brief discussion about how Wisconsin compares to other states in terms of its welfare reform policies, their implementation, and their effect on the lives of low-income families (e.g., Wisconsin is one of the only states to offer a kinship care payment through the child welfare system for relatives caring for children, and Wisconsin is one of the few states to treat all low-income working families identically in its provision of child care subsidies). (Contains 28 endnotes.) (SM)

This brief summarizes information collected during visits to Hennepin County (Minnesota's largest urban county) in 1999 and 2000 to document changes and progress since 1997. It updates a 1997 report that reviewed the benefits and services in the state and described the economic and political context shaping Minnesota's agenda for serving low-income families. The report begins by profiling the population, economic conditions, and political landscape in Minnesota during the second visit, then it describes Minnesota's social safety net for low income families. It reviews the service delivery structure in Minnesota, focusing on organizational and policy changes, budgets, and overall philosophy of support for low income families. It describes three key services in the state (income support and workforce development, child care assistance, and child welfare programs). The report concludes that Minnesota stands out in its provision of relatively generous program benefits to support its longstanding goal of reducing poverty and helping families become self-sufficient. Its expenditures for child care assistance increased dramatically over the years, though there are still long waiting lists for services. Child welfare cases have not increased following welfare reform. Remaining challenges include increasingly diverse caseloads and a severe housing shortage. (Contains 20 endnotes.) (SM)

This brief documents the numbers of children living in different types of kinship environments, characteristics of those environments, and services these children receive. Data come from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families, a nationally representative survey of households with people under age 65 that measures economic, health, and social characteristics. This analysis uses information from the sample of children under age 18. The three types of kinship care this brief examines are: private kinship care (1.3 million children being cared for privately by relatives without involvement of a public child welfare agency); kinship foster care (200,000 children living with relatives because a child welfare agency removed them from their parents due to abuse or neglect, took them into state custody, and placed them with a relative); and voluntary kinship care (300,000 children who came to the attention of child protection services and were placed with kin, but who are not in state custody). Results indicate that: the population of children living in voluntary kinship care is substantial; children in all kinship care environments face substantial socioeconomic risk; and despite being eligible to receive services, relatively few children in kinship care live in families that do. (Contains 12 references.) (SM)

The National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) includes several questions that can be used to assess sociodemographic risk. The NSAF is a national survey of more than 44,000 families, conducted as part of the Assessing the New Federalism project. Measures used to form an index of risk are: (1) single parenthood; (2) four or more children living in the child's household; (3) the lack of a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma by the child's parent; and (4) poverty. Children who experienced three or more risks were classified as having a high level of sociodemographic risk. Nationally in 1997, 8% of children under age 18 experienced high levels of sociodemographic risk. Among the 13 states studied, the proportion of children experiencing high risk ranged from 3 to 17%. Risk factors tended to co-occur; children who experienced one stressful factor were likely to experience others. About half of poor children experienced poverty plus one other risk factor, and 5% experienced all the risk factors. Children who experience high levels of sociodemographic risk are substantially more likely than other children to suffer negative outcomes, such as emotional and behavioral problems and difficulties in school. Implications of NSAF findings for the study of high-risk children are discussed. (SLD)

The 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) asked parents of 6- to 17-year-olds several questions in order to assess the degree of turbulence or stability in a child's life. Turbulence was associated with several types of change, including moves and multiple school changes. The NSAF is a survey of more than 44,000 families, representing a national sample and the populations of 13 states, conducted as part of the Assessing the New Federalism project. A child who experienced two or more of the defined changes during the prior 12 months was classified as experiencing turbulence. Nationwide in 1997, 6% of all children experienced turbulence as defined for this study. When children are compared by family income, welfare receipt, family structure, and parental education, it becomes apparent that turbulence is much more prevalent in poor families than it is in moderate- or higher-income families. Fourteen percent of children in families that received Aid to Families with Dependent Children experienced high levels of turbulence in their lives. Nine percent of children who lived in one-parent families experienced turbulence, compared with 5% of children in two-parent families. Children who had experienced turbulence were also more likely than other children to have high levels of emotional and behavioral problems. There is considerable variation across states in the percentages of children who have experienced high levels of turbulence, with a high of 9% in Florida. Evidence from the NSAF indicates that turbulence is associated with poorer outcomes for children. (Contains 1 table, 5 figures, and 22 references.) (SLD)