Tag Archives for U.S. Census Bureau

The Village helps grandparent/kinship caregivers in need

Published in RINewsToday on September 18, 2023

When we dream about our retirement years, these dreams most likely don’t include images of diapers, children’s tantrums, and school buses. However, for some grandparents and other kinship caregivers, their later years include these images, as they become primary caregivers for their grandchildren/kin children.

Nationally, more than 2.5 million children are being raised in kinship families which includes grandparents, other extended family members, or anyone with an existing relationship with the child or family. When these children cannot be with their parents, the next best thing is being placed with kin.

There are many benefits to staying with kin rather than being placed into the state’s foster care system. These can include experiencing less trauma; increased stability, higher rates of permanency; better behavioral and mental health outcomes; more feelings of belonging and being accepted, increased likelihood of living with or staying connected to their siblings, and a greater sense of cultural identity and connections to family.  

Additionally, kinship caregivers save the U.S economy approximately $ 6 billion dollars per year by keeping children out of formal foster care. Across the nation, there is a growing recognition of the importance and value of kinship caregivers. However, all of this comes at a physical, mental and financial cost to the kinship

The challenges of being a kinship caregiver

A new research study, Caregiver Profile: A Closer Look at Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren, by the National Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Family Support (NCFS) at the University of Pittsburg, grandparent caregivers are experiencing a litany of adverse effects causing them to become a particularly vulnerable group. Grandparents are facing a higher rate of disability, lower employment, and a greater likelihood of poverty, says the study’s findings. One quarter of grandparents raising grandchildren live below the poverty line.

“Many challenges exist for grandparent and kin caregivers of children when it comes to navigating the legal and custody landscape while supporting their own needs, from physical and mental health to financial and employment security. We think this data [detailed in the 16 page report released in Sept. 2023] showcases the need to move forward on the recommendations developed by the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG) and the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Act Family, Caregiving Advisory Council that can help to support grandparent and kin caregivers,” said Meredith Hughes, JD, MPH, Senior Policy Analyst at University of Pittsburgh Health Policy Institute and Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health.”

 It is important to provide supportive services for grandparents raising grandchildren as many of these caregivers lack the necessary resources to fully support the children in their care. Support in areas such as kinship navigator programs that provide a single-entry point for learning about housing, health services, and financial and legal assistance, along with improved household resources and access to mental health services are needed. Rhode Island has a kinship navigator program for families involved with the department, but currently one does not exist for those who are not involved.  For every family involved with the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families, (DCYF), there are 5 who are not.

Grandparenting in the Ocean State

cording to the U.S. Census bureau, over 13,968 children are living with and being raised by their grandparents in Rhode Island, who make up the largest percentage of relative caregivers. Some kin families are involved with the child welfare system when children have to be removed from their home on an emergency basis. Rhode Island is one of the leading states in the nation in finding and placing children with kin. The state’s long-held philosophy is that children do better by living with kin. Of all the children in the state’s foster care system, around 70% are placed with kin.

For families involved with the DCYF, (known as “formal” kin caregivers) while it can be a distressing experience, they do gain access to needed resources and services, as well as receive monthly stipends and other supports to care for the children. For families who have private arrangements and are not involved with DCYF (“informal” caregivers), finding those resources and services can be challenging. Many if not most of kinship families are not involved with the child welfare system and have no idea that there are any resources. Finding and supporting those families has become one mission of the Cranston-based The Village for RI Foster and Adoptive Families (The Village) and the Warwick-based Hispanic Foster and Adoptive Parents Organization of Rhode Island (The Heart Tree).

The Village, established in 2016 by a group of five foster and adoptive families, provides peer support to all RI foster, adoptive and kin families. The Village provides support through peer mentoring, peer-led support groups and family events, as well as running a “Closet” where families both donate and receive material things such as clothing, toys, diapers etc. The Heart Tree, a sister organization, also provides those same supports in a culturally appropriate manner to our Spanish speaking families. The Heart Tree was established in 2021 to meet the unique needs of Spanish speaking foster, adoptive and kin families.

Sixty-three-year-old Laurie Tapozada is a kinship caregiver who sees the value of the assistance provided by the The Village in raising her 8-year-old grandson. “When it first happened and I was suddenly raising a baby at age 55, I didn’t know one single other family like mine, she said.

“My life was turned on its head, I was struggling to manage my hectic work schedule with a baby and dealing with all sorts of messy and painful family dynamics that come with being a kinship caregiver,” says Tapozada.

According to Tapozada, she had to re-educate herself as to how to safely raise a baby without getting support from family and friends who thought she was “crazy” for taking this on. It was overwhelming and distressing until she received a call from a friend who suggested that she “call the Village and they will understand.”  From that point Tapozada has become actively involved in the kinship community and network, “It been a life changer for me,” she says.

Although Rhode Island is recognized as a leader in ensuring that children removed from homes are placed with kin, increasing support for kin families is a pressing need.  In 2022, the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging awarded a grant (through funding from the U.S. Administration for Community Living overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) to the Village and the Heart Tree, to identify informal kin families and help connect them to existing resources, and to the growing kinship caregiver community. 

RIOHA’s grant also funded a multi-faceted effort, in person and online activities, and incorporating traditional print, broadcast, digital and social media communication and training.  Throughout the year, exhibit tables were placed at family events, informational meetings and festivals to get the word out about available resource for kindship caregivers. This grant also created a statewide website where these individuals could go and learn more about resources, as well as find out what is happening in the kin community. This website is www.kinshipcommunityconnections.org.

Project Director Shannon Dos Santos, of the Village, sees the value and positive impact of this grant on Rhode Island’s kinship caregiver families. “I have seen the joy on the faces of many Kinship Caregivers aged 55 and over and their families over the last fifteen months as a result of this grant,” she says, noting that reaching out to this population and getting them to engage has been a challenge. “But when they do – it is beautiful to watch.”

According to Dos Santos, many just feel isolated, overwhelmed and alone. “This grant has allowed us to focus on community outreach and engagement as well as provided us with opportunities to enhance what we at the Village do so well – peer support and family activities!  “It has been a blessing to watch these families come together at these events, form relationships with others in  similar situations and feel safe sharing their experiences,” she says.  

The Village’s Chairman of the Board, Sue Babin, who is also full-time employee and a kinship caregiver, too, added, “This exciting grant initiative has provided The Village with an opportunity to continue to do what we do best… peer outreach and support from people with lived experiences.” And, while RI OHA’s grant ends this month, additional funding will extend the program for 12 months, she says.

For info about The Village for RI Foster & Adoptive Families (The Village), go to https://www.rivillage.org/. Or call (401) 481-5483.

For info about Hispanic Foster and Adoptive Parents Organization of Rhode Island (The Heart Tree), go to https://sites.google.com/view/thehearttree/homeinicio?authuser=1.  Or Call (401) 306-9652.

For info about Kinship Community Connections, go to https://kinshipcommunityconnections.org/

WPRI 12’ s Rhode Island Video on Foster Care Month, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhI206EXBfQ.

For a copy of the recently released research study, Caregiver Profile: A Closer Look at Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren, by NCFS at the University of Pittsburg, go to

https://www.caregiving.pitt.edu/caregiver-profile-closer-look-grandparents-caring-grandchildren

New Census data reports the graying of U.S. population 

Published in RINewsToday on June 26, 2023

The nation’s population continues to gray and this is documented by a series of demographic profiles from the 2020 Census recently released. The release of this updated census data must be a wake-up call to Congress and federal and state officials who oversee aging programs and services.

According to Zoe Caplan, statistician demographer in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Sex and Age Statistics Branch, the U.S. population age 65 and over grew from 2010 to 2020 at the fastest rate since 1880 to 1890. The nation’s over-age-65 population grew nearly five times faster than the total population over the 100 years from 1920 to 2020, says Caplan in a May 25, 2023 posting on the agency’s website.

In her posting, Caplan says that in 2020, a whopping 1 in 6 people in the United States were age 65 and over. In 1920, this statistic was just 1 in 20. 

The 2020 Census reported that the older population increased by 50.9 million, from 4.9 million (or 4.7% of the total U.S. population) in 1920 to 55.8 million (16.8%) in 2020. This represents a growth rate of about 1,000%, almost five times that of the total population (about 200%).

Growth in older population spiked 2010-2020

According to Caplan, the older population has been growing for the past century but the decade before 2020 saw its fastest increase since 1880 to 1890. “From 2010 to 2020, the age 65 and over population experienced its largest-ever 10-year numeric gain — an increase of 15.5 million people. The next largest 10-year numeric increase, 5.7 million between 1980 and 1990, was less than half that size,” she says.

From 2010 to 2020, Caplan stated that the 65 and over population experienced the largest-ever percentage-point increase, from 13.0% to 16.8% of the total population. “Before 2010, it took 50 years (from 1960 to 2010)  for the nation’s older population’s share of the total population to grow by the same number of percentage points,” she said.

The 2020 Census Data reveals that while the nation’s population grew from 2010 to 2020, the size and rate varied by age groups for other age groups. The 65 to 74 age group was the largest of the older cohort groups, with 33.1 million people, representing over half of the age 65 and over population (or 1 in 10 Americans), she said.

“The 65 to 74 age group experienced the largest growth of any older age group the previous decade,” says Caplan, noting that its numbers grew by 11.4 million or (52.5%), increasing from 21.7 mil­lion in 2010 to 33.1 million in 2020.  

Caplan says that the 75-to-84 age group grew at about half that rate (25.1%) but is expected to pick up the pace in the next decade as baby boomers age into this group. Additionally, she noted that the 85-to-94 age group had a relatively slower growth (12.6%) than other older age groups, increasing from 5.1 million to 5.7 million.  The population 95 years and over also expe­rienced a large growth rate (48.6%), increasing from about 425,000 in 2010 to 631,000 in 2020, she added. 

The 2020 date also indicated that for those people age 70 and over, males experienced a larger percentage growth between 2010 and 2020 (42.2%) than females (29.5%). Meanwhile, the percentage of centenarians have grown 50% since 2010, the fastest recent census-to-census percent change for that age group.  

Finally, while the U.S. population age 65 and over population grew, the Census 2020 data indicated that the nation’s population remained relatively young when compared with other nations. Caplan noted that Japan has the largest percentage (28.5%) of older residents.  Many European countries, along with Canada and Hong Kong, have larger percentages of older residents than the United States, says Caplan, noting that the United States ranked 34th (16.8%) among these places.

Japan had the largest share (28.5%) of older residents. The United States ranked 34th (16.8%) among these places. Many European countries, along with Canada and Hong Kong, had higher shares of older residents than the United States, adds Caplan.

Nation’s median age creeps closer to Age 40

Just last week, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the nation’s median age increased by 0.2 years to 38.9 years between 2021 and 2022.  Median age is the age at which half of the population is older and half of the population is younger.

“As the nation’s median age creeps closer to 40, you can really see how the aging of baby boomers, and now their children — sometimes called echo boomers — is impacting the median age. The eldest of the echo boomers have started to reach or exceed the nation’s median age of 38.9,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division in a statement released on June 22, 2023.

“While natural change, nationally, has been positive, as there have been more births than deaths, birth rates have gradually declined over the past two decades. Without a rapidly growing young population, the U.S. median age will likely continue its slow but steady rise,” she says.

According to the statement, a third (17) of the states in the country had a median age above 40.0 in 2022, led by Maine with the highest at 44.8, and New Hampshire at 43.3. Utah (31.9), the District of Columbia (34.8), and Texas (35.5) had the lowest median ages in the nation. Hawaii had the largest increase in median age among states, up 0.4 years to 40.7.

No states experienced a decrease in median age. Four states — Alabama (39.4), Maine (44.8), Tennessee (39.1), West Virginia (42.8), and the District of Columbia (34.8) — had no change in their median age from 2021 to 2022.

Can Rhode Island cope with a population growing older?  

“It is no secret that the Rhode Island population is growing older,” says Maureen Maigret, Chair of the Aging in Community Subcommittee of the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, whose Subcommittee was charged with looking at Rhode Island’s older population, its demographics, services and programs to assist them to age in place in the community along with identifying gaps in services. “We issued a comprehensive report in 2016 showing that persons age 65 and over in Rhode Island would go from 14.4% of the state population in 2010 to 25% by 2040,” she said.  

According to Maigret, the US Census 2021 estimates shows the state’s 65 and over population is now at 18% and some its communities have already reached 20%. “Our older population is also becoming more diverse. White older adults went from 93.4% in 2010 to 86.4% in 2021 (RI Healthy Aging Data Report.) while Hispanic older adults increased from 3.8% to 6.5%. Our Subcommittee continues to work to implement recommendations we made in nine different areas important for aging in the community,” adds Maigret, noting that she has been working with advocates and legislative champions to implement and put them into law or practice.

“We have made some significant progress in expanding home care for those not impoverished enough to be on Medicaid, to expand respite services for caregivers and this year to fund the Office of Healthy Aging and Disability Resource Center. But we still have much more work to do,” says Maigret.

“I am especially concerned that studies show some 80% of persons age 65+ will not be able to afford two years of home care and many may need more than that. So that is something we need to address by changes in Medicaid and Medicare providing support for unpaid family caregivers who provide enormous amounts of long-term care to loved ones in need.  We also be providing more funding for local senior center programs that are shown to promote health and reduce social isolation with its negative health outcomes,” says Maigret.

Maigret says that funding for the Village Common of RI that, an organization that provides trained and vetted volunteers in local villages to provide supports such as transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping, friendly visits, minor home tasks — all types of supports to help older adults remain in their own homes, should also be allocated. “More communities are interested in starting these types of volunteer programs of mutual support but funding is needed to support the infrastructure,” she advises.  

Maigret expresses concern that so many older Rhode Islanders are economically insecure. Twenty seven percent of older households are living on less than $25,000/year yet it costs an older Rhode Island couple in good health renting their home about $41,448 annually to meet basic living expenses (Elder Index).

“Economic insecurity is a special problem for older women who comprise 56% of the state’s 65 and over population and are more likely to live alone,” she says noting that their average Social Security checks amounts to $11,584 compared to $14,578 for men, and mean personal income for women is about $25,000 less than older males.

Maigret encourages state leaders to pay attention to these “age-related” demographics as they consider budget and policy priorities. And she would like to see each of the state’s communities assess their age-friendliness, like Newport, Cranston and Providence have done.” Other communities should follow Pawtucket’s lead of promoting fitness for older adults by creating  adult outdoor exercise area adjacent to its senior center or in local parks.

Addressing the State’s Shrinking Health Care Workforce

“The main focus in addressing issues related to meeting the needs of the state’s growing older population is to address the critical need for a robust healthcare workforce,” says John Gage, President & CEO of the Rhode Island Health Care Association.  “Reimbursement must support appropriate staffing levels at livable wages throughout the long-term care continuum – home care, assisted living residences and nursing facilities,” he says. 

“As the generations shift, there will be a greater need for long-term care supports and services with a shrinking workforce.  Sustainable funding is essential to the ability to provide this care, and it has never been more evident than today,” warns Gage.  “In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, current statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that Rhode Island’s nursing home workforce is down some 20% from pre-pandemic levels,” he says, stating a detailed analysis of the workforce for hospitals and nursing homes indicates that  nursing home RNs have declined by 16.5%, LPNs by 18.3% and CNAs by 25.4%.  It is estimated that, nationwide, recovery of the nursing home workforce will not occur until 2027 based on the small, incremental improvements quarter over quarter, adds Gage.

“Presently, 17% of our neighbors are aged 65 and older, and nearly a quarter (24%) are age 60 and above!  Recognizing this trend, we are actively engaged in anticipating and meeting the needs of our growing population of older adults in our state,” says Director Maria Cimini, of the Rhode Island’s Office of Healthy Aging.

“At numerous State and non-profit spaces, we are present to ensure that the needs of older adults are central to discussions surrounding  health care, housing, transportation, education, accessible communities, and caregiving,” she adds.

“We embrace the opportunity presented by the recently passed Legislative Commission to Study the Services and Programs for Older Adults to collaborate with Rhode Islanders working with seniors. Together, we will share our experience with aging populations, promote valuable resources, and identify what we all need to make RI a great place to grow up and grow old,” says Cimini.

For a copy of the 2020 Census Brief, “The Older Population: 2020,” go to https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/2020/census-briefs/c2020br-07.pdf.

For a copy of the LTCCC’s Aging in Community Subcommittee June 2016 Report, “Aging in Community” go to  https://www.rilegislature.gov/Reports/AiC%20Full%20Final%20Report%206.13.16.pdf.

For a copy of the LTCCC’s Aging Community Subcommittee December 2016 Strategic Plan, “Aging in Community, go to https://www.rilegislature.gov/Reports/Building%20an%20Age-Friendly%20Community.pdf.

For a copy of Rhode Island Healthy Aging Data 2020 Report, go to

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2020 Census Data Impacts Federal Funding Allocated to Aging Programs and Services

Published in the Woonsocket Call on January 19, 2020

By April 1, every home across the nation will receive an invitation from the U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency, to participate in the 2020 Census. Once this invitation arrives, it’s important for you to immediately answer the short questionnaire by either going on-line, phone, or by mail. When you respond to the census, you’ll tell the Census Bureau where you live as of April 1, 2020.

The U.S. Constitution: Article 1, Section 2, mandates that the country conduct a count of its population once every 10 years. The 2020 Census will mark the 24th time that the country has counted its population since 1790

The population statistics generated by the upcoming 2020 Census will be used to distribute over $700 billion annually in federal funds back to tribal, state and local governments. The collected census data also determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, provides insight to governments, business and community planning groups for planning purposes, and finally defines congressional and state legislative districts, school districts and voting precincts

2020 Census Statistics and the Graying of America

According to a blog story published on Dec. 10, 2019, by American Counts (AC) Staff, the upcoming 2020 Census will provide the federal government with the latest count of the baby boom generation, now estimated at about 73 million. The boomer generation born after World War II, from 1946 to 1964, will turn 74 next year. When the 2010 census was taken, the oldest had not even turned 65.

Baby Boomers are also projected to outnumber children under age 18 for the first time in U.S. history by 2034, according to Census Bureau projections. With an increasing need for caregiver and health services and less family caregiver support, the boomers will be forced to depend on federally-funded support services, their allocation depending on policy decisions based on census data.

“Data from the 2020 Census will show the impact of the baby boomers on America’s population age structure,” said Wan He, who has for over 21 years overseen the Aging Research Programs for the Population Division of the U.S. Census Bureau.

AC’s blog article, part of a Census Bureau series detailing the important community benefits that come from responding to the 2020 Census questionnaire, stresses that exact count of American’s age 65 and over is important for tribal, local, state and federal lawmakers to determine how they will spend billions of dollars annually in federal funds on critical aging programs and services for the next 10 years.

While everyone uses roads, hospitals and emergency services some state and federal programs specifically target older Americans – the 2020 Census statistics will be used to distribute funding to senior centers, adult day care facilities, nutrition programs including meals on wheels, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, job-training programs, elder abuse programs, Medicare Part B health insurance and Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income people including those age 65 and older.

“The census is really important to us in the aging community,” said John Haaga, of the National Institute on Aging in Washington, D.C. in the AC’s blog article. “It’s our only way to figure out how things are different across the country, what areas are aging faster, where elderly disabled people live, or where older people are concentrated, like Appalachia or West Virginia, because young people are leaving for the cities,” says Haag, noting that “Older people are remaining behind there.”

Haaga noted, “Other states, such as Florida, have large older populations because people are moving there to retire.”

“You can start to look at specifics like how many older people are living alone who are more than 10 miles from an adult day care centers,” says Haaga. “You can answer questions of access and how to improve it,” he adds, noting that census statistics helps lawmakers or business people decide where to open health clinics or senior citizen centers, among other services.

Calls for Action: Fill Out that Census Questionnaire

AARP has three main goals, according to State Director Kathleen Connell. “First,” she said, “to ensure a fair and accurate census count by educating our​ members and older adults about the census outreach efforts. Second, to provide tips and resources to encourage safe participation while protecting themselves from bad actors and census related fraud during this time. And third, to help people age 50 and over gain employment as census enumerators.”

“AARP has long been involved in informing people about the census, including the fact that the headcount is labor intensive – to the tune of 400,000 temporary staff. In the past, retired adults have made up a good portion of those who work in the decennial count of Americans, often as enumerators who go door-to-door in neighborhoods. In many communities, the Bureau will be looking for bilingual applicants.”

To be sure, Connell adds, the loss of a Congressional seat would have an impact on Medicare funding and other services that support Rhode Island’s age 50 and over population. “If a subset of people doesn’t participate in the census, the area in which they live will be represented as having fewer residents than it actually does; the costs to states and communities could be large, consequential and long-lasting. A census that is as complete and accurate as it can be – and doesn’t undercount the number of residents in a given area – is a vital resource for everyone,” she said.

Connell sits on the RI Complete Count committee and the AARP State Office is using its email list and social media in a series of reminders and encouragement to participate in the census. AARP also is reaching out to members who might consider becoming census workers.

Adds Jennifer Baier, AARP Senior Advisor, Census lead: “Many federally funded programs rely on census data to distribute billions of dollars to states and localities across the country. According to the George Washington Institute of Public Policy, Rhode Island receives about $3.8 billion per year based on Census data. That includes funds for schools, roads and hospitals and also programs that aid older Americans, such as Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) Medicare Part B, Special Programs for the Aging, Meals on Wheels, Heart Disease Prevention Programs and more.”

“The 2020 Census is just nine questions long, and takes about 10 minutes to fill out – those ten minutes impact millions of dollars of federal funding in every state and communities across the country,” says Baier.