More than two million grandfamilies exist nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and many of them are right here in our Gulf Coast communities. Grandparents who step in when parents cannot care for their children often do it to keep kids out of foster care. That choice helps the children, since every study shows kids do better with kin, but it can cost the caregivers dearly. Without a foster license, many grandparents miss out on monthly payments, health insurance and caseworker visits that licensed foster parents receive automatically.
The scale of this is bigger than most people realize. For every child in foster care, 18 live with grandparents or other relatives, the Government Accountability Office says. Those families save taxpayers more than $10 billion annually, according to Generations United. The 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act created a 50% federal match for approved kinship navigator programs to connect caregivers with resources, but only 11 states qualify as of early 2026. At least 20 states have revised licensing requirements since a 2023 federal rule simplified kinship foster care pathways, and advocacy groups continue pressing for more.
On the Suncoast, this issue lands hard. Retirees and snowbirds on fixed incomes are suddenly managing school calendars, doctor’s appointments and homework again. Community organizations and kinship support networks are working to connect these caregivers with the help that exists. If you are raising a relative’s child, you are not alone, and there are people ready to help you navigate the paperwork.
Are you a kinship caregiver in Sarasota, Manatee or the surrounding counties? Share your story in the comments or call into the show and tell us what you have run into.
