Because November 2010 has been proclaimed National Family Caregivers Month by President Obama, Mature Resources thinks it crucial for all our readers—and their friends and families—to become more enlightened about the personal, social, economic, and physical impact of this growing phenomenon. With Boomers aging, their generally smaller families will face an even greater challenge, as there will be so many fewer adult children to take on the role of caregivers in the future. This is an often unnoted crisis in our country which will demand some very creative thinking over the next few decades as the population pyramid becomes more inverted, with those needing the most care and support in the largest numbers, while fewer young people are working and trying to provide care. The impact of this population shift is often discussed in terms of Social Security demands, but as the following statistics show, there is also a huge personal and financial toll on families providing various kinds of care to their members over fifty.

Demographics of the American Caregiving Population

More than 65 million people, or 29% of the U.S. population, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year. These caregivers spend an average of 20 hours per week providing care for their loved one.

Source: Caregiving in the United States; National Alliance for Caregiving, in collaboration with AARP; November 2009.

The value of the services family caregivers provide for "free," when caring for older adults, is estimated to be $375 billion a year. That is almost twice as much as is actually spent on homecare and nursing home services combined ($158 billion).

Source: Evercare Survey of the Economic Downturn and Its Impact on Family Caregiving; National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare; March 2009.

The typical family caregiver is a 49-year-old woman caring for her widowed 69-year-old mother who does not live with her. She is married and employed. Approximately 66% of family caregivers are women. More than 37% have children or grandchildren under 18 years old living with them.

Source: Caregiving in the United States; National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP; November 2009.

Some 1.4 million children ages 8 to 18 provide care for an adult relative; 72% of those are caring for a parent or grandparent; and 64% live in the same household as their care recipient. Fortunately, most are not the sole caregiver.

Source: National Alliance for Caregiving and the United Hospital Fund, Young Caregivers in the U.S., 2005.

Twenty hours per week is the average number of hours family caregivers spend caring for their loved ones, while 13% of family caregivers are providing 40 hours of care a week or more.

Source: Caregiving in the United States; National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP; November 2009.

Family caregivers are the foundation of long-term care nationwide, exceeding Medicaid long-term care spending in all states.