Grandfamilies in New Hampshire

Grandfamilies—families in which the grandparents raise their grandchildren when parents cannot—are unique family structures that neither match a nuclear family nor a foster family. In this report, we examine existing support for grandfamilies and provide additional options for New Hampshire to consider in supporting these families. First, we provide an overview of grandfamilies in the United States as well as in New Hampshire specifically. Next, we provide a number of policy options that the New Hampshire legislature could pursue. These involve improving and enhancing the resources available to grandfamilies such as improving grandfamilies’ access to housing, increasing the types of benefits available to grandfamilies, and enhancing outreach mechanisms in local communities to alert grandfamilies of existing resources.