National Grandfamilies Outcome Workgroup (GrOW)
Grandfamilies COVID-19 Survey Wave II

Learning How to Best Support Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children During COVID-19

The Grandfamilies Outcome Workgroup (GrOW) is a national network of stakeholders that works across systems of care in support of kinship families. GrOW intentionally integrates the lived experiences of kinship caregivers in the evaluation methods, tools, and resources it develops and shares. This survey is also available in Spanish and can be accessed by clicking on the drop down menu in the top right corner of this page.

 
Grandparents  and other relatives raising children are an essential resource needed to ensure the health and well-being of our families. We designed this survey to better understand your experiences during these unprecedented and challenging times for your family. We appreciate your participation and value your time as you complete this survey. We plan to use the results of what we learn to inform our practice and educate others, about the best ways to serve and support kinship families during this stage of the pandemic. We are grateful for your time and welcome your participation!

 
Before you begin, we want to share that we will not be collecting any personal identifiable information about your family. This survey is anonymous. Please know your participation in this survey process is voluntary and will not impact any kinship services you receive, if you should decide not to participate.

 
Thank you for your time in completing this survey and sharing your experience with us.
1.What state do you live in?
2.What is your zipcode?
3.What is your age?
4.What is your race or ethnicity?
5.Are you a member of a Tribe, Nation or Pueblo?
6.Please share your Tribe, Nation or Pueblo.
7.How do  you identify in terms of gender?
8.What are the ages of the kinship children in your care?
Age 0-5
Age 6-10
Age 11-15
Age 16-20
Age 21+
Child 1
Child  2
Child 3
Child 4
Child 5
Child 6
9.How long have you been raising a kinship child?
10.Did you participate in Wave 1 of the Grandfamilies COVID 19 Survey (the first survey administered last May/June of 2020?)
11.Have you elected to be vaccinated for COVID 19?
12.If you have elected to NOT be vaccinated, please check ALL that apply
13.As of today, have you received your COVID 19 vaccination?
14.Which best describes your current involvement with the child welfare system in the past month? (Please check the items that best fit your situation)
15.Which special issues have impacted your caregiving most during the past month? Please check ALL that apply to you.
16.During this past month, have you experienced discrimination related to the following (please check ALL that apply)
Not a problem
Minor problem
Moderate problem 
Serious problem
My status as a caregiver 
My political party affiliation
My essential workforce status 
My employment as a health care worker
My housing status 
My lower socio economic status 
My race and/or ethnicity
My child's race and/or ethnicity
My country of origin 
As an Asian American or a person of Asian descent 
As Black or African American 
As a Native American 
As Hispanic or Latino American 
My age
My sexual identity 
My gender expression
My religion
My immigration status 
My mental health 
My hearing impairment or deafness 
My vision impairment or blindness
My limited mobility
17.Have you experienced problems related to discrimination in these areas during this past month?
Not a problem
Minor problem
Major problem
Serious problem
Access to COVID 19 Tests
Access to COVID 19 Vaccination
Receipt of stimulus payments
Access to other financial support available during COVID 19
Access to personal protective gear
Access to counseling for myself
Access to counseling for my children
Access to quality health care
Access to housing
Access to legal services
Access to online school supports
18.During this past month, where do you go for credible information that you can trust?
Never
Rarely 
Sometimes
Often 
Always
Family
My kinship children 
Friends
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Local Public Health Experts
Local government (mayor, council members)
Local Newspapers and news websites
Local radio news stations
Local television news stations
State Public Health Experts
State Newspapers and news websites
National Newspapers (USA Today, Wallstreet Journal, New York Times)
National Radio Networks
National Television Networks
Center for Disease Control and Other National Public Health Experts
State government (governor, state government officials)
US Congressional Leaders
US President and Administration
Other Countries World Leaders (Prime Minister, President, Head of State, etc.)
World Health Organization (WHO)
19.Has your ability to take time to care for yourself been impacted during this past month?
20.During the last month, what kinds of things were helpful so you could take care of yourself?
21.During the last month, what things made it difficult for you to take care of yourself?
22.Please tell us about your sleep
Rarely/Never
Sometimes
Usually/Always
Are you satisfied with your sleep?
Do you stay awake all day without dozing?
Are you asleep (or trying to sleep) between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM?
Do you spend less than 30 minutes awake at night? (This includes the time it takes to fall asleep and awakenings from sleep)
Do you sleep between 6-8 hours per day?
23.How has your sleep been impacted this past month?
24.In the last month, how concerned are you with the following?
Not at all a concern
Slightly concerned
Somewhat concerned 
Moderately concerned 
Extremely concerned 
Ability to pay utilities
Ability to pay rent or mortgage
Health care for myself
Ability to pay for healthy food for family
Health care for the children in my care
Counseling for myself
Counseling for the children in my care
Addressing grief and loss issues
My employment
My financial status 
My relationship with biological parents 
Visitation with biological parents 
Providing online education or school to children in my care
Access to technology 
Comfort with technology
Child care, respite and time for myself 
Using substances to cope with pandemic (drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc.)
Healthy sleep
25.How accessible are kinship navigation services in your community?
Very Difficult
Difficult
Easy
Very easy
There is no kinship navigator program in my community
I do not know
Learn about programs and services to meet the needs of the children in your care.
Find programs and services to meet the needs of the children in your care.
Use programs and services to meet the needs of the children in your care.
Learn about programs and services to meet YOUR needs as a kinship caregiver.
Find programs and services to meet YOUR needs as a kinship caregiver.
Use programs and services to meet YOUR needs as as kinship caregiver.
Connect with 2-11 or 3-1-1 information systems to access services 
Become a part of the development of a program to service kinship caregivers.
Youth in your care have help to inform services for kinship families.
Connect with government agencies.
Connect with community-based agencies.
Connect with Faith-Based organizations.
Access information and referral systems that link kinship caregivers to each other.
Access information and referral systems that link kinship caregivers to support group facilitators.
Access information and referral systems that link kinship caregivers to service providers.
Connect with a kinship care ombudsman with authority to intervene and help kinship caregivers access services.
Determine eligibility for federal benefits.
Determine eligibility for state benefits.
Determine eligibility for local benefits.
Enroll in federal benefits.
Enroll in state benefits.
Enroll in local benefits. 
Participate in training to assist with caregiving for children in your care.
Participate in training on obtaining benefits and services. 
Access to legal assistance.
Access to a kinship care website.
Access to kinship caregiving resource guides.
26.Over the last 7 days, how often have you been bothered by having little or no pleasure in doing things? 
27.Over the last 7 days, how often have you been bothered by feeling down, depressed or hopeless?
28.Over the last 7 days, how often have you been bothered by feeling nervous, anxious or on edge?
29.Over the last 7 days, how often have you been bothered by not being able to stop or control worrying?
30.In the last month, how have these issues impacted you and your family?
No affect
Minor affect
Moderate affect
Major affect
Managing expanded caregiving responsibilities
Managing an expanded workload outside of caregiving
Dealing with job loss
Isolation and social distancing
Access to quality care for kinship children birth to five years of age 
Access to COVID 19 Vaccine 
Access to quality medical care
Kinship child returning to in person school 
Kinship child succeeding in online learning for school 
Kinship child participating in hybrid school (online and in person mix) 
Access to services to address grief, loss and trauma
Access to a peer support group with other kinship caregivers 
Access to technology
Comfort with technology
Access to legal assistance 
Managing social interactions for my kinship child safely
Managing financial losses and debt due to pandemic
Managing anxiety and stress about how things have changed
Managing mental health challenges for children 
31.What has been the most pressing challenge for you as a caregiver during the last month?
32.What strategies for addressing challenges have you used in the past month?
33.What has been your greatest joy as a caregiver during the last month?
34.Anything else you would like to share with us so we can better support you and your family?
35.We want to hear more about the way you got connected with our survey. Please let us know who referred you.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and time with us.

Please take a moment to check out the results from the National Grandfamilies Outcome Workgroup (GrOW) Grandfamilies COVID 19 Survey Wave I here: Grandfamilies Outcome Workgroup
 
Are you interested in participating in future kinship studies?
Please contact us at GrOW

 

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