The Costs of Family-Provided Home Care for Children with Special Needs

Determining the time and economic costs of care by parents provides guidance for developing a national policy to support families of these children.

Healthcare provided at home by family members has increased dramatically in the past 50 years for children with special healthcare needs. Although caregiving is often rewarding for parents, it is unpaid and limits time for employment. To determine the economic burden of such care on families, researchers analyzed the 2009–2010 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, which included responses from a nationally representative sample of 40,242 parents/guardians.

Roughly 5.6 million children received 1.5 billion hours of family-provided healthcare per year. Hiring a home health aide to provide the care would have cost an estimated $35.7 billion ($6,400 per child per year). Lost wages from foregone parent employment were estima…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics