Recognition, assessment, education, support, and research of young caregivers is yet to be well established throughout the United States. Studies show that as a result of family caregiving, employees miss work, arrive late, have telephone interruptions, and pass up promotions. Education is essentially the work-life of a student. Research among 12,681 public school students in Palm Beach County, Florida, shows that more than 1 in 2 middle and high school youth (6,210) have the dual role of young caregiver and student; one third of all students (67.1% of young caregivers) miss school/after school activities, do not complete homework, and/or are interrupted in their studying-their work-life. As demonstrated in the United Kingdom, assessment, education, and support of young caregivers in school and in the community can improve education outcomes. Proactive school nurses have the opportunity to identify, assess, and promote the well-being and academic success of U.S. student-caregivers.

Recognition, assessment, education, support, and research of young caregivers is yet to be well established throughout the United States. Studies show that as a result of family caregiving, employees miss work, arrive late, have telephone interruptions, and pass up promotions. Education is essentially the work-life of a student. Research among 12,681 public school students in Palm Beach County, Florida, shows that more than 1 in 2 middle and high school youth (6,210) have the dual role of young caregiver and student; one third of all students (67.1% of young caregivers) miss school/after school activities, do not complete homework, and/or are interrupted in their studying-their work-life. As demonstrated in the United Kingdom, assessment, education, and support of young caregivers in school and in the community can improve education outcomes. Proactive school nurses have the opportunity to identify, assess, and promote the well-being and academic success of U.S. student-caregivers.

In the United States, more than 5.4 million children and adolescents under age 18 provide care for family members who are aging or have chronic illness, disability, or other health conditions that require assistance. In this policy report, we describe youth’s care for the family, and highlight the increasing prevalence, global challenges, and uneven successes of measurement and categorization. We briefly summarize research on how caregiving affects youth’s academic, social, and emotional well‐being. Next, we present novel, emerging evidence from the public school‐based 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey for the State of Florida, which suggests that as many as 24% of middle school students and 16% of high school students provide at least some care to the family on a regular basis. Drawing on this evidence, we discuss targeted social programs which have been shown to promote the well‐being of caregiving youth outside of the United States, as well as a 13‐year‐old school‐based intervention in The School District of Palm Beach County, Florida. We conclude with specific recommendations for a path toward recognizing and supporting caregiving youth via policy and practice in the United States. Our aim is to increase the awareness and feasibility of identifying and supporting caregiving youth and their families via government‐organized data collection and targeted social policies.

There is an increasing number of young caregivers in the United States. However, little research has been devoted to the identification and understanding of this phenomenon among Latinos. Young caregivers are children and adolescents, 18 years of age and younger, who provide significant assistance to relatives who need help due to physical limitation(s), mental illness, or other condition. The purposes of this study were to: (1) describe the demographic characteristics of Latino students who are involved in caregiving activities in terms of gender, main language spoken at home, and grade in school (6 through 12); (2) examine the extent of Latino students' participation in caregiving; and (3) explore the effects of caregiving on the academic performance of Latino students in middle and high schools. Two thousand fifty three Latino students were included in the analyses. The results indicated that 55% of the students reported participating in caregiving activities. Boys, those whose families speak Spanish at home, and middle school students appeared to be more affected by the caregiving role. Implications for the mental health field are discussed underlining the impact of the dual role on these children's lives.

In the United States, it is estimated that more than 5.4 million children and adolescents under age 18 provide care for adult family members who are aging or have a chronic illness, disability, or other health conditions that require assistance. However, little is known about how providing care to the family during childhood and adolescence impacts youth development. We examined whether caregiving as a youth is associated with emotional challenges, peer difficulties, course grades, and physical health risk behaviors. A large, diverse sample of middle and high school students in Florida completed the first systematic school-based survey in the U.S. to date to count caregiving youth (N = 10,880; 52% female; M age = 14.40, 40% Latinx). Youth reported the amount of caregiving they provided to the family each week, in addition to items reflecting their emotional challenges (e.g., suicidality), peer difficulties (e.g., experiences of conflict or victimization), academic course grades, and health risk behaviors (e.g., diet, physical activity, sleep). We found that Latinx and Black youth provided higher levels of caregiving to the family compared to youth from White non-Latinx, Asian, or Other ethnicities. Caregiving was associated with more emotional challenges, more peer difficulties, and lower course grades for all groups. In addition, providing caregiving was associated with a less healthy diet among older youth and sleeping less than 8 hr per night among White non-Latinx youth. These findings highlight a need to support caregiving youth and their families via policies and institutional supports.