According to the study found, doctors have discovered through a large size study children who were being raised by relatives struggle with physical and mental health issues, as would a child in and out of foster care. The kids ranged in ages from birth and 17 in the conducted studies and had more than 91,000 children living in kinship car while the data was gathered was gathered from a national survey in 2007. The children living in kinship conditions to children living with at least one birth parent were compared with each other by the researchers.

DR. Eleoff , from the University Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York , along with her colleagues , said, “Children who live in kinship care with a relative have more special health care needs, mental health problems such as ADHD and depression, and dental problems compared with children who live with their parents”. She adds, “These children and their families may need additional services and supports. Therefore, health care providers, educators and public health agencies should ask about children’s living situations and consider the risk of special needs among children in kinship care.” It is alarming to note that 2.8 million children live with relatives and according to the study, the amount of children in foster care averages about 800,000.

Dr. Eleoff, believed that this emerging new population is in equal need of attention and in her opinion brings to light an oversight by child welfare agencies that only currently account for children in foster care. Lead Author Stephanie A. Ettinger de Cuba, a researcher with Children’s Health Watch, said in a news release, “Family hardships and high out-of-pocket health care costs are written on the bodies of babies”.