Introduction

Families want to take care of one another, even when confronted by barriers beyond their control. Historically, the work associated with care has disproportionately fallen heaviest on the shoulders of women, and Black women, often underpaid and undervalued despite their essential contributions, disproportionately staff the direct care workforce.¹ However, as cultural norms and expectations change, and as the need for caregiving increases, more people are likely to step into the role of a High-Intensity Caregiver and/or Parent—either of children with special needs, aging parents, or spouses who have fallen ill. Especially now, in the midst of a home healthcare crisis, the United States relies upon family caregivers to fill the gaps of an ailing industry.²

In their in-depth report on family caregivers, Caregiving in the U.S. 2020, the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and AARP discuss the demographics of the High-Intensity Caregivers and/or Parents population. In 2020, 53 million family members provided high-intensity care to adults, aged 18 and over, and/or a child with special needs—up from 43.5 million in 2015. The proportion of adults providing this level of care to a family member has already increased to 24 percent, from 18 percent in 2015, and will likely continue to rise.³

Across race and ethnicity, the composition of High-Intensity Caregivers and Parents (HICP) is diverse and closely resembles the demographic breakdown of the United States: 61 percent are non-Hispanic white, 17 percent are Latinx/Hispanic, 14 percent are Black, 5 percent are Asian American and Pacific Islander, and 3 percent are multiracial.⁴ Though women constitute a majority of the HICP population (61 percent), men also fulfill this role (39 percent).⁵

Recently, more research has emerged demonstrating the various characteristics and needs of this caregiving population as it pertains to their age, race, and relationship to care recipients. However, there is scant research that focuses specifically on the 2.3 million Black men in the United States who provide high-intensity care to adults.⁶ According to a 2017 AARP report, Breaking Stereotypes: Spotlight on Male Family Caregivers, Black men constitute 13 percent of all men providing this type of care.⁷ (For context, Black men make up about 13 percent of the total population of men in the United States.) In the caregiving landscape, Black men and their experience providing high-intensity care to adults and/or children with special needs have often gone undetected and under-discussed—they have been, to a degree, an invisible community.

This report primarily seeks to contribute to and engage with emerging literature about Black men as high-intensity caregivers and/or parents, which shifts the narrative from one of invisibility to one of representation and inclusion. Moreover, this report compares Black and white male HICPs and also provides a brief snapshot of Black fathers to further contextualize the portrait of Black men within the care economy, which encompasses unpaid care work performed by family members.⁸

Previous research has explored the roles and behaviors of Black fathers, though often in the limited context of poverty.⁹ This report briefly discusses key findings about how Black fathers parent and value care (see Part 3: Parenting). That said, there remain few studies that address the fullness of Black fathers’ experiences as well as their access to family supportive policies, or lack thereof, which shapes their choices, experiences, and health, as well as the wellbeing of their partners, children and families. As such, this report seeks to include Black fathers in this ongoing discourse.

A part of the Better Life Lab’s (BLL) Men and Care project, this quantitative study relies upon a nationally representative survey of 2,966 respondents, conducted in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago. The sample for this report includes a total of 209 Black men. Of them, 135 were fathers, 98 were high-intensity caregivers and/or parents, and 48 were both fathers and HICP. Although Black respondents were oversampled to ensure the results would be generalizable, the analyses for this study are limited by this relatively small sample size of Black men. In particular, this report does not disaggregate Black fathers by caregiving status, since we could not draw meaningful and robust conclusions based on sample sizes under 50. Instead, this report seeks to provide a portrait view of caring Black men – focusing primarily on Black male HICPs, and then presenting a brief snapshot of Black fathers, discussing what they do, how they experience parenting, and the barriers that make it difficult to raise their children.

To create the portrait of caregiving Black men, BLL’s survey, similar to existing surveys conducted by peer organizations, collected information about caregivers’ race, financial state, health and stress levels, caregiving activities, experience with work-family conflict, and access to family and medical leave. While it does not specify the type of relationship (spousal, elderly parent-child, in-laws, friendship, etc.) between Black men and adult care recipients, BLL’s survey does account for the parental status of Black men caring for children with special needs. (This distinguishes it from other existing research about Black men who provide high-intensity caregiving.)