Premium access provided by: MIT Personal account: Create | Sign in
Data Dictionary: ACS 2009 (1-Year Estimates)
you are here: choose a survey survey data set table details
Data Source:U.S. Census Bureau
Table: B10053. Citizenship Status by Grandparents Responsible for Own Grandchildren Under 18 Years by Age of Grandparent [11]
Universe: Grandparents living with own grandchildren under 18 years
Table Details
B10053. Citizenship Status by Grandparents Responsible for Own Grandchildren Under 18 Years by Age of Grandparent
Universe: Grandparents living with own grandchildren under 18 years
Relevant Documentation:
Citizenship Status (U.S. Citizenship Status)
The data on citizenship status were derived from answers to Question 8. This question was asked about person's 1 through 5 in the ACS.

Respondents were asked to select one of five categories: (1) born in the United States, (2) born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas, (3) born abroad of U.S. citizen parent or parents, (4) U.S. citizen by naturalization, or (5) not a U.S citizen. Respondents indicating they are a U.S. citizen by naturalization are also asked to print their year of naturalization. People born in American Samoa, although not explicitly listed, are included in the second response category.

For the Puerto Rico Community Survey, respondents were asked to select one of five categories: (1) born in Puerto Rico, (2) born in a U.S. state, District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas, (3) born abroad of U.S. citizen parent or parents, (4) U.S. citizen by naturalization, or (5) not a U.S. citizen. Respondents indicating they are a U.S. citizen by naturalization are also asked to print their year of naturalization. People born in American Samoa, although not explicitly listed, are included in the second response category.

When no information on citizenship status was reported for a person, information for other household members, if available, was used to assign a citizenship status to the respondent. All cases of nonresponse that were not assigned a citizenship status based on information from other household members were allocated the citizenship status of another person with similar characteristics who provided complete information. In cases of conflicting responses, place of birth information is used to edit citizenship status. For example, if a respondent states he or she was born in Puerto Rico but was not a U.S. citizen, the edits use the response to the place of birth question to change the respondents status to "U.S. citizen at birth."

U.S. Citizen
Respondents who indicated that they were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area (such as Guam), or abroad of American (U.S. citizen) parent or parents are considered U.S. citizens at birth. Foreign-born people who indicated that they were U.S. citizens through naturalization also are considered U.S. citizens.

Not a U.S. Citizen
Respondents who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens at the time of the survey.

The native population includes anyone who was a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national at birth. This includes respondents who indicated they were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area (such as Guam), or abroad of American (U.S. citizen) parent or parents.

Foreign born
The foreign-born population includes anyone who was not a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national at birth. This includes respondents who indicated they were a U.S. citizen by naturalization or not a U.S. citizen. The American Community Survey questionnaires do not ask about immigration status. The population surveyed includes all people who indicated that the United States was their usual place of residence on the survey date. The foreign-born population includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e. immigrants), temporary migrants (e.g., foreign students), humanitarian migrants (e.g., refugees), and unauthorized migrants (i.e. people illegally present in the United States). The responses to this question are used to determine the U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen populations as well as to determine the native and foreign-born populations.

Question/Concept History
In the 1996-1998 American Community Survey, the third response category was "Yes, born abroad of American parent(s)." However, since 1999 in the American Community Survey and since the 2005 Puerto Rico Community Survey, the response category was "Yes, born abroad of American parent or parents." In 2008, respondents who indicated that they were a U.S. citizen by naturalization were also asked to print their year of naturalization. Also in 2008, modifications in wording were made to both the third response category (changed from "Yes, born abroad of American parent or parents" to "Yes, born abroad of U.S. citizen parent or parents") and the fifth response category (changed from "No, not a citizen of the United States" to "No, not a U.S. citizen").

Limitation of the Data
Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations may have citizenship status distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the citizenship status distribution. This is particularly true for areas with substantial GQ populations.

Comparability
Citizenship can be compared both across ACS years and to Census 2000 data.

Excerpt from: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2009 Summary File: Technical Documentation.
 
Grandparents as Caregivers
Data on grandparents as caregivers were derived from Questions 25a through 25c. Data were collected on whether a grandchild lives with a grandparent in the household, whether the grandparent has responsibility for the basic needs of the grandchild, and the duration of that responsibility.

Existence of a Grandparent Living with a Grandchild in the Household
This was determined by a "Yes" answer to the question, "Does this person have any of his/her own grandchildren under the age of 18 living in this house or apartment?" This question was asked of people 15 years of age and over. Because of the low numbers of persons under 30 years old living with their grandchildren, data were only tabulated for people 30 and over.

Responsibility for Basic Needs
This question determines if the grandparent is financially responsible for food, shelter, clothing, day care, etc., for any or all grandchildren living in the household. In selected tabulations, grandparent responsibility is further classified by presence of parent (of the grandchild).

Duration of Responsibility
The answer refers to the grandchild for whom the grandparent has been responsible for the longest period of time. Duration categories ranged from less than 6 months to 5 or more years.

Question/Concept History
This set of questions was added to the American Community Survey in 1999 to comply with legislation passed in the 104th Congress requiring that the decennial census program obtain information about grandparents who have primary responsibility for the care of their grandchildren. The response categories for length of time caring for grandchildren were modified slightly between the 1999 and 2000 American Community Survey questionnaires to match the 2000 decennial census questionnaire. The question has remained unchanged since then.

Limitation of the Data
Before 2006, ACS grandparents data had a universe of people in households (which was the same as that in Census 2000 and the CPS). Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations may have grandparents as caregivers distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the grandparents as caregivers distribution. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial GQ population.

Comparability
The data on grandparents as caregivers can be compared to previous ACS years, Census 2000, and to similar data collected in the CPS (with the potential limitation noted above about areas with a substantial GQ population).

©2024 Social Explorer. All rights reserved.