News

The Importance of Improved Access to Grief Support Services

January 28, 2025

Though parental deaths have increased, access to grief support for affected children has not been a priority.

An article by Michele Cohen Marrill recently published in The Seattle Times titled Amid a rise in parental deaths, grief in children is often overlooked, highlights the disparities in access to bereavement care for children across the United States. Though many well-populated areas such as major cities or suburbs may have ready access to these types of support services, individuals living in rural communities are often left with minimal options, if any.

Using Judi’s House/JAG Institute Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model (CBEM) data, this article highlights the astonishing 46% increase in parental deaths that have been observed in recent years, and are linked to COVID-19, a rise in gun violence, and drug overdoses. Despite this increase, Cohen Marrill notes that the children impacted by parent death losses are rarely part of the national conversation and that there are limited systems in place for identifying children needing support at the governmental level.

To address the lack of support services and the identification of children who need care, it is essential that we continue to elevate the conversation of childhood bereavement in society. You can delve deeper into the important insights provided in this article, including the importance of Social Security benefits, state-centric programs designed to track newly bereaved children, and personal stories detailing the positive impact that appropriate bereavement services can have in the lives of grieving children, by clicking the link below.