Judi's House

Judi’s House and the JAG Institute, in partnership with the New York Life Foundation, developed CBEM. The model uses mortality data to produce estimates of childhood bereavement at the national, state and county level.

The “current model type" produces estimates of the number and percentage of children, at a point in time, who have lost a parent or sibling to death. In 2025, there are an estimated 2.6 million children under age 18 who have lost a parent to death and 3.3 million who have lost a parent or sibling to death.^[2] In 2025, for the population under 25, there are an estimated 5.9 million children and youth who have lost a parent to death and 7.1 million who have lost a parent or sibling to death.^[3]

The “projected model type" produces estimates of the percentage of children who will lose a parent or sibling by some specified age (by age 18 or by age 25). The model projects that 8.9 percent of children (1 in 11) will lose a parent or sibling to death by age 18. By age 25, 15 percent (1 in 7) of children or youth will lose a parent or sibling to death.^[4]

In addition to national estimates, the model produces estimates by state and county. In 2025, New Mexico had the highest estimated childhood bereavement rate (14.2 percent of children) and Utah had the lowest rate (6.8 percent of children).^[5] Within New Mexico, the county with the highest bereavement rate is McKinley County.^[6]

Judi’s House / JAG Institute also use CBEM to develop topic reports. In 2025, the topic reports focused on bereaved children and their eligibility for Social Security benefits. In prior years, topic reports have focused on how bereavement rates are associated with household income levels and race / ethnicity. The topic reports are used by Judi’s House and others to support specific calls to action.

The 2025 topic reports focused on Social Security. Bereaved children are potentially eligible for Social Security benefits but often do not receive them due to a lack of awareness of eligibility or difficulty navigating the federal bureaucracy. An estimated 45 percent of bereaved children are eligible for but not receiving Social Security benefits.^[7] Nationally, these missed benefits are estimated to total $15.5 billion per year.^[8] State and county estimates for missed benefits are also produced using CBEM. For example, in New York state, the lost benefits total $741 million.^[9] For Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, the lost benefits total $90 million.^[10]

The topic reports were the basis for a call to action to improve access to Social Security for bereaved children, including greater outreach to bereaved families and the implementation of the recommendations of the Social Security Advisory Board on improving access to Social Security’s survivor benefits.^[11]

The 2024 topic reports focused on household income and childhood bereavement. Analysis of the CBEM estimates indicated that “In the vast majority of U.S. states, children in the lowest income counties had the highest bereavement rates, and the magnitude of the difference was typically substantial.”^[12]

Judi’s House is a founding member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG). NACG is a national network whose members seek “to facilitate the mental, emotional and physical health of grieving children and their families.”^[13]

Judi’s House also partners with OptionB, a nonprofit started by Sheryl Sandberg following the death of her husband.

Other national partners include: Coalition to Support Grieving Students, Eluna, Dougy Center, National Child Traumatic Stress Network, and the New York Life Foundation.