Patchwork families: The EU knows they exist, but not how many

Brussels – Children, both older and younger, who live under the same roof with only one biological parent and a stepfather or stepmother, and sometimes with step-siblings. They are “reconstituted” families, or “patchwork families”, partly formed through previous relationships or marriages (not to be confused with extended families, which include aunts, uncles, or grandparents, but still relatives). However, while we know what they are, on the other hand, we don’t know how many there are. In the European Union, there is no specific census of this type of household, and action is now being considered to address the gap.

 The nature of the problem is regulatory and methodological, explains EU Economic Affairs Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, responding to a parliamentary question on the subject. In fact, Member States are obliged to collect data on households, but not to specify the type of households. To collect more detailed information on the different types of households in social surveys, it is necessary to collect the household grid, i.e., all the relationships between household members, Dombrovskis premised. “The household grid can be collected at a low level or at a high level of detail. Based on the information collected at a high level of detail, it is possible to identify patchwork families.”

This is where the problem emerges. “Countries are only obliged to collect data on the household network at a low level of detail“, Dombrovskis specifies. Nothing irregular, then, but certainly, this way of collecting data and information prevents the mapping of reconstituted households. The intention in Brussels and Luxembourg is to initiate changes in this regard. “Considering the growing need for information on patchwork families, Eurostat is reflecting on how to encourage Member States to collect household grid at a high level of detail, thus allowing a better understanding of living conditions of such families,” anticipates Dombrovskis. 

The European Statistical Office is therefore working with the EU executive to initiate a change in data collection, which is becoming increasingly necessary and cannot be postponed. As MEP Liesbet Sommen (EPP), the signatory of the question, explains, one of the problematic aspects for reconstituted families is that “these families face specific challenges in terms of child welfare, access to services, legal recognition, and cross-border rights.” Something has been done, but probably more can be done. Provided we know the extent of the phenomenon.