There are numerous hypotheses about the role played by kin in decreasing the length of elderly persons' nursing home stays, yet few studies have explicitly examined the relationship between kin and episode length. Here we use backward recurrence time data from the Current Resident File of the 1985 National Nursing Home Survey to estimate models in which the hazard of leaving a nursing home depends upon covariates . Women admitted at age 65 or older stay, on average, 26 months in an institution, while men have an average stay of 19 months. Controlling for demographic factors, insurance status, and various chronic and morbid conditions, we find that, on average, having a living spouse decreases the length of stay by four months for men and three months for women. Having a living child decreases the mean length of stay for women by three months, but has no effect on the mean length of stay for men. Findings underscore the importance of family members in shortening the lengths of time spent by older persons in nursing homes.