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Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Deserve Support
At a rally in front of the United States Capitol this week, I met a woman from Minnesota who’s been raising her grandchildren for 18 years.
It’s an impressive record but she isn’t unusual at all. More than 2.5 million grandparents nationwide are responsible for their grandchildren living with them. Almost 7.8 million children under age 18 live with their grandparents or other relatives, such as an aunt or uncle.
These relatives fill a critical role in keeping children in safe, stable homes. They step in when the parent is deceased or incapable of caring for his or her children, whether working out of state, serving in the military, or even mentally ill or in prison.
Without grandparents, aunts or uncles, these children likely would have to go into foster care. While foster care programs have improved over the years, thanks to advocates and watchdogs, few people would argue that placement with a loving relative is preferable to foster care with a stranger, no matter how well-intentioned.
For a long time, grandparents and relatives raising children were performing their selfless work behind the scenes. Gradually, they’re gaining national attention and support.
The situation became especially clear to me early in 2008. I met with several grandparents who were taking care of their grandchildren. These committed grandparents were in a bind. They wanted a legal, permanent relationship with their grandchildren. Unfortunately, the only options available to them were either to become foster parents or adopt their grandchildren. Neither of these options fit.
In response to their concerns, I introduced legislation that established a new permanency outcome for children and their relative caregivers. This provision in my bill was enacted into law in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.
Thanks to this new law, grandparents have a third option available to them so they can have support as they undertake the challenges of raising and giving permanency to their grandchildren. The law establishes a “kinship” option, so grandparents in this situation have legal protections and eligibility for certain services. For example, state child welfare agencies have the option to use federal funds for kinship guardianship assistance to help children leave foster care to live permanently with relatives. Also under the law, state child welfare agencies have to provide notice of removal of any child from the custody of the child’s parents to all adult grandparents and other relatives of the child. This allows grandparents and other relatives to get involved early in the child’s care and intervene to keep the child out of foster care.
I’ll continue to look for ways to support the grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives who step up as caregivers. Their role is invaluable to the children in their lives and to society as a whole.
September 16, 2011
At a rally in front of the United States Capitol this week, I met a woman from Minnesota who’s been raising her grandchildren for 18 years.
It’s an impressive record but she isn’t unusual at all. More than 2.5 million grandparents nationwide are responsible for their grandchildren living with them. Almost 7.8 million children under age 18 live with their grandparents or other relatives, such as an aunt or uncle.
These relatives fill a critical role in keeping children in safe, stable homes. They step in when the parent is deceased or incapable of caring for his or her children, whether working out of state, serving in the military, or even mentally ill or in prison.
Without grandparents, aunts or uncles, these children likely would have to go into foster care. While foster care programs have improved over the years, thanks to advocates and watchdogs, few people would argue that placement with a loving relative is preferable to foster care with a stranger, no matter how well-intentioned.
For a long time, grandparents and relatives raising children were performing their selfless work behind the scenes. Gradually, they’re gaining national attention and support.
The situation became especially clear to me early in 2008. I met with several grandparents who were taking care of their grandchildren. These committed grandparents were in a bind. They wanted a legal, permanent relationship with their grandchildren. Unfortunately, the only options available to them were either to become foster parents or adopt their grandchildren. Neither of these options fit.
In response to their concerns, I introduced legislation that established a new permanency outcome for children and their relative caregivers. This provision in my bill was enacted into law in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.
Thanks to this new law, grandparents have a third option available to them so they can have support as they undertake the challenges of raising and giving permanency to their grandchildren. The law establishes a “kinship” option, so grandparents in this situation have legal protections and eligibility for certain services. For example, state child welfare agencies have the option to use federal funds for kinship guardianship assistance to help children leave foster care to live permanently with relatives. Also under the law, state child welfare agencies have to provide notice of removal of any child from the custody of the child’s parents to all adult grandparents and other relatives of the child. This allows grandparents and other relatives to get involved early in the child’s care and intervene to keep the child out of foster care.
I’ll continue to look for ways to support the grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives who step up as caregivers. Their role is invaluable to the children in their lives and to society as a whole.
September 16, 2011