In the U.S., almost 8 million children live in grand-families, where grandparents or other relatives are the householders. And of those, 40 percent live with grandparents, according to article from Generations United, a leader for intergenerational strategies for more than 30 years.
Generations United is a network of member organizations, partners and stakeholders committed to improving the lives of children, youth and older adults.
Grand-families, or kinship families, are families in which children reside with and are being raised by grandparents, other extended family members and adults with whom they have a close family-like relationship, such as godparents and close family friends.
Children fare well in the care of relatives. Compared to children in non-relative care, children being raised by relatives have more stability, are more likely to maintain connections with brothers and sisters, and preserve their cultural heritage and community bonds.
Region IV Area Agency on Aging has had a small Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program for more than 25 years. Over the last couple of years, we have seen an increase in the number of families who find themselves in this situation.
Sometimes the situation is temporary, and sometimes it becomes a lifelong commitment. Temporary or ongoing, these families might need help and support to continue in their caregiving role.
The AAA is working to strengthen our Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program to better serve you, as well as the children in your care.
As a first step in this effort, we’ve chosen a new name that we think better describes how and who we serve. The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program will now be called the Kinship Caregiver Program.
The second and more important step is adding families to the program. This is where you come in! We want to know what your current needs are and how we could help you meet those needs.
In September, we plan to have a series of focus groups, where you can tell us what your unique needs are. Some families have expressed needing help with legal advice, clothing or even learning how to use computers better to help children who are attending school from home.
We need your input to help make this program a true asset to our caregivers, the children they care for and our community. If you would like to be part of a focus group, please contact us.
The program wants to efficiently offer information, referrals and other services to kinship caregivers to help them meet the challenges and the needs of the children under their care.
If you are 55 or older and caring for a relative child younger than 18, this program may be able to help you with expenses such as recreational activities, school supplies, clothing, furniture and more. We want to help.
And, please, if you know others who may be in this situation, share the Kinship Caregiver information with them.
Special note: We do currently have some resources in place to help kinship caregivers with some of their more immediate needs. We can provide scholarships for camps or summer programs, gift cards for back-to-school supplies and support for emergency needs.
If you are interested in taking advantage of any of these services, or have questions or comments, contact the AAA at 983-0177 or biancanashmiot@areaagencyonaging.org.