At a time in life when many are beginning to ease into retirement, Mr. and Mrs. B. found themselves unexpectedly starting all over again ? struggling to care for their adopted daughter?s two young sons.
Their daughter?s bipolar disorder was recognized very late, and though she stays involved in her sons? lives, neither she nor their father were able to be a full-time parent. So the boys went to live with their grandparents.
When their youngest grandson was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Mr. and Mrs. B. had trouble finding a good doctor to care for him. Then Mrs. B. was diagnosed with cancer.
Lots of us who are grandparents are used to stepping in and caring for grandchildren from time to time. But many grandparents and other family members are going far beyond the occasional Saturday night or long weekend.
Second-time parents
When parents can?t care for their children ? they may have died, be incarcerated, or be struggling with substance abuse or other health or mental health challenges ? relatives like Mr. and Mrs. B. often end up ?parenting a second time around.?
An increasing number of children are living in households headed by grandparents and other relatives ? often three generations sharing scarce resources due to the recession. Nearly 7.8 million children live in households headed by a grandparent or other relative. More than 2.5 million grandparents report they are responsible for grandchildren living with them ? a third with no parent present. Black children are twice as likely as all children to live with their grandparents or other relatives only.
These grandparents and other relatives are providing vital care, stability, and continuity to millions of America?s most vulnerable children. They are keeping children safe and families together. Children raised by relatives are more likely to be placed with siblings and less likely to lose touch with their cultural traditions and community connections.
Serious impact
But this enormous responsibility can have many effects on caregivers? own lives and financial stability. Many are still working and many others live on fixed incomes. Twenty percent of grandparents raising grandchildren are poor and many relative caregivers need financial help and other forms of support. They find it difficult to connect with networks to find programs and assistance for which they are eligible.
The Children?s Defense Fund often gets calls from grandparents and other relative caregivers seeking sources of financial assistance. They are often embarrassed by their circumstances and afraid to contact public agencies for assistance, fearful their grandchildren will be taken away and placed in foster care.
Grandparent caregivers often face barriers to participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/Food Stamps) or qualifying their grandchildren for the National School Lunch Program. And while Social Security provides needed support for grandparents, grandchildren aren?t always eligible for benefits.
Can?t get hired
Youth unemployment has soared, adding extra stress for grandfamilies already struggling to keep grandchildren in high school and now worrying about them finding a job ? if they do graduate. While specific data on youths with relative caregivers are unavailable, the teen employment rate dropped to 27 percent in 2010 ? only one in five teens in a low-income family was working.
Even youths whose grandparents helped them graduate from college are likely to be employed at much lower salaries in jobs that do not use their college degrees.
Relative caregivers in your communities can use your help. Find out more about children in your own state being raised by grandparents and other relatives on the AARP website.
Marian Wright Edelman is president and founder of the Children?s Defense Fund (www.childrensdefense.org).
Nnpa.org
Source: http://www.defendernetwork.com/supporting-grandparents-caring-for-children/
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