Outreach news
Grandparents raising grandchildren a national concern

The difficult conditions facing grandparents who raise their grandchildren were discussed at a daylong conference in Sacramento. Panelists included, left to right, Stephanie Zach, Sacramento AARP; Mookie Abdullah, advocate for foster children; Michael Joyce, UC Davis physician; and Mary Blackburn, Alameda County Cooperative Extension. Abdullah lived in 37 different foster homes.

There are more than 2.5 million grandparent-headed households in the United States where grandchildren receive the care that the parents can not, for a variety of reasons, offer. At last count, nearly 500,000 California children were living in grandparent-headed households.

"There's a lot of depression. There's a lot of anger," says UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Alameda County advisor Mary Blackburn, who has been raising one of her eight grandchildren for the past 9 years. "Some grandparents are on their third group of children. It's a tremendous emotional battle."

The issue of grandparents raising grandchildren as well as other kin such as aunts, uncles and cousins has gained wider public acknowledgment, as cities, counties and states grapple with the needs of caregivers who may be themselves elderly, on fixed incomes or living in poverty.

UCCE Alameda County has worked with grandparents who raise grandchildren since the early 1990s, when Oakland became one of the first public agencies in California to respond to the issue. UCCE worked with the city on a demonstration project, then on its own and without specific programmatic funds began offering workshops, cosponsoring conferences, conducting research and prioritizing needs.

Blackburn utilized U.S. Census data to establish the upward trend in rates of grandparents raising grandchildren in California (see p. 10). "I'm trying to get the facts out there," she says.

An indefatigable advocate for grandparents, Blackburn is providing technical assistance to the California Coalition of Grandparents and Relative Caregivers to establish a nonprofit organization, which could apply for program funding and advocate more effectively.

During a recent UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources conference in Riverside, Blackburn noted that "we don't have programs for this group of older parents. You can't talk parenting to a 75-year-old in the same way that you talk to a teen parent."

Upward trend

As is often the case, California is a bellwether of national trends. According to the 1990 U.S. Census, nearly 5% of the nation's children were living in grandparent-headed households, compared with 6.4% in California. In a subsequent 1997 survey, the national rate had risen to 5.5%.

Resources for grandparents AARP Grandparent Information Center: www.aarp.org/confacts/programs/gic.html Grand Parent Again: www.grandparentagain.com Generations United: www.gu.org GrandsPlace: www.grandsplace.com Grandparent Caregiver Law Center: www.brookdale.org/gpc Senior Legal Hotline Grandparent Project: (916) 551-2140 or (800) 222-1753

On Feb. 27, the University of Wisconsin's extension service organized a national satellite videoconference, "Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Legal and Policy Issues," which was beamed down to more than 250 sites including 12 in California.

The Greater Sacramento Grandparent Network and Support Group hosted about 40 service providers and grandparents who are raising grandchildren. The videoconference was co-sponsored by UCCE and about a dozen federal, state, local and independent agencies and organizations.

The 3-hour broadcast included case studies of assistance programs around the nation; discussions about financial, legal and policy issues; information on custody arrangements and visitation rights; and live question-and-answer sessions.

Participants at the Sacramento site raised numerous issues including housing, finances, foster care and education. "We need a one-stop shop for services," said Pearl Bolton, who cares for two grandchildren.

Panelists urged the grandparents to be outspoken advocates for themselves and their grandchildren. "There has to be an articulated, resounding, organized voice," said Sharron Treskunoff Bailey of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Impacts on children

Blackburn and others are also continuing to focus on how the grandchildren themselves are affected. About one-quarter of all U.S. children in formal foster care are placed with grandparents or other relatives; many more are placed with strangers or are being cared for by grandparents who have no legal authority.

Mookie Abdullah explained that she entered the system when she was 4 years old, and lived in 37 different foster homes until she was "emancipated" at age 18. Abdullah now works for a program that helps foster children with the transition to independence.

"I was labeled unadoptable at 5 years old," Abdullah said. "I shouldn't have had to go through what I went through." Janet Byron

read more: A tale of two grandmothers...