GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren



Table of Contents

Introduction1

Discussion1

Reason for the trend3

Impacts on grandparents and children5

Emotional Impact on the Grandchildren6

Emotional Impact on the Grandparents6

Legal Issues7

Educational Support8

Social Support Systems8

Conclusion9

References10

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Introduction

Although grandparent care giving is not a new phenomenon, it has received much attention since there has been an increase in grandparent headed households. Care giving is an issue for grandparents of all ages, races, educational levels, and all communities. This role occurs due to a family crisis, and often involves placing the child with a family member. Usually the family member selected is the child's grandparent (Cox 2003).

Grandparents have played a crucial role in maintaining families based on the circumstances their adult children face (i.e., substance abuse, unemployment, imprisonment, death, HIV/AIDS, etc.). Grandparents who are fulfilling parental roles for their grandchildren are termed grandparent caregivers, off-time grandparents, and custodial grandparents. Whatever the terminology, grandparents are stepping up to assume the role of parenting their grandchildren (Cox 2003).

Grandparent caregivers need supportive services in order to effectively raise their grandchildren. These services may include support groups, affordable housing, childcare services, and legal or financial assistance. Human service professionals working with this population must be mindful of the challenges, areas of concern, and understand the ramifications of the added responsibilities of grandparent caregivers (Cox 2003).

Discussion

From a historical perspective, the phenomenon of grand parenting care giving became a popular topic for research in the 1990's. Although grandparents have always helped raise their grandchildren, the trend for grandparents to become primary caretakers became more noticeable after the 1980's crack cocaine and focused primarily on the African American grandmother caregiver. Almost three decades later, data show that close to 2 million children reside in households headed by their grandparents, who accounted for 55.5% who were aged 0-17 and the number of grandchildren raised by their grandparents has continued to increase.

In most of these cases, actual parental involvement was minimal, or there was no parental involvement at all, which continues to be the current trend. These dramatic changes from the traditional grandparent role to the grandparent caregiver role are due to an increase in substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, divorce, increase in single parent households, mental and physical illnesses, HIV/AIDS, imprisonment, child abuse/neglect, and death (Daly and Glenwick 2000).

Grandparent care giving is an issue for grandparents who range from their 40s to their 70s; for racial groups such as Caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanics; for all socioeconomic groups; and all communities, rural or urban. Grandparent caregivers usually assume this role due to a family crisis or loss. With the unexpected and ambiguous character of the caregiver role, most attitudes and expectations are adapted through socialization. Cox (2003) indicated that this parenting role could flourish by developing new social supports that will help offer encouragement.

While many grandparents are enjoying a well-earned retirement, others face independently raising their grandchildren and encountering daily dilemmas associated with the role of parenting their grandchildren. Grandparent caregivers still report similar challenges and concerns as well as the joys of assuming this second ...