GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN CONTEMPORARY LIFE IN GRANDPARENT HEADED FAMILIES Nancy Kropf, PhD, MSW Georgia State University

What is Kinship Care?  Kinship care is commonly defined as “the full-time care, nurturing, and protection of a child by relatives, members of their Tribe or clan, godparents, stepparents, or other adults who have a family relationship to a child.” Source: out/definitions/ out/definitions/  Kinship may be formal or informal  See more here:

Formal vs. Informal Kinship Care  Formal Kinship is the placement of children with relatives by the state; the kin have physical custody, but the state child welfare agency retains legal custody of the child.  Informal Kinship are arrangements made by parents and other family without ongoing involvement from either the child welfare system or juvenile court system.  The kin caregivers in this situation may have trouble enrolling children in school, obtaining health insurance, etc. unless they have legal custody  Read more here:

Legal Issues  Formal Care Arrangement  Grandparents are foster parents or adopted child  If foster parents, state still retains custody  May receive lower foster care payment than non-kin caregivers  Informal Care Arrangement  Parents of children retain legal rights  Grandparents have limited decision- making such as medical consent  Limited financial benefits (TANF)

Reasons for Informal Care  Only 29% of grandchildren in grandparent custody receive foster care or child only payments (Van Etten, & Gautam, 2012)  Why?  Stigma  Mistrust of formal systems and foster parent role  Belief that children will be taken from their care  Reluctance to “give up” on the child’s parents  Enter care role at time of crisis

Profile of Custodial Grandparents  Under age %  Race/Ethnicity  White/not Hispanic - 51%  African American - 22%  Hispanic/Latino - 20%  Asian - 3%  Gender (female) - 62%  Married - 66%  Caregiver 5+ years - 36% CharacteristicsContexts  Poverty level -19%  Labor force participation - 56 %  Geographic region  South - 42%  Other - 58%  Urban/rural  Non-SMA (rural) - 26%  SMA (urban) - 74% Source: Pew Research Center: GrandFacts: Grandfamilies Statistics:

Who are the Grandparents?  Historical trends  “Off time” caregiving and “skipped generation” households  7.7 million children in the United States, or1 in 10, were living with a grandparent in 2011  Of those children, approximately 3 million were cared for primarily by a grandparent  Disproportionate impact on African Americans Source: grandmothers-house-we-stay/

Understanding Cultural Issues: Latino Families  Language barriers  Immigration status and access to services  Cultural issues across generations  Grandchildren more “Americanized”  Grandparents’ lack of familiarity with US systems and customs (e.g., school, child welfare) (Pew Research Center, 2013)  Associated risks of low education level, poverty, and poor health status of grandparents

Understanding Cultural Issues: African American Families  Historical experience of being “kinkeepers” and extended families (Gibson, 2002)  Disproportionately represented in custodial grandparents (Kropf & Yoon, 2006)  Experience with service sections  Fear of having grandchildren taken by child welfare (Goodman & Silverstein, 2002)  May have limited involvement with educational system (Sands & Goldberg-Glen, 2000; Whitley, Kelley, and Sipe, 2001)

Understanding Cultural Issues : Native American Families  Role of elder in Native as transmitter of native culture to younger generations  Importance of transmitting culture, values, and traditions to grandchildren (Henderson, Dinh, Morgan, & Lewis, 2015)  High levels of poverty  High levels of substance use – implications for raising grandchildren with FAS, behavior issues  Need for legal assistance with custodial issues (Kopera- Frye, 2009)

Percentages of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren across U.S.* *

Reasons for Grandparent Caregiving Substance abuse – crack and meth Incarceration HIV/AIDS Child abuse and/or neglect Abandonment Divorce Death Teenage motherhood Unemployment/employment out of area/military Mental illness Homelessness Poverty

Pathways Into Care * *Kropf, N. P. & Robinson, M. M. (2004). Pathways into caregiving for rural custodial grandparents. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 2(1), Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren Co-Residential Pathway Incremental Pathway Immediate Pathway

Co-Residential Pathway  Reasons:  New Opportunities  Family Conflict  Child Stability  Consequences:  Role Confusion  Re-Establishing Family Norms  Negotiating Parent/Child Interactions Definition – When grandparents and grandchildren reside in a multigenerational household with the parent(s) present. Due to circumstances, the parent(s) leaves and the child stays.

Incremental Pathway Reasons:  Inadequacies  Child Betterment  Consequences:  Complex Decision- Making  Divided Loyalties  Co-residential Transition Issues Definition – When grandparents have been making increasing steps to provide care for grandchildren. Starts out with some level of caregiving, and emerges into a primary care situation.

Immediate Pathway  Reasons:  Abandonment  Violence  Consequences:  Multiple Family Crises  Grief, Loss, Anger  No Preparation Definition – When there is a sudden need for grandparents to assume the care of grandchildren. Often, there is little preparation for the role and few resources are in place to assume care.

Stresses of Caregiving  Economic  Costs of care  Opportunity costs  Physical  Health conditions  Self-care strategies  Emotional  Depression and isolation  Loyalty binds  Loss and grief  Read more here: andparents_Raising_Grandchildren.aspx andparents_Raising_Grandchildren.aspx

Rewards of Caregiving  Another Chance – being able to raise grandchildren with “better outcomes”  Kin-keeping – transmission of family, culture, heritage to grandchildren. Keep children in their family.  Avoiding foster care – fear of the formal foster care system and outcomes for grandchildren  Valued social role- caregiving viewed as an important role for their family

Family Dynamics  “Revolving Door Syndrome”  Role confusion  Re-abandonment Issues  Relationship to other family members  Impact on marriage/partnership  Other grandchildren

Policy Responses  Increase resources to kinship caregivers who are in informal roles  Case management, financial support, respite  Decision-making for grandchild well-being  Institute free navigator services (exist in some places) to help grandparents with decision-making and access to services  Raise awareness of grandparents in service sections – health, mental health, aging  Provide Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and other payments to caregiving families who raise children informally  Read more about financial assistance here: