Providing Critical Tools Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
By Rolanda Pyle, MSW, Director, The New York City Department for the Aging's Grandparent Resource Center
Increasingly, grandparents and older relatives are the primary caregivers of children. According to the U.S. Census, almost 4 million children were raised in grandparent headed households in 1997. As with other forms of caregiving, many complex factors affect grandparent relationships and their ability to parent. This trend brings about many challenges and issues, including the need for financial and legal assistance, intergenerational understanding and emotional support.
In the first Mayoral Conference, "Unplanned Parenthood: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren" sponsored by the New York City Department for the Aging in September 1993, intergenerational caregiving and the many challenges inherent in this issue were explored. The Department's Grandparent Resource Center (GRC) was initiated in 1994. During the eight years since its inception, the Center has reached out to countless grandparents who are raising grandchildren and who need services to help them succeed in this new role. Grandparents who call the Center's hotline speak to a resource specialist or social work intern who helps them with entitlements, health benefits, legal referrals, respite services, emotional support and emergency assistance. The grandparents also receive help to negotiate aging, child welfare, educational, legal and social service delivery systems, as well as obtain targeted services for children who need counseling or have special needs.
The Center continuously updates resource and referral information for grandparent caregivers and offers a resource directory that provides information on agencies with services tailored to grandparent-headed families. A support group guide listing grandparent support groups throughout New York City is also available. Technical assistance is provided to meet the needs of community-based agencies seeking direction and information about how to best serve grandparent caregivers.
Starting grandparent support groups
Hundreds of professionals have been trained over the last six years at a technical assistance workshop, "How to Start a Grandparent Support Group," that covers topics such as selecting a meeting site, open versus closed membership meetings, how to publicize the group, self help, group dynamics, outreach techniques and keeping the group focused. Group leaders receive ongoing training and exchange ideas and information through a Grandparent Support Group Facilitator's Network, which meets bi-monthly. Training has included such topics as group work skills, emotional needs of grandparents, legal entitlements and mutual self-help in support groups. Two workshop curriculums for support groups were developed with the assistance and input of a highly committed Grandparent Advisory Board.
Bringing it home to the community
In recent years, a focus has been to bring services to communities where grandparents live. Grandparents who request assistance are always referred to community-based services where and when available. Collaboration with both public and private stakeholders has been key in developing neighborhood-based services. One challenge has been to promote trust between grandparent caregivers and child welfare services. The GRC works closely with the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) to promote their supportive services, both protective and preventive, which will assist in keeping these families united.
Grandparent Information Forums are held throughout the five New York City boroughs. These forums, hosted by community-based organizations, provide information on legal issues, entitlements, kinship foster care, health care and other relevant topics to caregivers. ACS and the Brookdale Center on Aging's Grandparent Caregiver Law Center participate in all forums. United Way provided initial funding to form coalitions of support groups in each borough to actively plan and conduct activities for grandparents and their families.
The GRC has also collaborated with the State University at Albany to examine the needs of grandparents caring for children with developmental disabilities and delays; with Fordham University and ACS conducting focus groups to explore elder abuse in the homes of grandparent caregivers and with the Beth Israel Hospital Center to provide on-site comprehensive medical care to grandparents and the children they are raising.
Grandparents often lack the funds and energy for recreational activities for themselves and/or the grandchildren. The GRC has provided numerous recreational activities including trips and holiday parties. An annual holiday toy drive last year provided more than 500 toys and books for grandchildren during the Christmas season.
In order to assist grandparents in meeting some of the legal challenges inherent in grandparent caregiving, the Department drafted legislation to grant grandparents and other relative caregivers the authority to consent to medical services for grandchildren and to participate in school -based activities. This legislation is pending.
A holistic approach
The concept underlying the GRC includes the recognition that in order to develop stable and healthy grandparent caregiver families, the needs of the entire family must be met. This includes, but is not limited to assisting grandparents in meeting critical needs, provision of emotional support, recreational activities for relative caregivers and children, respite care, family and individual counseling, therapeutic activity and support groups, information and referral, advocacy, case management and meeting the "concrete" needs of the family (i.e. beds and clothing) and family conferencing.
When working with grandparent caregiver families, a social work education and background is key to the ability to make professional judgments regarding the needs of the family. Outreach, engagement and assessment skills are critical to begin planning and providing services to the families. Dialogue must occur among social workers in all involved systems to maximize on the families strengths and make informed decisions. Social workers in both aging and child welfare can benefit from cross systems training to effectively service the entire family. On a macro level social workers can advocate for policy and legislation that empower and assist grandparents raising grandchildren.
One of the main challenges to social workers assisting grandparent caregiver families is the lack and shrinkage of resources, such as respite care or intergenerational housing, resulting from the current fiscal constraints. Another challenge continues to be the complexity of laws, rules and regulations and agency requirements. Social workers must continue to be on the front lines in assisting these families in negotiating systems to gain access to services.
This is only a beginning in what is a growing phenomenon. In order to meet the expanding need, we need social worker and professionals, utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to advance public awareness, and to develop programs, research, and supportive policies and services for grandparents raising grandchildren.
The New York City Department for the Aging Grandparent Resource Center - (212) 442-1094.