Supporting Grandparents Raising 

Grandchildren: Resources for 

Consumers and Professionals

Prepared by 

The Administration for Community Living

In coordination with

The Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 2

Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... 1

Consumer Resources.......................................................................................................................... 2

Books................................................................................................................................................. 2

National Resources............................................................................................................................ 3

Publications........................................................................................................................................ 4

Video.................................................................................................................................................. 5

Professional Resources ...................................................................................................................... 5

National Resources............................................................................................................................ 5

Publications........................................................................................................................................ 6

Research Papers ............................................................................................................................... 7

Videos................................................................................................................................................ 9
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 1

Introduction

The Congressionally mandated Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (the 

Advisory Council) spent two years understanding how to better support kinship families and grandfamilies. 

Even though they are professionals working in the child advocacy field and grandparents raising children 

themselves, they talked to the experts and they listened to focus groups. They also launched a formal Request 

for Information (RFI) that yielded over 1,900 comments from more than 300 respondents across the nation. 

To identify and document the breadth of emerging best practices to support kin and grandparent caregivers, 

the Advisory Council launched a series of ad hoc work groups in October 2020. These work groups reviewed 

and vetted best practices, resources, and other useful information about kinship families and grandfamilies 

submitted through the RFI.

The RFI specifically sought information, resources, programs, and/or best practices to help kin and 

grandparent caregivers meet the diverse needs of the children in their care, along with similar resources to 

help them maintain their own physical and mental health, as well as their emotional and financial well-being. 

Respondents provided 337 recommended resources. These included 201 state or national programs, 78 

publications, 39 research articles, 13 books, and six videos. Members of the Advisory Council formed a 

workgroup to review these materials and develop resource lists to share with other kin and grandparent 

caregivers. The workgroup, led by Charlotte Stephenson, reviewed the submitted materials in detail to 

determine to what extent each resource could be of value to a wide variety of kinship family and grandfamily 

stakeholders, including policymakers. 

The result of that effort is this document, which includes a list of resources and best practices for kinship 

families and grandfamilies (i.e., consumers) and the professionals who support them. 
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 2

Consumer Resources 

Books

Grandparents as Parents: A Survival Guide for Raising a Second Family

Toledo, Sylvie De, Grandparents as Parents, Second Edition: A Survival Guide for Raising a Second Family. 

New York: Guilford Publications, Incorporated, 2013. 

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk

Faber, Adele and Mazlish, Elaine, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk. New York: Avon 

Books, 1980. (Later versions also available)

Mama Bear, Baby Bear: A Native American Lore

Silvas, Linda, Mama Bear, Baby Bear: A Native American Lore. AuthorHouse, 2005. 

Parenting with Wit and Wisdom in Times of Chaos and Loss

Coloroso, Barbara, Parenting with Wit and Wisdom in Times of Chaos and Loss. Toronto: Penguin Books 

Canada, 1999.

Raising Black Children

 Comer, James and Poussaint, Alvin Francis, Raising Black Children: Two Leading Psychiatrists Confront the 

Educational, Social, and Emotional Problems Facing Black Children. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

Raising Our Children's Children

Doucette-Dudman, Deborah and LaCure, Jeffrey R., Raising Our Children's Children: Room in the Heart. 

United Kingdom: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2014. 

Robert Lives with His Grandparents

Hickman, Martha Whitmore, Robert Lives with His Grandparents. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman and 

Company, 1995.

Second Time Around: Help for Grandparents Who Raise Their Children's Kids

Callander, Joan, Second Time Around: Help for Grandparents Who Raise Their Children's Kids. Wilsonville, 

OR; BookPartners, 1999.

School-Age Parents: The Challenge of Three Generation Living

Lindsay, Jeanne Warren, School-Age Parents: The Challenge of Three Generation Living. Buena Park, CA: 

Glory Press, 1990.

The Grandparent Guide: The Definitive Guide to Coping with the Challenges of Modern Grandparenting

Kornhaber, Arthur, The Grandparent Guide: The Definitive Guide to Coping with the Challenges of Modern 

Grandparenting. New York: McGraw Hill/Contemporary Books, 2002.

The Magic Box: When Parents Can't Be There to Tuck You In

Sederman, Marty and Epstein, Seymour, The Magic Box: When Parents Can't Be There to Tuck You In. 

Magination Press, 2003. 

To Grandma's House, We...Stay

Houtman, Sally, To Grandma’s House, We...Stay. Northridge, CA: Studio 4 Productions, 1999.
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 3 

National Resources

AARP

Membership organization with resources for older people

American Bar Association - Pro Bono Attorneys

Law school pro bono and public service is sweeping the nation. A majority of ABA-accredited law schools now 

have formal pro bono or public service programs with several requiring students to perform varying amounts of 

pro bono work to graduate.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children 

(“Littles”), ages 5 through young adulthood in communities across the country. Develops positive relationships 

that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people.

Boys and Girls Club of America

Provides safe and fun places for kids to grow and thrive.

Boy Scouts of America 

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the nation’s largest and most prominent values-based youth development 

organizations, providing programs for young people that build character.

Catholic Charities USA

Catholic Charities helps people, regardless of faith, who are struggling with poverty and other complex issues.

Facebook - Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

A private place for grandparents that are raising their grandchildren. Offers support, discussions about 

challenges, etc.

The Feeding America Network

The Feeding America Network is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, working to connect 

people with food and end hunger.

Generations United

The mission of Generations United is to improve the lives of children, youth, and older people through 

intergenerational collaboration, public policies, and programs for the enduring benefit of all. Generations United 

has a large Resource Library, which includes publications (fact sheets), presentations, and learning activities. 

Girl Scouts of America

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.

Grandfamilies.org

Serves as a national legal resource in support of grandfamilies within and outside the child welfare system. 

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 

states in the U.S. and in approximately 70 countries. Habitat’s vision is of a world where everyone has a 

decent place to live.
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 4 

National Indian Child Welfare Association

NICWA works to provide the best possible information and resources to families, child welfare workers, 

agencies, tribes, and tribal organizations seeking to provide support and care to Native children and families. 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) 

(TTY Users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 1-800-273-8255) 

Provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a 

day, 7 days a week. En Español: 1-888-628-9454 (Lifeline ofrece 24/7, servicios gratuitos en español, y no es 

necesario hablar inglés si usted necesita ayuda.)

National Respite Locator

The National Respite Locator service helps parents, family caregivers, and professionals find respite services 

in their state and local area to match their specific needs.

YMCA

The YMCA is the leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community by connecting all people to their 

potential, purpose, and each other. Working locally, the YMCA focuses on supporting young people, improving 

health and well-being, and inspiring action in and across communities. 

Publications

AARP: 

• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (Grand Families Guide)

American Bar Association: 

• Free Legal Help

American Psychological Association: 

• Connecting with Caregivers

Generations United: 

• A Fact Sheet for Grandparent and Relative Caregivers to Help Access Support through the Temporary 

Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program

• The Benefits of Social Security for Grandfamilies

• Help for Grandparents and Other Relatives Impacted by Opioids and Other Substance Use

Grandfamilies.org: 

• Resources

The Tax Institute at H&R Block: 

• Tax Benefits for Grandparents

National Community Reinvestment Coalition: 

• Resources for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

National Respite Network and Resource Center: 

• Nine Steps to Respite for Grandfamilies
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 5 

Video

Webinar: Help for Grandfamilies Impacted by Opioids and Other Substance Use

Webinar hosted by Generations United about the impact of opioids and other substance use on grandfamilies 

and shared tools to help these families. Members of grandfamilies shared their challenges and strengths. 

Professional Resources

National Resources

ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center 

The mission of the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center is to assist and promote the 

development of quality respite and crisis care programs; to help families locate respite and crisis care services 

in their communities; and to serve as a strong voice for respite in all forums.

American Association of Caregiving Youth

A nonprofit serving children and adolescents who provide significant or substantial assistance, often on a 

regular basis, to relatives or household members needing help because of a physical or mental illness, 

disability, or frailty. 

Catholic Charities USA

Catholic Charities helps people, regardless of faith, who are struggling with poverty and other complex issues.

Grandfamilies.org

Grandfamilies.org serves as a national legal resource in support of grandfamilies within and outside the child 

welfare system. 

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 

states in the U.S. and in approximately 70 countries. Habitat’s vision is of a world where everyone has a 

decent place to live.

National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC)

Established in 1996, NAC is dedicated to improving quality of life for friend and family caregivers, and those in 

their care, by advancing research, advocacy, and innovation.

National Indian Child Welfare Association

NICWA works to provide the best possible information and resources to families, child welfare workers, 

agencies, tribes, and tribal organizations seeking to provide support and care to Native children and families.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)

(TTY Users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 1-800-273-8255)

Provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a 

day, 7 days a week. En Español: 1-888-628-9454 (Lifeline ofrece 24/7, servicios gratuitos en español, y no es 

necesario hablar inglés si usted necesita ayuda.)

United Way 

United Way’s mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to 

advance the common good.
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 6 

Publications

AARP: 

• Insights and Spending Habits of Modern Grandparents

Highlights the results of two grandparenting studies conducted in 2011. The report provides a snapshot of 

the experiences, triumphs, and challenges of grandparents. 

• Multigenerational Housing Helps 'Grandfamilies' Come Together 

Apartment complexes that offer subsidized housing and community support to grandfamilies.

Başkent University: 

• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Review with Implications for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren 

with Disabilities

This review synthesized the literature from 1990 to 2013 regarding the subject of grandparents raising 

grandchildren, particularly grandchildren with disabilities. 

Generations United: 

• State of Grandfamilies in America Annual Reports

• Adoption and Guardianship for Children in Kinship Foster Care

• Making it Work: Using the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) to Close the Permanency Gap for 

Children in Foster Care

• The Resounding Resilience of Grandfamilies: Financial Stories

• Improving Grandfamilies’ Access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Policy Brief and Summary)

• State Educational and Health Care Consent Laws: Ensure that Children in Grandfamilies Can Access 

Fundamental Services

• The Benefits of Social Security for Grandfamilies 

• Raising the Children of the Opioid Epidemic: Solutions and Support for Grandfamilies (May 2018)

• Fact Sheet for American Indian and Alaska Native Grandfamilies

Generations United and the National Indian Child Welfare Association: 

• American Indian & Alaska Native Grandfamilies: Helping Children Thrive Through Connection to Family 

and Cultural Identity

o Toolkit

o Webinar Resources

National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP: 

• Caregiving in the U.S. 2020

Report, conducted roughly every five years that provides the most recent update to their trended research 

series. 

National Conference of State Legislatures: 

• Supporting Kinship Caregivers (3/26/2020)
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 7 

Psychology Benefits Society: 

• The Work Is Never Done: Mental Health, Mass Incarceration, and African American Custodial 

Grandparents (February, 19, 2019)

National Council on Aging (NCOA): 

• The Impact of the Opioid Epidemic on the Aging Services Network and the Older Adults They Serve

Research Papers

Berrick, J. D., & Boyd, R. (2016). Financial well-being in family-based foster care: Exploring variation in income 

supports for kin and non-kin caregivers in California. Children and Youth Services Review, 69, 166-173.

Chamberlain, P., Price, J. M., Reid, J. B., Landsverk, J., Fisher, P. A., & Stoolmiller, M. (2006). Who disrupts 

from placement in foster and kinship care? Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(4), 409-424.

Chang, J. & Liles, R. (2007). Characteristics of four kinship placement outcome groups and variables 

associated with these kinship placement outcome groups. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24, 509-

522. 

Coakley, T. M., Cuddeback, G., Buehler, C., & Cox, M. E. (2007). Kinship foster parents' perceptions of factors 

that promote or inhibit successful fostering. Children and Youth Services Review, 29(1), 92-109. 

Cross, S., Day, A., & Byers, L. (2010). American Indian grand families: A qualitative study of twenty-nine 

grandmothers and two grandfathers who provide sole care for their grandchildren. Journal of Cross-Cultural 

Gerontology, 25, 371-383.

Cross, S. & Day, A. (2008). American Indian Grand Families: Eight adolescent and grandparent dyads share 

perceptions on various aspects of the kinship care relationship. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in 

Social Work, 17(1), 82-100.

Denby, R.W. (2011). Predicting permanency intentions among kinship caregivers. Child & Adolescent Social 

Work Journal, 28(2), 113-131.

Denby, R.W., Brinson, J.A., Cross, C.L., & Bowmer, A. (2015). Culture and coping: Kinship caregivers’ 

experiences with stress and strain and the relationship to child well-being. Child & Adolescent Social Work 

Journal, 32, 465-479. 

Denby, R.W. (2011). Kinship liaisons: A peer-to-peer approach to supporting kinship caregivers. Children and 

Youth Services Review, 33, 217-225. 

Farber Weismann, J. (Master Thesis: 2016). Impact of support groups on kinship care providers: A project 

based on an investigation at Community Coalition, Los Angeles, California. Smith Scholar Works. 

Feldman, L.H. & Fertig, A. (2013). Measuring the impact of enhanced kinship navigator services for informal 

kinship caregivers using an experimental design. Child Welfare, 92(6), 41-62. 
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 8 

Gleeson, J. P., Hsieh, C., & Cryer-Couplet, Q. (2016). Social support, family competence, and informal kinship 

caregiver parenting stress: The mediating and moderating effects of family resources. Children and Youth 

Services Review, 6732-42 

Green, Y.R. & Gray, M. (2013). Lessons learned from the kinship education and support program (KEPS): 

Developing effective support groups for formal kinship caregivers. Social Work with Groups, 36(1), 27-42. 

Hernandez, L., Magaña, C., Zuñiga, D., James, J., & Lee, S. (2014). Navigating the system: A how-to guide for 

implementing a kinship navigator program. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 8(4), 397-415. 

Lee, E., Clarkson-Hendrix, M., & Lee, Y. (2016). Parenting stress of grandparents and other kin as informal 

kinship caregivers: A mixed methods study. Children and Youth Services Review, 69, 29-38. 

Roe, K.M., Minkler, M., Saunders, F., & Thomson, G.E. (1996). Health of grandmothers raising children of the 

crack cocaine epidemic. Medical Care, 34(11), 1072-84.

Claar, J. (2007). Achieving permanence in foster care for young children: A comparison of kinship and nonkinship placements. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 16(1), 61-94

Pandey, A., Littlewood, K., Cooper, L., McCrae, J., Rosenthal, M., Day, A., & Hernandez, L. (2018). 

Connecting older grandmothers raising grandchildren with community resources improves family resiliency, 

social support, and caregiver self-efficacy. Journal of Women and Aging, 31(3), 269-283.

Gallagher, P.A., Kresak, K., & Rhodes, C.A. (2010). Perceived needs of grandmothers of children with 

disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 30(1). 

Wallace, G.W. (2016). A family right to care: Charting the legal obstacles. GrandFamilies: The Contemporary 

Journal of Research, Practice and Policy, 3(1).

Schwartz, A. (2008). Connectivity complexity: African American adolescents and the relational context of 

kinship foster care. Child Welfare, 87(2), 77-97.

Schwartz, A. (2010). "Nobody knows me no more": Experiences of loss among African American adolescents 

in kinship and non-kinship foster care placements. Race and Social Problems, 2(1), 31-49.

Stanik, C. (2018). Collateral damage of the opioid crisis: Grandparents raising grandchildren – what they need 

and how to help. Altarum. 

Sutphin, S.T. (2015). Using kinship navigators to assess the needs of kinship caregivers. GrandFamilies: The 

Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy, 2(1), 50-74.

Woodruff, K., Murray, K., & Rushovich, B. (2014). Kinship caregiver perception of a state-supervised kinship 

navigator program. Journal of Family Social Work, 17(2), 136-153.

Zinn, A. (2009). Foster family characteristics, kinship, and permanence. Social Service Review, 83(2), 185. 
Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Resources for Consumers and Professionals | ACL | Page 9 

Videos

The Face of Kinship Care: Documentary

A documentary that “portrays the compelling and inspiring stories of three kinship families and the love and 

devotion they show to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”

Family Center Services Breakfast Video

Nashville Family and Children Services video about helping grandparents raise grandchildren.

Help for Grandfamilies Impacted by Opioids and Other Substance Use

Webinar hosted by Generations United about the impact of opioids and other substance use on grandfamilies 

and shared tools to help these families. Members of grandfamilies shared their challenges and strengths. 

Opioids & Addiction | Aging Matters | NPT Reports

This episode of NPT Reports: Aging Matters takes a look at the challenges of addiction in older adults.