But for children to successfully be raised by grandparents and other family members, more support is needed, experts say. A lot of people are talking about the issues, but I'm not seeing any more long-term commitments to the help. Legal proceedings involved in such cases can be challenging to the most sophisticated grandparents, he said. Maybe they had been to court once or twice in their lives for a traffic ticket and they haven't a clue about the legal system. Then they experience what I call a drive-by.
Days turn into weeks and months and years.
Grandparents are faced with deciding whether to go to court to seek temporary guardianship, permanent guardianship or adoption. Most do nothing. Laura Henderson has a few words with Willie before he leaves for school. Willie and his brother, Jamaal, have been living with Henderson and her husband, William, for the past eight years. There is often fear and shame on the part of the grandparents.