The Mayor said the program will provide a respite for the ever-increasing number of grandparents raising grandchildren, and will link them with valuable support networks and service providers.
Grandparents know how to raise children, because they've done it before.
But they don't have as much energy as they once did, and they can use a few hours rest while their grandchild is away at pre-school. And grandparents often feel isolated from parents, teachers and service providers. This program will connect them with people and agencies who can provide them and their grandchildren with help they need with counselors, social workers and other professionals. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of grandparent-headed families, with no parent present in the home, increased by 53 percent nationwide from 1990 to 1998. In Illinois, more than 165,000 children under the age of 18 were living in their grandparents' homes in 1990, according to the Census Bureau.