Activities, discussions, and videos were used to help individuals better understand the legal and policy issues facing grandparents who are caring for their grandchildren. The information presented below is provided as a follow-up to the conference and includes key statistical facts, a legislative update, and related resources.
Grandmothers raising grandchildren alone are especially vulnerable to economic hardship.
The addition of a grandchild into a near-poverty level household can push the grandparents into poverty. In many cases, states created policies that were not sensitive to the unique needs of grandparents caring for grandchildren in their homes. Such policies adversely affected the amount of benefits grandparents were eligible to receive, time limits for receipt of assistance, work requirements for grandparents, and child support enforcement. Recently, states have begun to pass laws supporting grandparents raising grandchildren. Allows grandparents the chance to become the child s legal guardian.