Custodial Grandparents: Stress From Raising Grandchildren

Increasing Number of Grandparents Becoming Custodial Grandparents to their Grandchildren

Custodial Grandparents Have Higher Stress Levels than Grandparents Who Are not Caregivers of their Grandchildren According to Recent Studies

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance.  They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life.  And, most importantly, cookies.

~ Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

custodial grandparents grandchildrenI believe Mayor Giuliani’s wonderful quote about grandparents resonates in most of our hearts when we think of our own grandparents.  However, in today’s society we are seeing an increasing number of grandparents becoming custodial grandparents to their grandchildren.  Custodial grandparent or grandparents are best defined as grandparents who take over as the primary caretaker to their grandchildren.  Collectively, custodial grandparents often face a number of different and unique difficulties associated with the caring of their grandchildren, when compared to the traditional nuclear family structure of two birth parents raising and caring for their children. Some of these difficulties include increase of stress in their day-to-day lives, financial struggles due to fixed incomes, and health related limitations as custodial grandparents are usually at a different stage in life when caring for the children.  This article will … Read More... “Custodial Grandparents: Stress From Raising Grandchildren”

Information & Resources Available to Grandparents with Custody of Grandchildren

There are many sites listing resources available for grandfamilies and grandparents having custody of children. One of the most comprehensive lists is included in the Generations United website. It lists national organizations and resources that might be of benefit.

Here is a list of Ohio programs that might be of assistance:

  • The Kinship Navigator Program is available in several counties in Ohio through county and community-based organizations. Navigators are available to provide information and referrals for other programs in the community for grandparents and other relatives. Service links may include health supports, educational services, financial resources, child care, legal services, support groups, and respite care. In some cases, the programs sponsor activities and specialized services for caregivers and children. To see if there is a program in your county, contact your local Department of Job and Family Services or call Kristen Burgess, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, at (614) 752-1329 or burgek01@odjfs.state.oh.us.
  • The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has published a statewide resource guide for kinship families, Relatives Caring for Children: Ohio Resource Guide. Information is provided about the availability of programs for kinship providers through local agencies. Contact: Help Desk, Office of Children
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Financial Resources Available for Grandparents with Custody of Their Grandchildren

Raising children takes a lot of money. There is some goods news. Many people are not aware that there are “public benefits” programs available which could help many grandfamilies pay for food and electricity or other monthly expenses including health insurance. The AARP Foundation has established an outreach program and has a new online tool called “BenefitsQuickLINK” and this tool can help adults who are over 50 years old find out if they or the children in their care qualify for any of the 15 benefits included in the tool.

To read the article about the work that AARP is doing and more details on these benefits, go to: Help for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

 

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Grandparent Custody Issues From a Lawyer’s Viewpoint

Grandparents Gaining “Custody” of Their Grandchildren: Why? How? Where?

In an ideal world, children should be reared by a loving and caring two-parent family, having both a Father and a Mother, with plenty of caring relatives to assist with parenting activities during times of stress, need, or illness. Today, we are seeing more and more Grandparents taking on the responsibility of primary child-rearing of their Grandchild or Grandchildren. For the sake of brevity, this article is directed to Grandparents seeking “custody” of one Grandchild though they may, in fact, be seeking “custody” of several Grandchildren. Why are we seeing and reading about this happening or phenomenon?

    1. Some parents have problems with untreated mental illness. Our firm recently assisted Grandparents in gaining “temporary custody” of their young Grandson as the child’s Mother has Bipolar Disorder, aka Manic Depressive Disorder. When she adhered to her medication regime, she could provide safe and effective parenting for her Son. When she decided to discontinue her psychotropic medications, symptoms of her mental illness returned and she was not capable of providing for the needs of her Son.

 

  • Some parents have problems with alcoholism and other addictions. Persons who become physiologically and psychologically dependent upon
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Grandparent Custody Issues From a Psychologist’s Viewpoint

Parenting Role Can Take Toll On Grandparents

Derek is an overwhelming challenge to his caregivers. He is active, curious and extremely talkative. Derek is a picky eater, occasionally wets the bed and is an endless bundle of energy. In short, Derek is a normal 3-year-old boy, so why was a psychologist seeing him?

The issue wasn’t really about Derek, but his family. Derek’s dad was absent, and his mom was in a drug rehab program. Derek was being raised by two loving grandparents in their early 60s. When confronted with the choice of foster home placement or caring for their grandson, the grandparents obtained custody of Derek. The grandparents were generally in good health and totally committed to their grandson. Even so, they struggled with the challenges of raising a toddler.

Derek’s situation is not uncommon. Primarily, grandparents raise about 2.5 million children. Twenty-nine percent of these grandparents are more than 60 years of age, and 19 percent of them live in poverty. For 1 million of these children, grandparents are raising these kids for five or more years.

I’ve worked with numerous grandparents who are raising children, and I’ve found them to be the most committed and dedicated people … Read More... “Grandparent Custody Issues From a Psychologist’s Viewpoint”