GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - 25
grandfamilies
Grand heroes
BY JAIA PETERSON, GENERATIONS UNITED
I
t takes a special kind of heroism and loving devotion
to step up to the responsibility of raising children
when their parents cannot. Our society owes
a debt of gratitude to the millions of grandparents
- maybe you're one of them - who step up for a
second tour of duty as voluntary caregivers in what
are known as " kinship families " or " grandfamilies. "
" Tour of duty " isn't precisely the right metaphor
- but in some ways the term is apt, because
the caregiving mission - guiding kids safely
through their childhoods - is so important, and
because there are so many perils to overcome
and so much bravery required along the way.
" If you are among the many people in the
U.S. caring for your grandkids, thank you! "
Grandparents who have done it don't need
to be told - the benefits and supports our
society has built to meet children's basic needs
can be very hard to find when caregivers are
not parents or legal guardians.
My organization, Generations United, has
worked hard to highlight and tackle those challenges
and to defend those who step up as caregivers
in grandfamilies. If you are among the
many people in the U.S. caring for your grandkids,
thank you! And know that there are many
advocates fighting for your rights and better
policies and systems to support families like
yours.
In December, we released our 2021 report on
the state of grandfamilies in the United States. It
contains a lot of difficult and distressing truths
- grandfamilies simply aren't considered nor
supported adequately by our country's family-support
policies and systems, even as the
pandemic has made existing inequities worse.
For example, according to a study published
25 GRAND Winter 2022
in Pediatrics late last year, the pandemic
has had a devastating effect on families with
children. Between April 2020 and the end of June
2021, more than 140,000 children had lost a parent
or grandparent caregiver to the virus, with a higher
incidence of death among families of color. Life
is already difficult for grandfamilies, and the pandemic
has created many more of them. So, too, has
the worsening epidemic of drug-overdose deaths.
Furthermore, as our report explains, child-welfare
systems often don't recognize - or willfully dismiss
- the needs of grandfamilies. When children
cannot be cared for by their parents, child welfare
agencies routinely place children in the homes of
relatives. But the agencies regularly fail to provide
them the necessary support and services available
to traditional foster parents.
Continued on next page
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https://www.gu.org/resources/state-of-grandfamilies-report-2021/
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022
Contents
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - Cover1
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - 2
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - A
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - 3
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - Contents
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - 5
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - 6
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - 7
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - 8
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - 9
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - 10
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2022 - B
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