Friday, January 6, 2017

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren


By Sue Schneider, Larimer County Extension

More grandparents are raising their grandchildren than ever before. In Larimer County, approximately 3 to 5% of children under the age of 18 live in grandparent headed homes[i]. In most cases, biological parents are unable to provide care because of death, physical or mental illness, incarceration, drug use, child abuse or neglect, deployment and other economic reasons[ii]. Often grandparents assume caregiving responsibilities on a moment’s notice. These situations place significant stress on grandparents and may exacerbate chronic illness, depression, and financial hardship.

Larimer County has long been active in building supports for grandparents raising their grandchildren. In 2007, the Larimer County Alliance for Grandfamilies was formed. This group still meets monthly to support grandfamily programs and services in our county. Additionally, the Grand Family Coalition is a network of grandparents and other kin raising kin that offers community activities, educational support, support groups, youth mentor programs, and a peer to peer support program. Most recently, the GRANDcares program was initiated with funding from the USDA/NIFA Children Youth and Families At-Risk (CYFAR) grant mechanism to CSU and Extension. GRANDcares supports grandfamilies through a 6-week educational class called Powerful Tools for Caregivers – Grandfamilies. The class focuses on self-care and helping grandparents manage the stress of raising their grandchildren.

GRANDcares is currently inviting grandfamilies to register for the upcoming Powerful Tools for Caregivers – Grandfamilies class. The kick-off and welcome session will be held on Friday January 20 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at SummitStone Health Partners (114 Bristlecone Dr., Fort Collins). Subsequent classes will take place from January 27 to March 3 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. This program is free to attend and childcare may be provided. For more information or to register, please contact Jana Carson at 970-491-8204 or by email at Jana.Carson@colostate.edu. If you are interested but cannot attend the January session, please reach out to Jana to inquire about the upcoming March –May, 2017 program (specific dates TBA).

Grandfamilies often do not know where to start seeking resources or whom to reach out to when they are struggling. We need your help to change this fact. No grandfamily should struggle in isolation. Please share this information on the GRANDcares program as well as the resources below with your co-workers, neighbors, and friends:

·         The Grand Family Coalition (www.grandfamilycoalition.com) is a non-profit organization that supports Kinship Families by providing social groups, day time support groups, mentor programs, and family oriented activities. Call Gail Engel at 970-699-2837 or email gail@grandfamilycoalition.org for more information.

·         Colorado State University’s Grandparents Raising Grandchildren website (grg.colostate.edu/index.php) provides useful resources and reliable, current information on health, education, legal, and parenting resources for grandparents that have taken on the role as primary caregiver for their grandchildren. Contact Christine Fruhauf, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, at (970) 491-1118 or Christine.Fruhauf@ColoState.edu for additional resources.

·         To get involved, join the Larimer County Alliance for Grandfamilies. The LCAG meets on the second Wednesdays of each month from 9:00 – 11:00 am at SummitStone Health Partners, 125 Crestridge St., Fort Collins. Call Gail Engel at 970-699-2837 for more information.




[i]  Compass of Larimer County (2016). Grandparents as caregivers. Fort Collins, CO: Larimer County. Retrieved 6/20/16 from https://web.archive.org/web/20150921223153/http://www.larimer.org/compass/grandparents_demographics.htm

[ii] Hayslip, B. Jr., & Kaminski, P. L. (2005). Grandparents raising their grandchildren: A review of literature and suggestions for practice. The Gerontologist, 45, 262-269. 

No comments:

Post a Comment