America’s grandparents are being called upon more and more to raise their grandchildren. According to Census 2000, over 4.5 million infants, youngsters and teens live in households headed by a grandparent (over 200,000 children in Illinois live with a grandparent). The Causes Drug or alcohol abuse among natural parents is often the reason grandparents have to step in and take over the raising of grandchildren. Nearly half (44 percent in 1998) of the youngsters cared for by grandparents are there because of their parent’s substance abuse. Another 28 percent live with grandparents because of child abuse, neglect or abandonment and 11 percent because of the death of a parent or parents. Another 4 percent of the children stay with grandparents because of divorce of the natural parents. Many children live with their grandparents for other reasons, such as illness of a parent or because the real parent is jailed, hospitalized or institutionalized. The Children Grandparents are being called upon to raise grandchildren of all ages. The largest group of children (51 percent in 1998) are preschoolers or under six years old, while 29 percent – ages 6 through 11 – attend elementary school. Adolescents – ages 12 to 17 – make up another 20 percent. The number of grandparents raising grandchildren is growing dramatically. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of children who lived in a grandparent household increased by 76 percent between 1970 and 1997 (2.2 million in 1970 and 3.9 million in 1997.) Actual growth was probably much higher since many caregiving arrangements are informal and therefore escape the attention of governmental agencies. In 1997, 3.8 percent of white children, or 1.6 million and 15.6 percent of African-American children, or 1.4 million lived with grandparents. In the Hispanic community, the total was 7.4 percent or 662,000 children. Just over 6 percent of children of other racial and ethnic backgrounds, or 194,000 children lived with grandparents. The Caregivers Mostly women (2.3 million in 1998) although some grandfathers (1.4 million) are involved in parenting. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of the grandparents are married. Almost half (43 percent in 1998) of caregiving grandparents live in the South. The remainder are divided between the Northwest (19 percent), Midwest (17 percent), and West Coast (21 percent). One of every five caregiving grandparent lives in rural areas or small towns. As a rule, these caregivers have fewer resources on which to draw than their counterparts in major metropolitan areas. The Problems More than 28 percent of grandmothers and 4 percent of grandfathers caring for their grandchildren do so without the help of a spouse. The overwhelming majority of grandparents raising grandchildren must do so on limited incomes. In fact, the 1998 median income for grandparent caregiving households is $19,750. Almost half (46 percent) live on fixed incomes. But nearly two-thirds of caregiving grandparents (64 percent) do so without public assistance. More than half (57 percent) of grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren alone have incomes below the poverty level. To a great extent, the lack of public help stems from the complexity of the system. And, once applied for, help can be a long time coming. In some areas, it can take up to three months for an application for Supplemental Security Income to bear fruit. Child day care can also be a major problem for grandparents. More than half of caregiving grandparents work making child day care a necessity. But it can be very costly. In many areas where subsidized child day care is available, assistance is only for working parents, not working grandparents. Caregiving also takes an emotional toll on grandparents. There can be shame and guilt over the failure of their children to carry out their parenting responsibilities. These emotions often are mixed with resentment, betrayal, anger, grief, and fear of the future, not only for themselves but for their grandchildren. Grandparents can become frustrated at today’s child-raising philosophies which differ from their own approaches. More than one-third of all caregiving grandparents did not graduate from high school, making a youngster’s daily homework assignments or special school projects a source of frustration. Many caregiving grandparents end up resenting the situation - and understandably so. Being the primary caregiver for grandchildren is not the way most grandparents plan to spend their retirement. Legal hurdles also can pose problems. Registering a grandchild in school, providing health care, protecting a grandchild from an abusive parent - all can require obtaining legal custody of the grandchildren. And that’s not always easy. Parents, no matter how neglectful of their children, can be reluctant to give up custody, creating a situation which can only be settled in court. Since most states have “parental preference laws,” it can be extremely difficult to convince a judge a child belongs with someone else - even if that someone else is a loving grandparent. That often leaves the grandparent with no choice but to convince the court that the biological parents are unfit - often an extremely traumatic step. Money also can be a stumbling block for a grandparent seeking custody of a grandchild. Someone trying to make ends meet on Social Security can have a hard time convincing a judge he or she can properly provide for the child. A child’s problems may have caused the grandparent to take over caregiving. Many of these grandchildren also have unmet developmental or emotional needs which require special education or social services. ### Source: Grandparents as Parents, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, June, 1998 (some updates made on 11/02) Use this link to view data for Southern Illinois Return to Grandparents Resource Guide |
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