Grandfamilies live in every area in the country, and represent all income levels, and all ethnicities. To the left is a picture of President Obama and the grandfather who helped to raise him.
All over the nation and here in Arizona, the number of Grandfamilies has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. In Maricopa County alone, there are 71,000 grandchildren living with their grandparents. In 2010, according to the census, Arizona had 146,732 (9%) grandchildren living with their grandparents. This number is considered to be low due to the ability of the Department of Child Safety getting much better at locating families and the fact that Grandfamilies often are not recognized in cases where a grandchild is adopted or when there is an informal (for one DCS family, there are twenty-five informal) arrangement.
Just as Grandfamilies are diverse in their backgrounds, they come together for a variety of reasons; the adult child may suffer with mental illness, financial instability, substance abuse, be away on military deployment, be incarcerated or may be deceased.
When children are removed by the Department of Child Safety, they will seek out relative placements before placing a child in non-relative foster care. Sadly, most of these children have experienced some form of trauma that resulted in estrangement from their parents
Some of the advantages of placing a child in kinship care vs. traditional foster care are:
1. Reduces loss and attachment disorders buy reducing the trauma children may experience when place with persons unknown to them
2. Reinforces the child’s sense of identity and the self-esteem that comes with knowing about their family history and culture
3. Offers better chance of permanency, with less movement from home to another home (disruption)
4. Preform at a higher academic level and with fewer behavioral problems
*According to research done by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Children removed from their homes after reports of maltreatment have significantly fewer behavior problems three years after placement with relatives than if they are put into foster care.
What do grandparents get out of raising their grandchildren? A strong feeling of purpose, a chance to make an investment in the future of a child, an opportunity to pass on the family history, and the love of a child.
All over the nation and here in Arizona, the number of Grandfamilies has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. In Maricopa County alone, there are 71,000 grandchildren living with their grandparents. In 2010, according to the census, Arizona had 146,732 (9%) grandchildren living with their grandparents. This number is considered to be low due to the ability of the Department of Child Safety getting much better at locating families and the fact that Grandfamilies often are not recognized in cases where a grandchild is adopted or when there is an informal (for one DCS family, there are twenty-five informal) arrangement.
Just as Grandfamilies are diverse in their backgrounds, they come together for a variety of reasons; the adult child may suffer with mental illness, financial instability, substance abuse, be away on military deployment, be incarcerated or may be deceased.
When children are removed by the Department of Child Safety, they will seek out relative placements before placing a child in non-relative foster care. Sadly, most of these children have experienced some form of trauma that resulted in estrangement from their parents
Some of the advantages of placing a child in kinship care vs. traditional foster care are:
1. Reduces loss and attachment disorders buy reducing the trauma children may experience when place with persons unknown to them
2. Reinforces the child’s sense of identity and the self-esteem that comes with knowing about their family history and culture
3. Offers better chance of permanency, with less movement from home to another home (disruption)
4. Preform at a higher academic level and with fewer behavioral problems
*According to research done by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Children removed from their homes after reports of maltreatment have significantly fewer behavior problems three years after placement with relatives than if they are put into foster care.
What do grandparents get out of raising their grandchildren? A strong feeling of purpose, a chance to make an investment in the future of a child, an opportunity to pass on the family history, and the love of a child.
