Search

This paper explores, through the use of narrative data, ways in which older parents respond to the realization that they never will become grandparents. Stated reactions range from unresolved grief...

Over the last two decades, the number of grandparents caring for their grandchildren has grown exponentially. The 2010 census revealed that 7.5 million children lived with a grandparent. This article is based on a study to find out from grandparents in the southwest region of the United States the circumstances that led to caring for their grandchild, needs and challenges in their role, and finally, to examine the level of stress they experience as a result of the parenting role. Based on the findings, recommendations related to social work practice and policy are provided. Additionally, the need to educate social workers in competency-based education is highlighted.

Knowledge about the parents of older first-time entrants into foster care is embedded in fictions created by media images, anecdotal stories of professionals in the child welfare system, as well as reports and observations of youths who have experienced foster care. Even though there are caring and effective nonrelatives who are foster parents, the public perception of non-relative foster parents is sometimes quite negative. In order to separate some of the facts from some of the fictions about the parents/caregivers of older first-time entrants to foster care, this article will describe the parents and relative caregivers (grandparents and others) of older first-time entrants to foster care in an urban public welfare agency by examining maltreatment data.

African American grandparents serve important roles as surrogate parents. Historically they are honored and recognized for their extraordinary service in augmenting the child welfare system. This article provides a contemporary view of the significant number of African American grandparents who serve as surrogate parents. Their assets and challenges are discussed. Following on the work by Dr. Linda Burton and collaborators in 1995, this article addresses the relationship between temporal context, developmental context, and ethnic/racial context of the life course as it relates to grandparenthood in the twenty-first century. In addition to the discussion of African American grand-parenting trends, challenges and benefits in the twenty-first century, the article presents implications of these contexts for the surrogate parenting by older African Americans relative to social work education, research, and policy.

An estimated 1.5 million children have a parent held in a state or federal prison in the United States, an increase of more than half a million since 1991. Many of these children have disruptions in familial relationships such as growing up in foster care, with grandparents or other relatives, or moving around among an array of temporary caretakers. Incarcerated parents have few opportunities for parenting from the inside, and they worry about the impact of their separation on their children. Children of African American families are hit particularly hard. Nearly half the parents behind bars are Black; another 20% are Hispanic. As these parents struggle to make a fresh start, they will encounter myriad legal barriers that may make it extraordinarily difficult for them to succeed in caring for their children.

The 2000 U.S. Census reported there were 158.9 million people ages 30 and older living in households in the United States, of whom 5.8 million (or 3.6%) were co-resident grandparents, defined as living with grandchildren younger than 18. Among these findings, 2.4 million (42%) were also grandparent caregivers. It is estimated that 1 in 10 grandparents will be the primary caregiver for at least 6 months for a grandchild before the child's eighteenth birthday. This article will discuss some of the challenges and hardships that these grandparents are faced with while raising their grandchildren. In addition, some attention to practice and policy are looked at to provide assistance to grandparents and kinship that may be raising relatives. There will be financial burden, worry, health issues, and freedom restrictions for this population. Many of these families may not be aware of programs, services, and resources that are available to them.

Little is known about the living conditions of grandparents raising grandchildren and how such environments may impact their emotional well-being. Using a probability sample of 465 grandparent caregivers, multivariate analyses showed no statistically significant main effect between grandparents' perceived neighborhood conditions and their emotional well-being. However, a statistically significant interaction effect indicated that increasing levels of perceived neighborhood risk decreases grandparents' emotional well-being among permanent, rather than non-permanent, grandparent caregivers. Findings are discussed, and practice implications suggest neighborhood conditions should be addressed in psychosocial assessments protocols used to understand the needs of this underserved population.

This study examined the association between religiosity, conflict in the mother-daughter relationship, and depressive symptoms among 83 African American and white grandmothers. Interviews were conducted during the early stages of adaptation to grandparenthood due to the birth of a baby to a teenage daughter. The results of this study suggest that religiosity is associated with less depressive symptoms. In addition, religiosity moderates the relationship between conflict and depressive symptoms for African American grandmothers. Specifically, highly religious African American grandmothers experiencing low conflict with their daughters reported lower depressive symptoms than those who were less religious. These findings were not evident for white grandmothers. The implications of these findings for grandmothers in families with teenage mothers are discussed within the context of race, religiosity, family relationships, and psychological well-being.

Child welfare workers are increasingly seeking formal kinship placements with grandparents when the child's biological parents can no longer provide a stable environment. Using a non-probability purposive sample (N = 55), this study explores whether or not caregiver well being is effected by the type of kinship care arrangement (formal vs. informal). The findings suggest that grandparents in formal kinship care arrangements experienced feelings of depression less often, were more satisfied with their parenting experiences and were observed to have a greater sense of satisfaction with life. Implications of these findings are discussed.

There is a growing number of grandparents faced with the need to raise their grandchildren as a result of the military deployment of their own child. This is a descriptive study that examines the experiences of 23 grandmothers who are providing full time child care to their grandchildren. Results suggest that these grandparents are experiencing problematic levels of stress as well as changes in both intimate and social relationships.

In the traditional Chinese culture, the grandparent role is highly anticipated because of the high value and status accorded to that role. Old age is looked forward to as a time when an elder is venerated by younger generations because of the elder's clearly defined position within the family. In today's China, these aging traditions are on the decline and, at the same time, the older generation is on the increase. China's one-child policy and the resulting decline in fertility rates are raising concerns about how a shrinking younger generation will care for an expanding older generation. Because of this emphasis on caregiving, the effect that these cultural and demographic changes may have upon older generations is receiving less attention. Yet, they could very well have various psychosocial and quality of life outcomes for Chinese elders. This article discusses demographic and cultural changes and their effect upon the traditional grandparent role for Chinese elders.

This study describes a group of seven, urban African American grandmother caregivers' perceptions of family resources. Data for this ethnography design were collected through participant observation, field notes, taped interviews and a genogram to capture those who were available and unavailable to provide support. The identification of themes yielded that grandmothers could only depend upon family members with resources; sons were viewed as most reliable and dependable; and family members were unable to contribute when managing their own problems. The study results suggest intergenerational programs aimed at the family system is important for meeting the needs of grandmother caregivers.

The number of grandparents who are raising grandchildren has risen dramatically as the result of several social trends. Within this article, diversity aspects of this population are explored including characteristics of the grandparents and grandchildren. In addition, support groups, the primary intervention for custodial grandparents, are overviewed with specific attention to models that have relevance for subpopulations of care providers. Finally, child welfare and kinship care policies are examined and critiqued from a diversity perspective.

Increasing numbers of middle aged and older adults are raising their grandchildren as a result of complex family problems, and a majority of these caregivers are women. Precipitating problems such as drug abuse, child neglect or parental incarceration are difficult social problems that cause unique caregiving problems for grandparents who step in to stabilize a chaotic family situation. In-depth interviews were conducted with 37 women who were raising grandchildren. Results indicate that grandmothers who raise their grandchildren experience both burdens and benefits from their roles as family caregivers. Increased understanding about the special needs and problems of this group of family caregivers will enhance practice effectiveness with these multi-generational families.

Estimates suggest that there may be over one million children in the United States who are being raised solely by their grandparents. Research in the area of grandparents raising grandchildren in homes where the parents are absent is still sparse, but researchers are beginning to see the importance of understanding these family forms, reasons for increasing numbers, and problems that are experienced by both the grandparents and grandchildren. In this article, the current literature on the issues surrounding this population is presented and the gaps in the literature are discussed. An outline for a case management model for grandparents raising grandchildren in a rural setting is then presented. These guidelines are organized into 10 areas of need that emerged during the intervention period, and include questions to cover during the assessment process, example interventions, and case vignettes