Caring for the Next Generation

Posted by Grand Daughters Rising

With so many grandparents stepping in as full-time caregivers for their grandchildren, local support programs are in demand.

According to Kinship Care Ohio, there are some 86,000 grandparents acting as primary caregivers for children in Ohio alone (Source: wlwt.com).

Photo credit: amslerPIX / Foter / CC BY-NC

If you live in Ohio, there is the Kinship Permanency Incentive program (KPI) which offers support to children “in the homes of family or friends who have committed to caring for them when [their] birth parents cannot” (KPI). Sadly, a large number of grandparents raising grandchildren are unaware of the services available to them.

Information about the program and the eligibility requirements can be found at the KPI’s website at: https://jfs.ohio.gov/ocf/kinship_care.stm

According to an article in Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News, the KPI program has provided “$3.5 million-$4 million each year to some 7,000 children to help with the costs of caring for them.”

In addition there are free support services such as Ohio Grandparent and Kinship Coalition which help grandparents learn about nearby services such as childcare and babysitters.

As discussed in our last post, New York state has its own program known as the New York State Kinship Navigator.They have a great website and blog so please go check them out at: http://www.nysnavigator.org

A referral and advocacy program, NYS Kinship Navigator provides information for grandparents raising grandchildren. They even have an interactive MAP of New York State which shows you each county and what services are available in your local community. Resource links also include legal aid information and financial assistance.

According to their website, 131,000 of the estimated 179,000 caregivers in NY State are grandparents raising grandchildren”-(Source).

With over a million children in the U.S. being raised by their grandparents in the absence of their biological parents, support services are needed, be it emotional or financial.

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Read the Original Article at: http://www.wlwt.com/news/ohio-providing-help-for-grandparents-raising-kids/28304486#ixzz3Eig3IZ8k

Do We Respect Our Grandparents?

Posted by Grand Daughters Rising

A recent article by Eileen Holley discussed how quietly “National Grandparents Day came and went.”

Despite achieving the proclamation of the holiday, Founder Marian McQuadet’s original goals and meaning for the holiday has been sadly lost.

As Eileen Holley said, National Grandparents Day is “a relatively unknown holiday with the purpose of encouraging people to reach out to not just their own grandparents, but also other older adults who may be isolated or in nursing homes, and they may not have contact with their family.”

Considering the fact nearly 1 in 10 children live with a grandparent, how are we not more aware of this holiday?

Based on a survey by Bayshore HealthCare, Eileen Holley suggests there is a lack of respect towards our grandparents and elders.

The Bayshore HealthCare survey found that many millennials show signs of intolerance and impatience toward seniors, with one out of seven Canadians aged 18 to 34 saying they will honk at a senior driving too slowly and only 34 percent saying that they would go out of their way to help a senior in need.”

The millennial generation being referenced to include college students and grandchildren who are not spending time with their grandparents.

Suprisingly, the survey also found that “69 percent believe it is their responsibility to care for elderly parents and grandparents.”

Thus, there is hope. Parents and grandchildren should take some time to appreciate not only their grandparents but also all the elders who may be isolated and shut-in.