Purdue News
Purdue News
Those issues vary from one family to the next, depending upon a number of factors, not the least of which is the reason the children are living with the grandparents. Compounding matters can be factors such as the number of children living in the grandparents' home and the grandparents' financial, marital and health situation.
"What the child's family was like before makes a difference," said Glenda DeFord, consumer and family sciences (CFS) educator for the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service in Lawrence County. "There may be issues of abuse or financial problems, drugs, incarceration or domestic violence."
Dena Targ, Purdue Extension specialist in human development, said that besides these problems, divorce, unemployment, neglect, abandonment, teenage pregnancy and death of the parents are other reasons children may live with their grandparents.
"A combination of social and economic problems in the last decade has made it more difficult for parents to carry out their parental responsibilities," Targ said.
In any case, she said, there may be emotional issues for both the grandparents and the grandchildren.
But there are few easy-to-locate resources available to help these families. In addition, policies are not set up to help grandparents in these situations, Targ said.
"Policies differ from state to state," she explained. "We're now in the middle of welfare changes, and there will be implications."
What those implications will be remains to be seen, but grandparents raising grandchildren is a societal trend that can't be ignored. While it's nothing new, Targ said it's occurring with more frequency. According to 1990 census data, 2.3 million children in the United States under age 18 -- or 3.6 percent -- lived with their grandparents. By 1993, those figures had risen to 3.4 million, or 5 percent. In 1990, Indiana was also at 5 percent. Grandparenting transcends all socioeconomic groups, geographic areas and ethnicities, the data shows. However, these families are more likely to be poor and located in or near cities.
Of grandparents parenting their grandchildren, 96 percent of grandfathers are married, but only 63 percent of the grandmothers are. Their median age is 57, with 77 percent between the ages of 45 and 64, and the remaining 23 percent older than 65.
His age is sometimes a concern for 58-year-old Jim Altepeter of Lafayette, who with his wife Pat raises their grandson Matthew. The Altepeters were granted legal guardianship of Matthew more than five years ago, when Matthew was only 8 months old. Now a busy 6-year-old, Matthew keeps his grandpa hopping. At 58, Altepeter said it's not yet much of a problem, but he worries about how he'll manage a few years down the road.
Since both Jim and Pat still work, and since they're Matthew's legal guardians, financially supporting Matthew hasn't been a problem. Matthew is covered by Medicaid, and the Altepeters' insurance covers anything Medicaid doesn't.
"It's not a financial or physical burden for us," Altepeter said, "but I can see how people with those concerns would need resources."
Patty McClure of New Salisbury, Ind., is a grandmother who was happy to find a resource in the Purdue Extension Service. McClure and her husband Ron raise their daughter's two children, ages 2 and 4, but don't have legal custody. Through Extension Homemakers, McClure learned of a special-interest lesson in her community called "Grandparents Raising Grandchildren," taught by DeFord, who was then an Extension educator in Harrison County. McClure attended the workshop and learned, among other things, that she has "grandparents' rights."
"I was under the impression I had no rights, but I can do what I have to for the kids," she said.
She hastened to add that it's generally not a problem, but sometimes it feels like a competition between her and her daughter.
"It's clear-cut whose children they are," McClure said, "but when you're taking care of them, who's the mom? Who do the kids mind? It's confusing for the kids."
The McClures don't have legal custody of their grandchildren because their arrangement is temporary while their daughter gets her life in order. Currently, the 24-year-old is living on her own and working on a college degree.
"The kids' father walked away," McClure said. "Our daughter was young and didn't know what to do. At first she was depressed and gave up because she believed she couldn't do anything right. She couldn't find a job to pay rent and utilities with just a high-school education. We're waiting for her to get her life back on track."
Not having legal custody can create problems when it comes to health coverage and decision making for grandparents who, unlike the McClures, aren't just helping their child out temporarily. These living arrangements often aren't recognized or eligible for state benefits, according to Targ. In the past, she said, some assistance, such as Medicaid and Food Stamps, was available but still sometimes difficult to obtain. This will change, though, with the new welfare regulations.
Support groups also are difficult to find, but Targ said they would be beneficial to some grandparents who need suggestions for dealing with long-forgotten or new parenting issues. McClure wishes she had access to a support group for social reasons. But, she said, in her small community she doesn't know any other grandparents raising their grandkids.
Other types of support, such as financial management, parenting and stress management information, is available through the Extension Service. Targ said most of the information currently available through Extension is not focused directly at grandparents, but much of it could be applied to grandparenting situations. Grandparents wanting to know what's available in their community can call their county Extension office and ask for the CFS educator.
Although DeFord presented "Grandparents Raising Grandchildren" in Harrison County, she said it's often hard to identify families who can use the information and to find a time when they can attend.
It's a subject that's close to DeFord's heart. She and her two siblings were raised by their paternal grandparents when their parents died two years apart. At the time, DeFord was 10.
"Our grandparents lived across the street from us, so the issue of being uprooted was not as great for us as for kids who have to move across the state or the country," she said. "Our community was close, and I felt many people were watching out for us."
Socially, though, she said her situation was a little different from that of other kids.
"We grew up around older people," she said. "It was quieter. My life was pretty much church, school and 4-H. When my parents were alive we had a boat and spent summer weekends on Cataract Lake with other families who had children around our ages."
But, she said she received many gifts from her grandparents, including patience and encouragement. Being around them and their friends also led her to be more comfortable around older people and to enjoy "comfort cooking."
"Being raised by your grandparents is hard to imagine if you haven't experienced it," she said. "It can be overwhelming and emotional, but it's a valuable relationship. It's a special relationship."
Sources: Dena Targ, (765) 494-2937; e-mail, targd@cfs.purdue.edu
Glenda DeFord, (812) 275-4623; e-mail, Glenda_DeFord@ces.purdue.edu
Writer: Andrea McCann, (765) 494-8406; e-mail, mccann@aes.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
