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July 22, 1999

Generations Together program supports parenting grandparents

Generations Together program supports parenting grandparents

Whether it's because their parents die, become seriously ill, go to prison or descend into drug-induced oblivion, an increasing number of U.S. children are being left in the fulltime care of their grandparents.

To help Allegheny County grandparents through a second round of childrearing, Pitt's Generations Together program is leading a project to build a comprehensive "parenting grandparent" program.

The project, launched last month, will create (among other things) a directory of services for parenting grandparents; a telephone "warm line" that grandparents can call for non-emergency counseling; workshops for professionals who deal with parenting grandparents; and a respite system through which frazzled grandparents can arrange for fellow grandparents to babysit their charges for a day or less, in exchange for returning the favor at another time.

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, 3.9 million of America's children in 1997 lived in households maintained by grandparents — a 76 percent increase over the number in 1970.

"We don't have specific numbers for Allegheny County, but it seems safe to assume that the national trend holds true here," said Thomas Smith of Generations Together, parenting grandparents project manager.

"Once you start talking with people about this, it seems that practically everyone knows some grandparent who is raising a grandchild because the parents are out of the picture," Smith said. "Getting a handle on the exact number is tricky. It's not necessarily something that people are proud of. Often, it happens because the parents are in prison or they got strung out on drugs and simply abandoned their children."

It's tempting to conclude that Allegheny County, with its comparatively old and urban population, is home to a disproportionately high number of parenting grandparents. "The counter-argument is that one reason we have a demographically older population here is because so many younger and middle-aged people have moved away, taking their children with them," Smith pointed out.

One of the project's services should provide a better idea of how many Allegheny County residents are raising grandchildren: Local human service agencies plan to create a database of parenting grandparents, who will be regularly notified of services and programs and will be sent bulletins on issues related to raising grandchildren.

Parenting grandparents can be as young as their mid-40s. Some are healthy and well-to-do, others are poor and frail. Married grandparents often find it less of a grind to raise grandchildren than do single grandparents, but that's not always true, according to Smith.

"One thing that they tend to have in common is a strong sense of responsibility," he said. "They may or may not be happy having to raise their grandchildren, but they don't begrudge it. Most of the parenting grandparents I've talked with are philosophical about it. 'It's just what families do,' they say."

Collaborators in the project include the Allegheny County Department of Human Services Area Agency on Aging and Office of Children, Youth and Families; A Second Chance, Inc.; Family Resources, and Vintage.

— Bruce Steele


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