Grandfamilies Roundup: Studies, Housing and Resources
September 14, 2012 by Amy Goyer
Grandparents Week brings to mind those grandparents who are playing a special role – those who are living in multigenerational households and/or raising grandchildren by themselves. These grandparents go the extra mile to be there for their grandkids. Here’s a roundup of new research, resources and supports for grandfamilies.
- After more than a decade of planning, the newest housing designed specifically for grandfamilies, Grandfamilies Place of Phoenix, opened the first week of August. According to Delmonte Edwards, executive director of Tanner Properties, 17 grandfamilies have taken up residence there, and 5 more are slated to move in over the next week. Referrals will come from various local partners serving grandfamilies. Supportive services for the grandfamilies are lined up to begin next month.
- The MetLife Mature Market Institute and Generations United have recently joined forces in conducting a grandparenting study, Grandparents Investing in Grandchildren: The MetLife Study on How Grandparents Share Their Time, Values, and Money along with a guide for grandparents called Grandparents Investing in Grandchildren: Actions Speak Louder Than Words. As a consultant, I wrote the report on the new study, which found:
- Of the one in 10 grandparents who provide regular care for grandchildren, 15% are raising at least one grandchild.
- Two in 10 grandparents say they are living in multigenerational households. Of those, 30 percent have grandchildren living in the home.
- A new University of Chicago grandparenting study indicates 60 percent of grandparents have provided care of some kind for grandchildren over a 10-year period. African-American and Hispanic families were more likely to start multigenerational or skipped-generation families (or grandfamilies.) The paper outlining the study results, Grandparents Providing Care to Grandchildren: A Population-Based Study of Continuity and Change, was published in the September issue of the Journal of Family Issues and examined data based on the 1998-2008 study by the National Institute on Aging. The longitudinal study interviewed 13,614 grandparents, aged 50 and older, at two-year intervals over the 10-year period to determine their level of caregiving.
- Generations United has created a wonderful new publication, Grand Successes: Stories of Lives Well-Raised. The report profiles 11 successful adults who were raised by grandparents, including actor Jamie Foxx, singer Kellie Pickler and President Barack Obama. Get ready to be inspired!