Friday, December 15, 2023

  • 12/15/2023 - 1:00pm to 2:30pm
    The phenomenon of grandparents raising grandchildren is an increasingly common occurrence. Data from the US Bureau of the Census (2019) report that grandparents have the primary responsibility for the care of more than 5.7 million children in our country. Of the children living in grandparent-maintained households, the highest percentage (12%) is within African-American families; Latinos are about 6% and White-Anglo families are around 4% (Bryson, 2001). Growth in African-American grandparent maintained homes has been calculated to be as high as 20-50% in some low resourced communities. Moreover, a National Health Interview Survey found African-American grandparent-headed households to include an overrepresentation of poverty, unemployed, and low literacy. Equally important is the lack of access that African-American older adults have had to health and hospitals for equitable care. Therefore, when they transition to the role of parenting (children) there can be a gap in the care they receive because of these psychosocial factors.