It has been so rewarding parenting my grandson. We have had many ups and downs but so far we have conquered the downs. My daughter died when her son was five, then for the next three years my husband and I reared her boy. Then my husband died and I have continued alone. We have had counselling, which has helped tremendously. It is so hard for a lad of eighteen without a dad. Most time we are very close but at times I don't know if I am reaching him. Maybe that's just an 18 year old. (Grandmother 75, Grandchild 18)
In February 2003 the Federal Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the Hon Larry Anthony asked COTA National Seniors1 to talk to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren about:
- their existing support mechanisms
- what additional support they may require
- the financial and legal issues they may be facing and
- any concerns they may have about the well being of their grandchildren.
The project was funded from the Commonwealth Government's Child Abuse Prevention Program which aims to prevent child abuse by funding various activities that promote positive parenting and help families cope with the different demands of raising children. The focus for this project was on:
- Grandparents raising grandchildren full-time (and did not include grandparents who provide childcare)
- Grandparents who are primary carers for extended periods, for example, grandparents of grandchildren considered to be at risk when their parents have a mental illness.
Many grandparents take on the role of raising their grandchildren, as they have throughout the ages. The difference now is the effect of parental drug abuse, which has resulted in a recent and rapid increase in the numbers of children being raised by their grandparents. An audit of formal kinship care in Victoria the Department of Human Services [in 2000] found that at least 52 per cent of abusive parents were known to misuse substances. Likewise, in a study of grandparents raising grandchildren in the USA in 2001, Kelley et al found that 72 per cent were raising grandchildren due to maternal substance abuse. [Patton 2. 2003 P.4]
Grandparents can suffer considerable strain as they cope with children traumatized by their experiences. The grandchildren may come to them unexpectedly, stressed and bewildered, often without adequate clothing, bedding, school uniforms etc. Grandparents also have to live through their own grief and loss, and often anger, at being placed in this situation by their own adult children.
This can be at a time when the grandparents may still have other children at home or perhaps they were enjoying freedom from family responsibilities or a well earned retirement or achievement at work. They will have to suddenly face major upheaval in their lives and the extra costs of raising children a second time around, especially financial, legal and social costs, often with little or no outside support.
Grandparents often feel that no one else understands what they are going through; they may be worried about other people's reaction to what has happened in their family. And they have probably had to work their way unassisted through the bureaucratic minefield of Family Law, Children's Court, child protection and Centrelink. It is hardly surprising that grandparents raising grandchildren end up feeling isolated and overwhelmed.
In four months, a total of 499 grandparents raising 548 grandchildren participated in the project, making up 308 grandparent-headed families. A majority, 63% were couples, with 68% of all grandparents being 55 years of age or over, the eldest being 82 years of age raising three teenagers (13, 15 & 17) on her own. Of the grandchildren, 53 % were under 10 years of age, the youngest being just 12 weeks old. Just over half of the grandparents are raising two or more grandchildren, with some having up to six in their care.
Grandparents attended one of the 22 workshops and forums in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Grandparents also completed 110 individual responses, mainly in writing but also by telephone and email, answering the same set of questions posed at the workshops.
See APPENDIX 1 Questionnaire and Data Collection
See APPENDIX 2 Schedule of Activities
Irrespective of their geographic location or socio-economic circumstances, grandparents raising their grandchildren tell the similar stories, stories that are echoed in overseas literature. Despite the hardships they face, they hastened to say that they love their grandchildren and would do anything to protect and nurture them. Their grandchildren bring them joy and keep them active. Grandparents' stories are about endurance, great hardship and great love.
Grandparents have said they feel let down by their governments, both State and Commonwealth, because they take in their grandchildren often at the request of the State child protection authorities and then get little support and recognition in caring for their traumatised grandchildren. In most States, foster and kinship care payments and support services are restricted to carers of children for whom a care and protection order is made, and Commonwealth Family Tax Benefits and other Centrelink payments are assessed on the grandparents' means. Many grandparents who planned to be self-funded retirees say that they are fast spending, or have already used, all of their retirement savings on the grandchildren and do not know how they will survive. They would like the same support that foster carers receive.
Their legal situation can also be ambiguous even if they have a formal order under Family Law or through the Children's Courts. There are three types of arrangement by which grandchildren may be in the care of their grandparents, and chance seems to play a big part in determining which arrangement applies:
- Commonwealth Family Court parenting orders Support for grandparents raising grandchildren in these circumstances is limited to Family Tax Benefits and any other means tested pension or benefit they may be eligible for through Centrelink and Child Support Payments if such apply.
- Children's Court care and protection order – on application from the child protection authorities.
The State authorities retain legal responsibility for decisions relating to the children. In these circumstances, as carers, the grandparents receive non-taxable, non-means tested payments from the State Government towards the cost of raising the grandchildren, as well as support services as assessed necessary by the child protection authority.
- Informal arrangements, which may or may not have the agreement of the parents, and may or may not involve the State child protection authorities.
With such informal arrangements, the grandparents can go to the Family Court to obtain an order to formalise this, however they are often loathe to antagonize the parents, or cannot afford the cost of legal action, even if uncontested or they may fear that they will be judged unsuitable to be raising their grandchildren.
Apart from the financial and legal issues grandparents face, the following points were raised at every workshop in every State:
- Governments need to acknowledge and recognise grandparents raising grandchildren as a special group requiring assistance
- Grandparents need parity with foster carers in terms of payments and support services for the grandchildren
- Information about and access to benefits and support services available to grandparents and grandchildren needs to be widely promoted
- Access to Legal Aid, especially to provide representation for the grandchildren but also for grandparents trying to secure the grandchildren's safety
- Respite care is urgently required for the grandchildren, with carers trusted by both grandparents and grandchildren. Camps, school holiday programs, and overnight care in emergency situations are also urgently needed.
Grandparents around Australia would prefer that their grandchildren could live with caring parents and that they could be 'normal' grandparents again. In the meantime they are determined to give their grandchildren every opportunity to have healthy, happy and well-rounded lives. They ask their Government to help them in this.