COTA National Seniors appointed a project officer at the end of February 2003, based in the National Policy Secretariat office in Melbourne. COTA National Seniors is a national peak body for people over 50 years of age, with a large membership and a federation of autonomous State COTAs. It was ideally placed to implement the project in those States able to respond quickly with project staff and administrative support within the limited available timeframe, as a number of State COTAs already employed project workers with key responsibility for Grandparenting issues. All staff involved in the project were conscious that younger grandparents may not identify with COTA National Seniors and made particular effort to promote the project to a wide audience.
Five States participated – Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Grandparents in other States were encouraged to contribute information via the Internet, by post or telephone. In addition, in Tasmania, the State Government Joint Standing Committee on Community Development conducted an inquiry and in May published its Report on Issues Relating to Custodial Grandparents which the Tasmanian Government has adopted.
The Tasmanian Report findings are consistent with the Grandparents raising Grandchildren project and its recommendations have been incorporated into this report. Three further forums hosted by the grandparents support group in Hobart have been held around the State. Although these forums were about the specific recommendations regarding support groups, again the issues raised were the same across Australia – financial and legal problems and concern for their grandchildren's well-being.
4.1 Implementation of the project
State COTA staff and grandparent representatives attended a two day Project Development and Training workshop in Melbourne in mid-March 2003. They agreed that, because of the emotions and trauma associated with this sensitive subject, activities would be held in conjunction with existing support groups and services and only in locations where ongoing support would be available. State representatives identified the types of groups to contact, and the locations, venues, publicity and funds required to implement the project. Participating State COTAs received project funds for staff time and for the cost of coordinating the activities in their state.
The main activity in each State were workshops, with a set agenda and conducted by an experienced facilitator. State COTAs were responsible for negotiating with local support groups and services, organising venues, promotion, catering and child care. Grandparents unable to attend a workshop were invited to complete a written response to the same set of questions and data collection used at the workshops, available by telephone or through the website.
See APPENDIX 1 – Grandparents raising grandchildren questionnaire & data collection
4.2 Publicity
A section of the COTA website was devoted to the Grandparents project, with regular updates and an on-line questionnaire. Some States planned to hold phone-ins if existing 1800 telephone links were available. In the event, one phone-in was held in Western Australia with a poor response. Other States were unable to negotiate use of an 1800 telephone number within the time and budget available.
Information about the project and where workshops were to be held appeared in many newspapers and magazines for older people as well as local newspapers and community newsletters. Responses from grandparents indicate that these are widely read, although it was acknowledged that many grandparents are not in the older, or seniors age group and therefore may not have known about the project.
COTA staff also gave a number of radio interviews about grandparents and the project, which resulted in considerable interest.
See APPENDIX 2 – Schedule of activities
4.3 Workshops
All the workshops followed the same format to address the questions posed by the Minister. It was designed to allow as much time as possible for small group discussion of the grandparents' issues and concerns. Information about Centrelink payments and local services and support was provided at each workshop. Many grandparents spoke for the first time and with great emotion about their situation and found support from others with similar stories. They obtained useful information about assistance available. Grandparents made contact with each other and talked of joining a support group or of setting up new groups.
In the four months of the project, a total of 499 grandparents raising 548 grandchildren participated, of these there were 308 grandparents-headed families. A majority, 63% were couples, with 68% of all grandparents being 55 years of age or over, with eldest being 82 and raising three teenagers (13, 15 & 17) on her own. Of the grandchildren, 53 % were under 10 years of age, the youngest being 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 questions posed at the workshops.
Irrespective of their geographic location or socio-economic circumstances, grandparents raising their grandchildren tell similar stories. And they hastened to say that despite the hardships they face, they love their grandchildren and would do anything to protect and nurture them. Their grandchildren bring them great joy and keep them young.
Eight years ago my daughter gave birth to a son, his name is Peter. I was asked to come to her as she couldn't take care of him. My daughter was a drug addict at the time and there were problems....
She spent a lot of time in and out of hospital, in the psych ward of the Southport hospital. When she was released she came to get Peter with a well meaning social worker. I knew that my grandson was in danger as there were many times I would get calls from the hospital to pick him up as my daughter had overdosed again. As I write this, she is back in jail. I was granted full custody of Peter. I didn't consider the father or his whereabouts.
Five years later the father turns up and wants his son. There was a court battle. My grandson after many visits to his dad and a number of years later, now lives with him full time. I get alternate weekends and holiday time. I still take my grandson to visit his mother in jail. There is a bond between them that cannot be broken.
My life fell to pieces when I gave up my grandson. I was divorced, alone and the only thing that kept me going was my church and the people in it. Now the good side of this story – Peter loves his mum and dad very much. I have become just grandma. His father and I have sorted out any differences we might have had. We do this because we both love this little man very much....
I see grandmothers every weekend visiting their children in jail with their children's children. My daughter is thirty-four. She is due for release soon - every day I pray she will take her medication and stay off drugs. She now suffers with a manic depression epilepsy drug induced psychosis. There are many grandparents I meet in my work and many cry out for help. Some are like myself, some are old – the oldest one I know here is in her seventies.
(Grandmother 56 Grandchild 8)