Sunday, August 25, 2002

Grandparents' rights under review

By Lisa Applegate
The RoanokeTimes

What makes Ginny Barton different from a foster parent? Nothing, she says, except that foster parents receive government financial support for raising children who are not theirs. Barton, who is raising three of her grandchildren, does receive some assistance, but she said it isn't enough to cover the costs.

Unlike some states, Virginia does not provide money -- called guardian subsidies -- to grandparents who take responsibility for their grandchildren when the parent is unable to do so. Subsidies are one of several changes that grandparent advocates would like to see in Virginia. With first-time data on grandparents released by the Census Bureau this spring -- and with the resulting media coverage -- many are using the attention to ask lawmakers to rethink how to best serve those who unexpectedly become parents again.

Of course, grandparents who rear grandchildren are not a new phenomenon. But in the past two decades, the numbers have increased significantly. Between 1990 and 1998, the number of grandparents serving as sole caregiver jumped by 53 percent.

The increase alerted federal legislators, who directed the Census Bureau to include a specific question in its 2000 questionnaire about grandparents who solely raise their grandchildren.

In Virginia, 63,000 grandparents are solely responsible for their grandchildren. Almost 16 percent live in poverty. Now is the time, said AARP of Virginia Director Bill Kallio, for Virginia legislators to clearly define the rights of grandparents.

The sticking point is how to define the term "kinship care." Kallio said some states define it as whoever has physical custody of the child, which can easily include grandparents.

Barton went a step further and filed for legal custody of her grandchildren, but Kallio said many grandparents want to avoid the possible pain and stress of dragging their family into court. Plus, some hope their grown children will be capable of resuming care of the children one day.

But in Virginia, only a legal guardian can enroll children in school. Kallio said he has heard of children who were not enrolled for months because their grandparents couldn't legally do it.

Virginia law does allow grandparents the right to give consent to medical treatment for their grandchildren. Grandparents who are still working are often able to cover their grandchildren on their employer's insurance plan. If grandparents are retired or unable to work, Kallio said, they can find coverage through the state insurance program for children, called FAMIS. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, more commonly known by its welfare-reform acronym TANF, can provide some financial assistance to children who live with their grandparents. Barton receives $320 per month for her three grandchildren, plus reimbursement when she uses day care.

But Barton wonders why foster care parents -- who sometimes are able to stay at home with their charges -- receive more.

The state, she said, "will give foster families money and then say, 'Whoops, sorry, you're just the grandmother or aunt or uncle.' With the health condition of a lot of grandparents, why can't they help us stay home and be with these children?"

The emotional stress is surely similar to that of foster parents, Barton said. Grandparents who have not been involved with schools, day care, homework, sports or other after-school activities must quickly learn how to help their grandchildren be safe and successful.

They may feel isolated from friends who are free from the responsibility of children. They may worry about their health or stamina. Plus, they worry about their grown children, who may be involved with substance abuse, domestic violence or may be serving jail time.

In the 2002 General Assembly, Sen. Yvonne Miller, D-Norfolk, introduced legislation that would start a pilot program to provide grandparents and other relatives the same subsidies foster care parents receive for raising children. The legislation was killed because legislators are still debating the legal definition of kinship care.

Miller said she will reintroduce the legislation during the 2003 General Assembly and is trying to build grass-roots support through churches and other statewide organizations.

"It's in the state's best interest to have these children with family and out of foster care," Miller said. "I'm not sure when this legislation will pass, but I think momentum is building, and it will pass."

Lisa Applegate can be reached at 981-3209 or lisaa@roanoke.com.

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