Grandparents raising grandchildren rally in Washington, DC

Across the country hundreds of thousands of grandparents raising grandchildren do not get sufficient rights or help. They gladly take on the role as the primary caregiver, but they hope to gain some of the same support afforded to foster parents.

Grandparents from across the state and country are rallying to raise awareness about the lack of support they receive, in contrast to the foster care system, when raising grandchildren. The fourth annual Grand Rally is taking place today in Washington, DC.

Groups of grandparents left from many different states Thursday heading to Washington. They say once there, they’ll join other grandparents to raise awareness about the hardships of grandparents raising grandchildren.

While in Washington they hope to meet with legislators and talk to them about their challenges and encourage more support from the government.

Organizers say in many cases, the seniors are on a fixed income and the additional expenses can be tough to manage. They’re hoping to get many of the same rights foster parents have.

Among the speakers at today’s rally will be Jerry Wallace, the executive director of the National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights. He says the time to act is now.

“Our families cannot wait,” Wallace said. “We have a whole segment of the population – unrecognized, under-served – that is doing the job that we would all do in their position. And they need to get the help that they deserve.”

Census data shows that the incidence of grandparents raising grandchildren is getting more and more common. As of 2010 about 6 million children, nearly 8 percent of all children, were recorded as living with grandparents identified as head of household.

To read more about grandparents rights check out my book No Greater Loss.