President signs bill aiming to help grandparents raising grandchildren

A growing number of grandparents both in Ohio and around the country are raising their grandchildren.

And now the president has signed a recently passed U.S. Senate bill into law that aims to help grandparents part of the growing trend.

The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act will establish a federal task force to identify, coordinate and share information and resources to help grandparents and other relatives who are stepping up to raise children meet the needs of kids in their care while maintaining their own health and well-being.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is one of the sponsors of the bipartisan bill. Brown said his office has heard from a number of affected grandparents. He points to the opioid epidemic as one of the contributing

The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act will establish a federal task force to identify, coordinate and share information and resources to help grandparents and other relatives who are stepping up to raise children meet the needs of kids in their care while maintaining their own health and well-being.

factors to the trend.

“Experts report these numbers are growing as the epidemic gets worse,” he said.

The epidemic creates a challenge for grandparents as the children they are raising are dealing with the trauma of losing parents. Grandparents themselves are dealing with their own set of health challenges as they age.

“Any parent of a young toddler can tell you caring for young children can be physically demanding,” he said.

Grandparents and other relatives raising these children often don’t get the same financial support that a foster parent would receive.

“For so many grandparents then, taking on that responsibility means the end of retirement for those who can go back to work or depletion of savings,” Brown said.

A study released by Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies Community Research Partners last year found that about 40,000 households in Ohio where grandparents are raising grandkids. Grandparent caregivers often struggle because many live on a fixed income.

Nationally nearly a third of grandparent households live in poverty according to the report.