GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - 26
grandfamilies
Supporting grandfamilies
and their children's education
BY JAIA LENT as told to her by Charlye Hahn, Kinship Resource Coordinator
Southwest Idaho Area Agency on Aging
C
harlye and Bob were no strangers to
grandparenting when their lives took a
surprise turn.
" My husband, Bob, and I began our journey in
2001 when my twin great niece and nephew were 3
½ years old and needed a home. " explains Charlye,
" We had four grandchildren older than the twins
when they were placed with us. "
Suddenly Charlye and Bob were thrown into a
whirlwind, navigating health care and school system
challenges that would be challenging even for parents
expecting to raise children.
" The twins had vision and learning delays that
were due to drug exposure. Our great nephew
was still non-verbal at the age of 4 ½ so we had
to look for and advocate for services. He needed
additional support to be successful at school. It
would have been great to have someone help me
understand the IEP (Individual Education Plan) process.
Our great niece had to have eye surgery, and
her brother needed to patch his eye for over a year.
26 GRAND FALL 2024
They had vision corrected to 20/40 and
we had to advocate for placement in
the classroom so they could see the
board for written work. They also
needed to get larger printed material
for ease of reading. "
In many ways as older caregivers
Charlye and Bob felt isolated at a time
when they most needed support and
connection.
" Because we were older parents, we did not have
a lot in common with the parents of the twins'
friends. " says Charlye, " We also found our friends
were less likely to invite us places after a couple
of times of us needing to cancel when our kiddos
needed something, we couldn't find sitters, or they
were having a moment. They commented that they
had raised their children and did not really want to
be around little ones again. "
Yet, Charlye and Bob are not alone. Across the
country, about 2.5 million children are being raised
by grandparents, great grandparents,
aunts, uncles and other relatives because
the children's parents cannot care for them. These
families are often referred to as grandfamilies or
kinship families.
A new report from Generations United,
Pathways to Success: Education Support for
Kinship and Grandfamilies, reveals that these
grandfamily caregivers face overwhelming barriers
to supporting the education of the children in
their care. These barriers propose a big problem,
Continued on next page
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GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024
Contents
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - Cover1
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - 2
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - 3
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - Contents
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - 5
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - 6
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - 7
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - 8
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