Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

There are over 2.5 million grandparents raising their grandchildren due to substance abuse, death, mental health issues, or abuse/neglect. There are over 1 million children nationally who have their grandparents as their sole caregivers. Many of these children have physical and/or emotional needs due to the treatment they received before living with their grandparents. These grandparents save the government over $6 billion each year by supporting the children and keeping them out of foster care while over 21% of these grandparents live below the poverty line. These grandparents NEED resources and financial assistance to care for their grandchildren while dealing with age-related issues such as health, living on a fixed income, and raising at-risk grandchildren.