What's New in Aging: Grandparenting help in wake of opioid epidemic

Grandparents taking responsibility for raising their grandchildren in Pennsylvania have new help available to them under two pieces of legislation signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Tom Wolf. The measures sprung from increasing pressure placed on grandparents as a result of the opioid epidemic, which has impacted many individuals in their 20s and 30s and resulted in older generations becoming caregivers for more youngsters. According to a press release from the governor’s office, an estimated 76,000 grandparents are caring for more than 83,800 grandchildren in the state. One of the bills passed recently by the Legislature grants temporary guardianship in 90-day increments to grandparents or other family members when children’s parents are unable to care for them. Those 90-day increments can be repeated for up to one year. The intent is to keep more children with other family members, when necessary, rather than putting them into the foster care system.The second measure establishes the Kinship Caregiver Navigator Program, which will consist of a website and phone hotline that grandparents and other family members can use to learn about services available to help them take on unexpected care for children. Pennsylvania recently received a $479,307 federal grant to develop the navigator program.