CT grandparents rally to gain government support

by Kevin Joy

WASHINGTON - A heart attack left Hollister Brown unable to care for himself or pay his bills.

Costly triple-bypass surgery emptied his family's savings last month and forced Brown, 48, to leave his job at a Hartford Wal-Mart. His wife Sheila, also 48, receives disability payments and does not work.

Their financial problems are making it difficult for the Browns to support their grandchildren, Shanekwa and LaShay, who live with them. The Browns, of Hartford, are the children's primary caretakers.

"Back when I was raising my own kids, you needed two or three jobs to make ends meet," Hollister Brown said. "I just can't do that anymore, obviously."

Although the Connecticut Department of Children and Families has money to help some grandparents who care for grandchildren, it cannot help the Browns. State money is reserved for children who have been turned over to relatives as a result of a court order, usually because of parental abuse or neglect. The relatives must go through extensive training and become licensed caregivers, similar to foster parents.

The Browns said they began caring for their grandchildren when their daughter was unable to, but they did not receive a court order.

Grandparents who take a child into their home without legal action and a license are not eligible for the state funds-which amount to about $8,500 per child annually.

The Browns, along with about 30 other Connecticut grandparents and hundreds more from across the country, marched on Capitol Hill this week for the first national "GrandRally to Leave No Child Behind." They urged Congress to pass legislation that would give states federal money for grandparent caregivers, help provide the families with affordable housing and give them temporary help in their homes.

"We have to pay the bills, too, so what's the difference?" said Carolyn Jackson, a parent coordinator for New Haven's public schools and caretaker for one grandchild. "For the state to give more funding to a foster parent, usually a total stranger, that is wrong."

Jackson said many low-income grandparents who take care of grandchildren are under 40 and, in many cases, still have children at home.

About 6 million grandparents nationwide lived with their minor grandchildren in 2000, and 42 percent of them were the primary caregivers , according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1999, the latest year for which figures are available, 19 percent of these grandparents were living in poverty.

In Connecticut, about 19,000 grandparents report that they are responsible for their grandchildren. They take on the responsibility for a number of reasons, including a parent's death, incarceration or long-term illness.

It's a costly proposition.

"Utilities, food, clothing, school supplies, medical bills-the cost of living is unbelievable," said Valerie Allen, 49, of Hartford. "I need more help."

Allen is raising two grandsons, each with chronic asthma, and said she needs more government support to help find good housing in a better school district. She worries about how to pay for their college educations.

Financial help is scarce and difficult to locate.

"These families have shown tremendous commitment without the resources," said Carol Shirley, spokeswoman for the AARP, a senior citizens' lobby. "They deserve the same benefits they would get if their grandchildren were in the system under foster care. People need help in order to help themselves."

Linda Cobbs, 52, who is raising three grandchildren in Hartford, said many grandparents help each other through old-fashioned networking.

Once a month, Cobbs leads a group called Parents The Second Time Around. She and about 30 others have been meeting for five years.

"People just say, 'You're a grandparent-it's your obligation' to pay for the needs of the grandchildren, Cobbs said. "But now it's our responsibility as a community to make sure they aren't being penalized and get the support they deserve."