Seniors raising their grandkids get a new boost

In the Chase household, Kania has lived with her grandparents since she was 18 months old; her brother, Michael, since he was just 34 days old. Still, parenting is harder for the Chases than the first time. The streets aren't as safe; ideas on parental authority are different. "The generation has changed," says Mr. Chase. He says his goal is to live long enough to make sure both choose the right path.

Experts say new housing models must be tailored to a community's specific needs, whether it is lack of transportation or available services.

In Boston, it was the lack of affordable housing that drove the creation of the Grandfamilies House. Some seniors were facing eviction, living in overcrowded homes, or in places with lead paint or rickety staircases, says Stephanie Chacker, the program director. Within the 26-unit complex, a community room functions as the setting for support groups for grandparents. It is filled with children's books and board games like Chutes & Ladders and Candy Land. The adjacent bathroom is handicapped accessible.

Though it was hailed for its potential, leaders in Boston have learned some constructive lessons. Because the center was an abandoned nursing home, space was limited. They opened with preschool and afterschool programs for young children, yet no on-site teen center. "But children grow up quickly," says Ms. Chacker.

Indeed, unlike the archetypical nuclear family that shares the same roof for at least 18 years, grandfamilies tend to be more fluid. Among the most important elements, Chacker says, is making sure that seniors get the services that they need in the housing complex, as opposed to having to move to a nursing home, where their grandchildren would not be permitted.

The newer projects, like GrandParent Family Apartments, a 50-unit project in the Bronx, have learned from the experience charted by Boston.

Now with $4 million in funding for new housing, Ms. Butts says challenges still lie ahead, especially for subsidized guardianship. She says grandparents often don't receive the financial support they need to raise their grandchildren. Sometimes, experts suggest, the family can be relied on too heavily as a cost-effective alternative. Grandfamilies "can sometimes be foster care on the cheap for the state," says Eric Kingson, a professor of social work at Syracuse University.

Though the costs of raising children a second time may be difficult to meet, many grandparents are reluctant to say "no." That's what Lynne Katz, an early childhood specialist at the University of Miami, found during a study of grandfamilies in the late 1990s. "I don't want to see a stranger pushing my grandchild in a stroller," they would tell her.

The Chases, for one, can't imagine life without their grandchildren. Ms. Chase has the minutiae memorized: Michael dunks his cookies in milk, Kania does not. Mr. Chase tucks Michael in each night. "I stare at him until he goes to bed," says Mr. Chase. "He keeps me going."

Page: 1 | 2