Grandparent Caregivers Across Tribes

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Grandparent Caregivers Across Tribes National
Level Demographic Information
University of Oklahoma School of Social Work
Masters Advanced Curriculum Project Supported
by
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Objectives

• Provide definitions of Grandparent Caregivers
  utilized by U.S. Census Bureau
• Present national level demographic information
  for Native American Grandparent Caregivers

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Definitions Numbers1U.S. Census Bureau 2000

• Co-resident Grandparents
• Living with grandchildren younger than 18
• Grandparent Caregiver
• People with primary responsibility for their
  co-resident grandchildren younger than 18
• 1,159,000 People over 45 claimed American Indian
  or Alaska Native heritage
• Approximately 53,000 were grandparent caregivers

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AI/AN Grandparents more likely to live with
children and be caregivers2


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Grandparent Caregiving by Ethnicity1 (n 890,00
households)

Percentage
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The Lives of Native American Grandparent
Caregivers1

• Who lives at home?
• ½ lived in skipped generation households
• 1/7 had at least 1 of their own children under
  age 18 living in household also
• 63 raising 1 grandchild, 26 raising 2, 11
  raising 3 or more
• 7 were raising a grandchild with a disability
• How long has the grandparent been the primary
  caregiver?
• 47 providing care for 5 years or longer
• 19 cared for 3 to 4 years

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AI/AN Grandparent CaregiversCompared to AI/AN
of same age (45) not grandparent caregivers1


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AI/AN Grandparent CaregiversCompared to AI/AN
of same age (45) not grandparent caregivers1


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AI/AN Grandparent CaregiversCompared to AI/AN
of same age (45) not grandparent caregivers1


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Eligibility Receipt1

• Majority receiving free or reduced lunch programs
  for grandchildren (77) or food stamps (26)
• With more 1/3 GPCG living below poverty line
  indicates that many more would be eligible for
  SSI

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AI/AN Grandparent Caregivers (GPCG)Compared to
AI/AN of same age (45) not grandparent caregivers1

• GPCG are twice as likely to be living in poverty
  as they raise their children grandchildren
• More than 1/3 living in poverty

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Summary of Census Information

• Unknown
• Number of GPCG for individual tribes
• Why arent GPCG accessing services
• Strengths of GPCG
• Reasons GPCG care for grandchildren

• Known
• Number
• Disconnected from services
• Struggles
• From economic data

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Future

• Listen to stories of grandparent caregivers
• Cultural tradition of grandparent care for
  children strength
• Realities of oppression that often face
  generations and create situations of grandparent
  sole care without parental support
• Parental Absence due to substance abuse, poverty,
  incarceration, lack of educational or employment
  opportunities struggles

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Social Work Implications

• After listening to stories of grandparent
  caregivers you serve address the most pressing
  issues
• Do not personalize reluctance to speak with you
  as a social worker or share realities
• Support elders
• Develop social work programs that will ease the
  struggle of raising grandchildren with elders
  directing development
• Utilize cultural strengths in building programs
  at micro, mezzo , macro level
• Be prepared to alter policies that may not
  include definitions of family to include
  grandparent caregivers

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References

• 1) Fuller-Thomson, E. Minkler, M. (2005).
  American Indian/Alaskan Native grandparents
  raising grandchildren Findings from the census
  2000 supplementary survey. Social Work, 50,
  131-139.
• 2) U.S. Census Bureau. (2007, May). The
  American Community American Indians and Alaska
  Natives 2004