Grandparent Carers

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Labor’s plan to support grandparent carers

In Australia, grandparents provide the single largest amount of child care to grandchildren.About one in five children between 0-12 years of age receive child care from theirgrandparents.

But there is also another group of grandparent carers that need support. For a variety ofreasons in our society, grandparents find themselves having to step in permanently andhelp care for their grandchildren.

This means they are effectively becoming parents for a second time – facing thechallenges of toddlers, pre-teens and adolescence as well as managing young adultsagain.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported in 2009 that the number of childrenand young people in out-of-home care had doubled in Australia in the last decade to

31,166. Almost half - 14,015 (45 per cent) - were in formal kinship arrangements – raisedby relatives. Aboriginal carers represent a high proportion of grandparent carers.

Grandparent care is often the best solution – as they provide a level of love, stability andcontinuity in a young person’s life...

They also relieve pressure in our foster care services and save the taxpayer the costs ofproviding care.

Grandparent carers are doing it tough. If we want grandparents to continue to supportchildren and support our society in this way, then we must support them, especially

Aboriginal carers who often face challenges over and above their caring responsibilities.

That is why we are preparing a Grandparent Carers Policy.

NSW Labor believes that care for vulnerable kids is not a private problem. It is a publicpriority. Our Grandparent Carers Policy is part of recognising their role in our society andsupporting them.

It is a positive and practical plan to make grandparent carers’lives just a little easier through new measures, services andgroups to support our grandparents.

Being a parent for the first time is a tough job – but it isrewarding.

So being a grandparent carer means that you are committingyourself to a second go at the toughest job around.

Carers deserve our full support, and that is precisely whatNSW Labor will deliver.



NSW Labor | Grandparent carers | March 2011 2

What this policy means for our community

A re-elected Labor Government will implement $7.56 million in new measures to support

Grandparent Carers provide a safe and loving environment for their grandchildren who

are unable to live safely with their parents.

A relative or grandparent care is often the best option for children who cannot live with

their parents as this provides them with a stable, safe and loving environment. Children

who live with their grandparents are more likely to develop resilience, feel a sense of

identity and belonging to their family and community and feel more positive about their

schooling.

With a growing number of children being raised by their grandparents, and the continuing

challenges in recruiting and retaining foster carers, the need to recognise and supportgrandparents and their grandchildren is crucial.

Without these grandparents, the cost associated with thousands of more children entering

foster care would add more pressure on the child protection system.

ACTION:

If re-elected Labor Government will:

Provide $1.12 million over four years to fund community organisations to run respite

camps for grandparent carers and their grandchildren;

Provide $1.045 million to offer the award winning Positive Parenting Program “Triple P”

to grandparent carers across NSW;

Invest $2.24 million over four years in Supported Playgroups for grandparents in 16

regions across NSW – connecting grandparent carers with each other and also to

support services;

Provide $2 million over four years for Grandparent Carer Support Groups; and

Allocate $1.16 million over four years for the development of an online Grandparent

Carer Information and Referral Hub and a Grandparent Carer Telephone Line;

Work closely with the relevant peak groups, experts and non government organisations

to ensure all these initiatives are inclusive of families from an Aboriginal background

and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.




Our Challenge

Sometimes grandparents are forced to step in and care for grandchildren who have been

neglected by their parents. Many of these children have suffered abuse or neglect and

require special care and support.

NSW Labor recognises the enormous contribution to society made by grandparents whohave custodial care of their grandchildren.

While other senior citizens are enjoying their retirement, many grandparent carers sacrificetheir retirement to provide their grandchildren with stable, safe and loving homes.

Grandparent carers are a growing group and a high priority for the Council on the Ageing,

which has called for additional support services to be funded.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported in 2009 that the number of children

and young people in out-of-home care had doubled in Australia in the last decade to

31,166. Almost half - 14,015 (45 per cent) - were in formal kinship arrangements.

Grandparents who take on the role of primary caregiver are affected financially, socially

and emotionally. The role of grandparent carer is a responsibility that is typically

unplanned and can affect grandparents in the following unique ways:

• Grandparent carers can become socially isolated from their peers who may beenjoying retirement.

• They may be forced to draw on their savings or other resources put aside for theirretirement to meet the expenses of raising grandchildren.

• Children are likely to be troubled or traumatised by being taken out of their parents’care, making the job of caring more demanding and stressful for grandparents.

• Grandparents may feel isolated from carers of other children who are a generationyounger and grandchildren may feel self-conscious that their carers are older thantheir peers’ parents.

• Grandparents may suffer health problems that are exacerbated by the pressures ofraising young children.

• The generation gap between grandparents and grandchildren may be morepronounced than between parents and children, and put stress on the relationship.On occasions, this can lead to a family breakdown leading to children being placed

in care.




Labor’s plan to support grandparent carers

Grandparent carers, like all kinship and foster carers, have access to a range of support

and assistance from Community Services and non government organisations. This

includes financial assistance, training, expert advice and various support groups aimed at

helping carers.

Last year the Keneally Government provided funding to Link-up Aboriginal Corporation ,

Central Coast Family Support , and Grandparents as Carers to provide four respite camps

for grandparent carers and their grandchildren.

The NSW Government also provided a $200,000 grant to Council on the Ageing for a

number of grandparent specific projects including:

• developing activities with Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse

communities to support cultural aspects of grandparents;

• enhancing grandparent support networks to provide better geographical coverage;

• linking grandparent support groups in NSW to other service networks; and

• conducting research into intergenerational activities to provide better connectivity

and support for grandparents.

The Keneally Government also established the NSW Statutory Declaration for Informal

Relative Caregivers last year. This allows grandparents who are caregivers to declare that

they have primary responsibility for the regular care of a child or children. The Declarationassists them to give consent for the child to participate in activities, such as school

excursions.

A re-elected Labor Government will build on this support by establishing:

- Respite camps for grandparent carers and their grandchildren. These camps

will give grandparent carers the opportunity to meet other grandparents to share

information and experiences and enable grandchildren to interact with other

children being raised by their grandparents.

- Triple P tailored for grandparent carers. The award-winning parent education

program will provide grandparent carers with practical, effective advice on raising

young children.

- Supported playgroups for grandparents. These groups already exist for young

parents and will be adapted to create opportunities to enhance relationships

between grandparents and the children in their care; connect grandparents withsupport services; and provide learning and play experiences to stimulate children’s

development.




It is proposed to provide an additional grandparent focussed Families NSW

Supported Playgroup in each of the 16 Families NSW Planning areas. The

Families NSW Planning areas are as follows:

• Central Coast;• Central West;•

Cumberland Prospect;• Far North Coast;• Hunter;• Illawarra;• Inner West;• Mid North Coast;• Nepean;• New England;• Northern Sydney;• Orana Far West;• Riverina Murray;

• South East NSW;• South East Sydney; and• South West Sydney.

- Grandparent Carer Support Groups. Support groups enable carers to learn and

update their parenting skills through sharing stories, family experiences and

information. The groups give carers access to peer support for dealing with the

challenges of raising grandchildren.

- Grandparent Carer Information and Referral Hub. A one-stop-shop via a

website and regular newsletter where carers can access advice, information and

support.

- Grandparent carer telephone line to provide grandparent carers access to a

tailored telephone counselling and advice service.



www.kristinakeneally.com.au

Authorised and printed by Michael Lee, 377 Sussex Street Sydney NSW 2000.

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Grandparent Carers