Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in the Inner City

Abstract

Increasingly, middle-aged and older adults are parenting grandchildren and other young kin in ‘skipped generation’ families. Changes in the multigenerational family structure, devastating social problems in our inner cities, notably the substance-abuse and HIV/AIDS epidemics of the 1980s, and public policy and ethnocultural norms that govern kin care are discussed as contributing factors to this phenomenon. Recent studies focusing on grandparent caregivers of color, as well as policy and programmatic responses to the rapid growth of this family configuration, are discussed. The author offers recommendations for assessing and building on existing strengths and addressing the service needs of grandparent caregivers and their families through direct practice and public policy.