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February 2014Vol. 15, No. 2Guide for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Grandparents and other kinship caregivers face unique challenges and have specific needs. In 1994, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs, in collaboration with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, produced a guide that identified needed programs, services, and other resources and information to help grandparents raising their grandchildren. In July 2008, the State Child Advocate bill was signed into law and established the Commission on the Status of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. This Commission is actively working to better understand and address the needs of grandparents in this situation, and this updated guide is just one result of those efforts.

The guide is divided into 11 chapters, including Getting Started: What to Consider, Care and Custody Basics, and Financial Issues, Child Support and Public Assistance. A Resource Guide for Massachusetts' Grandparents Raising their Grandchildren, a collaborative effort by the Commission on the Status of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs, the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate, the Department of Children and Families, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, is available here: 

http://www.mass.gov/elders/docs/caregiver/grandparents-raising-grandchildren.pdf (411 KB)