By Dinah Torres Castro
Suffolk County has the greatest number of grandparents responsible for their grandchildren in New York State, outside of New York City. For a variety of reasons (death of their child, imprisonment, medical or mental health problems, drug or alcohol abuse, military deployment or hard economic times) many senior citizens find themselves once again caring for young children. In fact, an astounding 29,591 children live in grandparent-headed households in Suffolk County (2010 U.S. Census). These seniors have specific needs as they struggle to raise grandchildren during a time they envisioned as their golden years. Raising a child in 2013 is rife with challenges unforeseen thirty years ago – cell phones, 24-hour media and internet access. Unfortunately, the majority of these grandparents are overwhelmed and unprepared for this new-found responsibility. A simple task such as enrolling a child in school or providing health care can entangle them in a web of legal issues they may not be prepared to face alone. The National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights (NCGCR) Kinship Care Program, formerly based in Stony Brook, used to provide counseling, support and mental health services for more than 600 grandparents raising grandchildren. However, in 2011 New York State eliminated nearly all funding for kinship programs and the NCGCR was forced to suspend this program leaving a gap in services for this vulnerable population. Today, only the Southampton Town Department of Human Services in Hampton Bays offers support group services to this target population.
In 2012 Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Programs received a 2-year grant from the Pritchard Charitable Trust to provide the award winning Cornell University curriculum: PASTA (Parenting a Second Time Around). PASTA is an eight week program for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. We are currently offering this informational series at the Riverhead Free Library, located at 330 Court Street in Riverhead. This program takes place every Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. and runs through January 14, 2014. The program is free and will feature guest speakers who will discuss mental health and legal issues commonly faced by grandparents and other relative caregivers who are raising their grandchildren.
Anyone interested in attending this program can contact Anastasia Loper at 631-727-7058 ext. 340 or abl98@cornell.edu.
Dinah Castro is a Bilingual Family Well-Being Educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. She can be reached at 631-727-7850 ext. 351 or at dc258@cornell.edu.