March 4, 2009

Contact:
Jeremy Craig, 404-413-1357
University Relations

Georgia State hosts symposium on grandparents raising grandchildren

ATLANTA –Georgia State University’s National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren will host a symposium focusing on information and resources addressing the needs of grandparent caregivers and grandchildren March 10-11.

The Second Symposium of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, to be held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta, will assist advocates for grandparents and other relatives who raise children — sometimes in difficult family situations — and will help set the course for future directions in the field.

The symposium comes at a critical time for service agencies and advocates as they work to make sure resources like health care and financial assistance for caregivers are kept intact during a recession.

“During economic times when the competition for resources is strong, we don't want the issues of grandparents or relative caregivers raising children to get lost in discussions about funding and resources,” said Debbie Whitley, director of the National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and associate professor of social work at Georgia State.

“When we look at this issue, we have made great progress in identifying services to meet the challenges that grandparents often endure in these situations, but we also want to identify what additional resources are necessary to support these families, as well as emerging issues that need to be addressed,” Whitley added.

Casey Family Programs is the presenting sponsor of the symposium. Other sponsors include Grandparents.com, AARP, AirTran Airways, the Georgia State College of Health and Human Sciences, and the Georgia State School of Social Work.

Georgia State has long been an advocate for grandparents raising grandchildren. Since 1995, Project Healthy Grandparents has provided resources for grandparents raising grandchildren, and has served more than 635 families, including over 1,451 children.

The National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren was founded in 2001 to inform service professionals, decision makers and the general public on the unique social and health service issues confronted by grandparents raising grandchildren.

For more about the National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and the symposium, visit http://chhs.gsu.edu/nationalcenter/index.asp or call 404-413-1065.