Young, Casey Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Better Support Grandparent Caregivers

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Bob Casey (D-Penn.) introduced the bipartisan Informing Grandfamilies Act to help connect grandparents raising grandchildren with existing resources.

“More than 2.7 million children in America are being raised by grandparents or other relatives, often with few places for these caregivers to turn to for support. Our bipartisan bill would help ensure these grandfamilies are better connected to the resources that are available to them,” said Senator Young.

“Grandparents raising grandchildren face unique challenges under difficult circumstances,” said Senator Casey. “In recent years, the need for ensuring these families are supported has become even more dire as the opioid crisis and COVID-19 pandemic have forced more and more grandparents to take on unexpected caregiving duties. My bipartisan Informing Grandfamilies Act will ensure that grandparent caregivers know about and take advantage of the resources they need and deserve.”

Millions of children in the United States are being raised by grandparents, other relatives, or close family friends, and while these so-called “grandfamilies” or “kinship families” are often eligible for federal support due to unique challenges and disproportionate risk of poverty, awareness of these benefits is often not widespread among the families. The Informing Grandfamilies Act would require states to provide grandfamilies with information about the available resources and hire staff with the necessary expertise to guide grandfamilies and kinship families through the benefits process.

A one-pager about the bill is available here.