Res. No. 165
Resolution acknowledging the crucial role that grandparents in New York City play in raising grandchildren, and calling upon the appropriate Council committee to hold a hearing to further explore this issue.
By Council Members Perkins, Baez, James, Liu, Nelson, Recchia, Stewart, Foster, Comrie, Weprin, The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum), Gallagher and Gonzalez
Whereas, According to the 2000 Census, over 2.4 million grandparents nationwide are responsible for meeting the basic needs of their grandchildren; and
Whereas, In New York City, nearly, 84,000 grandparents are primary caretakers, or kinship caregivers, for their grandchildren; and
Whereas, Over the past twenty-five years, the number of children being raised by grandparents has increased considerably; and
Whereas, According to the intergenerational organization Generations United, between 1990 and 1998 alone, the number of grandparent-headed households without the presence of either parent increased by 53 percent; and
Whereas, Grandparent kinship care is often required because parents are unable to care for children due to substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and other illnesses, death, abuse, neglect, incarceration, divorce and other crises; and
Whereas, Grandparents raising grandchildren face numerous challenges, including legal custody issues, lack of financial resources, inadequacy of housing and medical care, children’s behavioral problems, child care, education, and the need for respite care and emotional support; and
Whereas, Despite these multiple challenges, children raised by grandparents benefit from daily familial contact; and
Whereas, Further, grandparents are frequently the last line of defense in keeping children out of non-kinship foster care; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York acknowledges the crucial role that grandparents in New York City play in raising grandchildren, and calls upon the appropriate Council committee to hold a hearing to further explore this issue.
LS #362
CAB
2/12/04