Grandparents back Family Commission's Findings
Friday, 5 March 2010, 2:24 pm
Press Release: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust NZ backs
Families Commission’s Findings
The Trust’s 2009
study showed that more than half the children who came into
grandparent care were reported as having serious physical
and psychological problems as a result of the abuse and
neglect they suffered before coming into care. Raising
children with problems like this with (in most cases) very
limited financial means saw many grandparents struggling
below the poverty line.
"We agree wholeheartedly with
Commissioner Rankin’s recommendations that while the
Government’s introduction of respite holiday camps is a
step in the right direction, the Government can and should
do a lot more to support the caregivers of these children.
Commissioner Rankin is right; it is an investment in the
wellbeing of children and society generally," says the
Trust’s National Convenor and Founder, Diane Vivian. "Our
own research clearly showed that over eighty-six percent of
grandparent caregivers reported significant improvements in
the children’s well being over time, which is directly
attributable to the stability of care, along with the
resilience and commitment of the grandparent caregivers,"
says Vivian.
"The area where the Government really needs
to focus more attention is in providing equitable financial
support for grandparents raising grandchildren. They might
now be eligible for the same basic rate per child with an
Unsupported Child Benefit, as a foster caregiver is; but
they are unable to access financial support to cover the
cost of counselling therapy and medical needs of these
children. We are also finding that many of our single
grandparents are being told they must apply for the Domestic
Purposes Benefit instead of receiving their superannuation
along with a UCB. In effect they receive even less financial
support from the Government in many of these cases," says
Vivian
ENDS
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