Healthy Grandparents Program

The Healthy Grandparents Program was established at Augusta University’s College of Nursing in January of 1999 to provide physical, emotional, and social support to grandparents and great-grandparents raising their grandchildren ages 0-17 living in parent-absent homes. The primary goal of the program is to support grandparents in their efforts to provide their grandchildren with a stable and permanent home, maintain their family ties and culture, and keep children out of the formal foster care system.

The program is sustained through annual competitive renewal grants from DHR's Promoting Sage & Stable Families Program, with matching funds from the College of Nursing. We are only 1 of 2 academic university affiliated grandparent caregiver programs in the state of Georgia. Grandparent caregivers have demonstrated a significant need for social/peer support, mental and physical health care, child development education, child custody/adoption assistance, access to information and resources, respite care, and advocacy. 

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Healthy Grandparents Program

Program Director

Pamela Cromer, DNP, FNP-BC, MSN, FAANP

Program Coordinator

Mike Patton

706.721.6227

Services

  • Case Management to Link Families with Community-Based Resources and Information
  • Monthly Support Group Meetings
  • Monthly In-Home Health Screenings and Counseling
  • After School Child Enrichment Scholarships
  • Summer Camp Scholarships
  • Annual Physicals for Grandparents
  • Regular School Visits by the Social Worker for Children Having Behavior or Academic Problems
  • Book bags and School Supplies Provided at the Beginning of Each School Year
  • Child Custody/Adoption Assistance
  • Yearly Pediatric Physicals
  • Each Family is Provided with A 22-Page Community Resource Guide

Family Characteristics

Reason In Grandparent’s Care

  • Child Abuse or Neglect
  • Drug or Alcohol Abuse
  • Physical and/or Mental Disease
  • Abandonment
  • Death of a Parent
  • Military Service
  • Teenage Parent
  • Incarceration

Data On Families Served By The Program

  • 60% of families are headed by single grandparents
  • 52% of grandparents are still in the workforce
  • 26% of children were raised by their grandparents since birth
  • 57% of children had no legal relationship with their grandparents upon enrolling into the program
  • 54% of grandparents are raising more than 1 grandchild
  • 26% are grandparents are raising 3 or more grandchildren
  • Only 5% of grandparents receive child support
  • The average age of children when they began living with their grandparents is 4 ½, while the average age of grandparents when they began raising their grandchildren is 53.

Major Hardships For Grandparent Caregivers

  • Access to information
  • Lack of financial resources/isolation while many are living on fixed incomes
  • Unfamiliar/frustrating systems including the school, mental health, legal, and healthcare system
  • Mental health needs of the child and grandparents
  • No legal custody/access to legal system
  • Caring for children with special needs, both mental & physical
  • Childcare for working grandparents
  • Social Isolation

National/State Statistics

In the United States, over 2.3 million grandparents are responsible for their grandchildren's care.  Almost 60% of those grandparents are still in the workforce and 21% of them are living below the poverty level. The South and Southwest region of the nation has the highest concentration of grandparent caregivers.  In Georgia alone, over 110,000 grandchildren are being raised by their grandparents in parent-absent homes.  Georgia has the 6th largest number of grandparents living with their grandchildren in the country.  In Richmond and Columbia Counties, there are over 4,700 grandparents responsible for their grandchildren’s care.  Almost 2,000 of those grandparents are raising their grandchildren without either parent present in the home and 27% have been raising their grandchildren for more than 5 years.   

Funding

  • DHR Promoting Safe & Stable Families Program
  • CSRA Regional Commission    
  • Augusta University College of Nursing
  • Local Community Grants
  • Private/Individual Donations

Accomplishments/ Advocacy Efforts

  • To date, the program has provided services to 690 families, 958 grandparents, and 1,414 grandchildren.
  • Completed legal custody petitions for 366 grandchildren.
  • Completed adoption petitions for 150+ grandchildren.
  • Received referrals from over 50 agencies and programs in Richmond and Columbia counties.
  • Numerous individuals and organizations have provided over $135,000 in donations and small grants.
  • Successfully advocated for the passage of HB 543, making it easier for grandparents to obtain legal custody of the grandchildren they are raising.
  • Initiated first in-depth educational study in the country on grandchildren raised by their grandparents.
  • 93% of children have remained in their grandparents care until the age of 18.
  • The program has increased adoptions by 11% and reduced non-custodial relationships by 34%.