Growing Up With Grandparents Goes Legal

The University of Victoria’s School of Social Work together with Parent Support Services of BC today launched Canada’s first legal guide for grandparents raising grandchildren.

“Grandparents we surveyed told us they needed good legal information”, says Barb Whittington, project co-chair and professor in the School of Social Work. “This guide was produced to assist them with the complex legal issues they may face.”

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Legal Guide is the result of a 20-month collaborative project between the School of Social Work and Parent Support Services of BC. Developed with the input of grandparents, social workers, service providers, lawyers and judges and funded through the Law Foundation of BC and three provincial ministries, the guide will help grandparents navigate the complex legal issues involved in raising grandchildren.

“Grandparents, taking on the responsibility of raising a grandchild, deserve solid, accessible supports to assist them in providing long-term secure care”, says Carol Ross, project co-chair and executive director of Parent Support Services of BC.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2006 there were more than 65,000 children being raised by grandparents across the nation, without any parental involvement. Nearly 50 per cent of these family situations involve only one grandparent. In BC there were 9,940 children under 18 years old being raised by grandparents, and two thirds of the grandparents in these households were women.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Legal Guide is free to grandparents raising their grandchildren and available to others for $20. To obtain copies visit www.parentsupportbc.ca for the nearest regional office or call 1-800-377-0212 or email grg@parentsupportbc.ca for further information.

 

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