HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

25

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the childcare and eldercare communities to acknowledge the unique circumstances of grandparents raising grandchildren by supporting policies and services that are CONDUCIVE to that familial relationship.

 

 


     WHEREAS, according to the United States Census Bureau, there was an over thirty per cent increase in the number of children under age eighteen years living in grandparent-headed households in Hawaii between 1990 and 2000; and

 

     WHEREAS, of the 14,029 grandparents in Hawaii who report that they are responsible for their resident grandchildren, over one-fifth also report that the grandchildren's parents do not live in the household; and

 

     WHEREAS, the reasons that grandparents take the role of primary caregivers from their children often reflect broader social issues such as, divorce, substance abuse, incarceration, mental illness, and neglect or abuse of the grandchildren; and

 

     WHEREAS, grandparents raising grandchildren report more anxiety, depression, and physical health problems than their non-caregiving peers; and

 

     WHEREAS, custodial grandparents often report feeling guilt or shame resulting from the situations that lead to their acquiring custody of their grandchildren; and

 

     WHEREAS, custodial grandparents often spend funds they saved for retirement to care for their grandchildren instead; and

 

     WHEREAS, custodial grandparents need accurate and accessible information on a myriad of issues including legal aid for custody concerns, financial assistance, counseling, respite care, housing, health care, transportation, and education regarding parenting for a second time; and

 

     WHEREAS, grandparents raising grandchildren should be treated by the childcare and eldercare communities with dignity, respect, and recognition equal to parents; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the childcare and eldercare communities are urged to acknowledge the unique circumstances of grandparents raising grandchildren by supporting policies and services that are conducive to that familial relationship; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the Director of Human Services, the Superintendent of Education, the Executive Director of the Hawaii Public Housing Administration, the Executive Director of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Administration, the Executive Director of the Hawaii County Office of Aging, the Chair of the Maui Council on Aging; the Executive Director of the City and County of Honolulu, Elderly Affairs Division; the County Executive on Aging of the Kauai County Office on Elderly Affairs; the Executive Directors of Hawaii Family Services, Good Beginnings Alliance, Hawaii Intergenerational Network, AARP Hawaii, the Queen Lili`uokalani Children's Center; and the Chairpersons of Na Tutu, Tutus in Control, and the Hi`i Na Kupuna Coalition.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Custodial Grandparents