Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

The number of grandparents and other older relatives who are caring for children is significant and growing, in part due to the opioid crisis. Although caregivers' lives are enhanced by the experience, providing full-time care to children can decrease caregivers' abilities to address their own health and well-being needs. Recognizing that these caregivers would benefit from improved coordination of resources intended to support them, as well as better dissemination of information about those resources, the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act established the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.

Full Statute - SGRG Act  

The advisory council's mission is to identify, promote, coordinate, and disseminate information, resources, and best practices to help grandparents and older relative caregivers of children meet the health, educational, nutritional, and other needs of the children in their care while maintaining their own physical, mental, and emotional well-being. As part of this effort, all recommendations will consider the needs of members of Native American tribes and families affected by the opioid crisis. The advisory council will be a leader in identifying and sharing resources to support, educate, empower, and advocate for kinship families and grandfamilies. It will increase awareness and understanding of the needs of these families to ensure they are treated with respect and dignity. By honoring cultures, values, and diversities, we will create a better future so that families can flourish.

Advisory Council Members

The SGRG Act specifies that the council will include at least one grandparent who is raising a grandchild and at least one older relative caring for children. In addition, it will include representatives from federal departments and agencies who play a role in these issues.

Non-federal members

Donna Aguiniga, Ph.D., M.S.W., is a professor in the School of Social Work at University of Alaska Anchorage. She is one of the co-founders of the University of Alaska Anchorage School of Social Work’s Kinship Care Research Group, a project devoted to understanding and designing supports for extended family involvement in the support of children. She lived with her mother’s parents for several years as a child and provided kinship care for her niece while the niece was in high school. She is excited to use both her personal experience and professional expertise to help improve the support system for kinship caregivers, including access to information.

Ana Beltran, J.D., is director of the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center, through an American Rescue Plan-funded cooperative agreement from ACL to Generations United. Beltran has firsthand experience as both care recipient and caregiver. She was raised in part by her grandmother. Later, Beltran was both caregiver and power of attorney for her father, who had Alzheimer’s disease. She looks forward to continuing the important work of the first Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.

Anntesha Chesterton contributes professional and personal expertise with caregiving. Initially raised by her maternal grandparents, Chesterton and one sister were subsequently placed in foster care until age 18. She believes that, had her grandparents had more support, she would have been able to remain with them and out of the foster care system. Chesterton is the mother of three children and, for 1.5 years, she also cared for her sister’s four children. She hopes to use her lived experience, both as a child and as a kinship family, to bring much needed and positive changes to help kinship families get the support they need to be successful. Chesterton is currently studying for a degree in psychology.

Carole Cox, M.S.W., Ph.D., is a professor in the Graduate School of Social Service at Fordham University who has worked with kinship caregivers since 1999. She developed the Grandparent Empower Program, a curriculum designed to help kinship and grandparent caregivers improve their caregiving skills. According to Cox, the program has reached hundreds of grandparent caregivers and has been translated into several different languages, including Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she developed, in collaboration with the NYC Department for the Aging, a seven-week online version of the program, which focused on empowering caregivers during this difficult period. In recognition of her work, she received the CURA award, Kinship Champion of 2022, from the New York State Navigator and NYS Kincare Coalition.

Megan Dolbin-MacNab, Ph.D., LMFT, is a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Tech who studies grandfamilies’ relational challenges and strengths. Her grandmother helped care for her when she was growing up and acted as an additional parental figure. She is passionate about identifying practices to help grandfamilies develop strong, supportive relationships. She is excited to learn from her fellow council members and contribute to developing supports and resources to enhance the well-being of grandfamilies and kinship families. 

Bert Hayslip Jr., Ph.D., is a Regents Professor emeritus of psychology at the University of North Texas. He has worked with grandparent caregivers for more than 30 years and has conducted research, led focus groups, and consulted with a number of organizations serving grandparents raising grandchildren. He has a special interest in resilience among grandparents raising grandchildren and is excited to influence the design and implementation of services and related policy to support them.

Rainie Jueschke, CFRE, is a nonprofit executive with more than 30 years of experience. She is currently executive director of Innovative Solutions for Disadvantage and Disability, a 501(c)(3) organization providing evidence-based support services for Atlanta Metro kinship families. Having aged out of the foster care system, Jueschke understands the importance of keeping children with their families. She looks forward to working with fellow council members to raise awareness about the strengths of kinship care and find solutions to the challenges families face.

Keith Lowhorne is vice president of kinship for the Alabama Foster and Adoptive Parents Association. Lowhorne and his wife are raising five grandchildren, two of whom were born with drugs in their systems. The couple distributes food, school supplies, clothing, household items, and presents to more than 25,000 grandfamily members in Alabama. He wants to bring awareness to the challenges faced by grandfamilies and kinship families, especially as they relate to education, food, and health.

Cheryl Miller, MLS, is an enrolled member of the Assiniboine Sioux Tribe and director of Children & Family Services for the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. She has worked in child welfare (primarily Indian Child Welfare) for 36 years, working with formal and informal kinship families and foster families to give support and connect them to resources, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. She is looking forward to serving on the council to update and implement the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers.

Federal members

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 

Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 
Pending 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
Greta Kilmer, M.S.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 
Joan Weiss, Ph.D., R.N., CRNP, FAAN 

Indian Health Service (IHS) 
Valerie Jones 

National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Aging (NIA) 
Amelia Karraker, Ph.D. 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) 
Emma Nye  

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 
Elizabeth Sweet 

AmeriCorps  
Atalaya Sergi 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)  
Beverly Yang, J.D.

Social Security Administration (SSA) 
Rebecca Ortiz 

U.S. Department of Education (ED) 
Tammy Proctor 

Advisory Council Responsibilities

The advisory council will develop a report that includes best practices, resources, and other useful information for grandparents and other older relatives raising children. This report will be delivered to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Congress, and the state agencies responsible for carrying out family caregiver programs.

The advisory council will establish a process for obtaining public input to inform the development of both the initial report and the subsequent update.

Previous Releases

SGRG Act Initial Report to Congress

On November 16, 2021, the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren released its initial report to Congress. This report outlines the joys, challenges, gaps, and unmet needs faced by kin and grandparent caregivers. It also describes federal programs currently available to assist them and provides 22 recommendations for better supporting kinship families and grandfamilies. The recommendations will inform the development of the National Family Caregiving Strategy, which will include action steps to increase recognition and support for kin and grandparent caregivers.

Advisory Council Finalizes Recommendations

On October 20, 2020, the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG) Advisory Council finalized 22 recommendations intended to advance change and improve supports to kinship families and grandfamilies of all ages.

Advisory Council Year One Progress Report

The report highlights council activities since the passing of the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, including member selection, subcommittees, key meetings, and the future report to Congress.

COVID-19/Emergency Preparedness Resource Guide for Kinship Families and Grandfamilies

During emergency circumstances, including natural disasters or pandemics, challenges are amplified for kinship families and grandfamilies. Recognizing this, the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren developed the linked COVID-19/Emergency Preparedness Resource Guide.