14th Annual The Bluegrass Regional Grandparents As Parents Coalition

Doug High sits down with Diana Doggett and Kathy Allen to talk about the 14th Annual Bluegrass Regional Grandparents As Parents Coalition.

These coalitions are geared toward those who are raising a grandchild or another relative’s child and to let them know that they are not alone.

Across the United States, almost 8 million children are living in homes where grandparents or other relatives are the householders with more than 5.8 million children living in grandparents’ homes.

Over 2.5 million of these grandparents are taking on sole responsibility for these children.

In Kentucky, 59,000 children are in the care of grandparents.

The needs of children can seem overwhelming, especially if you are unexpectedly thrust into the role of being their primary caregiver.

Often these caregivers and the children they are raising are isolated.

They lack information about the range of support services, resources, programs, benefits, laws and policies available to help them successfully fulfill their caregiving obligation.

The Bluegrass Regional Grandparents As Parents Coalition will hold its 14th annual conference on Thursday, March 10th at The Clarion Hotel located at 1950 Newtown Pike in Lexington.

The agenda includes nine workshops with a focus on discipline, drug trends, youth behavior, community resources and navigating the guardianship legal path.

This year’s conference keynote, Joan Dingle, is a mom, grandmother and a great grandmother as well as an author of two books.

She spoke recently at a White House Briefing on needed changes in foster care and services for grandparents parenting grandchildren.