President Trump is on a roll this week and in that mode, he’s about to make 2.6 million grandparents very, very happy. All with the stroke of a pen. He’s on a roll this week with pardoning the Hammonds, putting NATO fiscally in their place and nominating Bret Kavanaugh to fill the void about to be left by Justice Kennedy at the Supreme Court. All promises kept and all fantastic news for Americans. Perhaps Americans will never tire of winning after all.
On Monday, July 9, President Trump signed into law The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, first introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) in May of 2017. The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act has received support from 40 older adult and child advocacy groups including AARP, American Academy of Pediatrics and Generations United, which aims to improve the lives of kids and older adults.
The law signed by President Trump will provide resources to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act cleared the Senate unanimously in June. It creates a federal task force that will set up a one-stop shop of resources for millions of grandparents in the U.S. who are raising grandchildren. This has to do with the fight against opioid abuse and the resulting effect it has had on grandparents who wind up raising their displaced grandchildren. They are forced into providing caregiving and a family environment for these children while their children are treated for their addiction. Sometimes this even includes great grandparents these days.
“With so many parents struggling with addiction, grandparents are increasingly coming to the rescue and assuming this role,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who co-authored the bill. “It is essential that we do all that we can to help these families.” It also addresses the fact that many of these parents d*e and the grandparents become defacto parents to their poor grandchildren. This law and the resources it provides was desperately needed by affected grandparents. The resources the federal government will make available will include information about legal custody, social services and mental health counseling, according to AARP, which supported the bill.