The Need to Support Kinship Caregivers

By: Onita Morgan-Edwards

June 18, 2025

Onita Morgan-Edwards is an author, a small business owner, and full-time parenting grandparent. She enjoys helping writers with their storytelling journeys. Onita is working on a book of poetry, a novel, and enjoys digging up family memories for memoir writing. A Gathering of Flowers: An Anthology in Essay is her most recent project. She completed her undergraduate studies at Antioch University and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Ashland University. She is an adjunct professor of English at a community college.

I came across an article in The Atlantic by Faith Hill, “Grandparents are Reaching their Limit: Older Americans might be doing more child care than ever.” After dissecting and digesting Hill’s words, I came away with a broader understanding of what grandparenting means to some families.

The article focuses on those grandparent-types who are essentially co-parenting as daycare providers, something akin to a nanny. Some of the grandparents interviewed for The Atlantic article commit to caring for their grandchild only on certain days of the week; others are reluctant to the idea of shuffling their grandchild back and forth to dentist appointments. I closed the browser on my laptop and realized these grandparents have different options than kinship caregivers.

Me and my granddaughter are a grandfamily now.

After taking custody of her in early 2024, I realized before leaving the courtroom that day and after the judge asked me, “Do you have any questions?” that I would need lots of help, financial and otherwise. My willingness to step in was primarily to avoid my granddaughter staying in foster care longer than she had already been there, to do what some other grandparents are doing: kinship caregiving. In fact, the Department of Labor reports that over two million[1] grandparents are raising grandchildren, long after raising our own children, and some of us still have a while before we can retire.

After processing the initial shock and horror of my granddaughter’s alleged neglect, I leveled my emotions, then made phone calls and emailed agencies that I thought could help me access resources we might qualify for. Unfortunately, though, I got the run around. Before I could catch my breath from the overwhelm, the six-month extension I had asked the judge to consider and that she granted was up. I could no longer rely on Children Services to help me navigate systems that I had little to no experience with. There were hoops to jump through, hurdles to overcome, and many barriers to face. It felt like the agencies were outside of some loop, in the same way law-enforcement officials across the country were pre-CODIS [2], not privy to the same information, not communicating, and scurrying around for tidbits of information.

Am I eligible for SNAP [3]?

How do I apply for TANF [4] or other state funds?

Are their time limits for receiving aid?

Could applying for benefits jeopardize my income?

What if someone else claims the child I’ve been caring for on their tax return?

How much longer will I have to work before I can retire?

What about childcare?

 The AARP, a champion for causes impacting adults over 50, has scarce information for kinship caregivers on their website.[5] I am not as concerned about material possessions, but I wonder how I can ensure my granddaughter’s basic needs are met without jeopardizing the things I have worked so hard for.

I searched online for something that would help me keep track of all the phone calls, the emails, a tool that would help me hit the ground running. There were journals and planners for foster parents. I found just as many or more for caregivers of aging adults, but nothing for kinship caregivers.

In 2023, I helped my best friend design a planner for parents of children on the autism spectrum. Her son is a young adult now, but she wanted to help other families find and access resources after the diagnosis. It made sense, I had done this before. I would help other kinship caregivers not jump through as many hoops as I had to.

I designed the Kinship Caregiver Planner & Journal to help manage the new and overwhelming responsibility of caring for a young person. I share parts of my journey and give caregivers space to record information, reflect and journal, and access to some of the resources I found. There is also legislation[6] (Supporting Grandparents Raising

https://onitamorganedwards.com/

Grandchildren Act), which was introduced in 2017, and signed by President Donald Trump during his first term. However, with the dismantling of so many government agencies now, during his second term, I wonder what will come of all the grandparent interviews and surveys … all the hard work.

If taking care of grandchildren were the only hurdle, kinship caregivers might be okay in the long run, but many of us are also navigating relationships with our own children that are strained, broken, or severed completely. I have accepted and am now managing the rupture between me and my son. There is nothing I can do about that now. Letting go is sometimes the only option.

There are some things we cannot change, no matter how many TedTalks or TikTok videos we consume by Brene Brown or Mel Robbins respectively. The stages of grief may vacillate wildly, and a kinship caregiver’s wellbeing may ebb and flow. There may be many mountains to climb, but at least we have something to look forward to, no matter how hard it is, no matter how dark a place you find yourself, you are not alone. We are 2+ million strong, resilient, compassionate, and caring humans who get to witness (in real time) the growth and development of our grandchildren. How we got here might eventually be an afterthought. We may not have the same options as other grandparents, choosing which day of the week to visit with our grandchild or choosing not to shuffle them back and forth to the dentist, but with some help (and sometimes without it), kinship caregivers will take it from here.

[1] U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, Grandchildren Being Raised by Grandparents (2021)

[2] Federal Bureau of Investigation Frequently Asked Questions on CODIS and NDIS

[3] Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

[4] Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

[5] AARP Article by Amy Goyer: “Raising Grandchildren: Support,” 2009. https://www.aarp.org/relationships/friends-family/info-08-2011/grandfamilies-guide-support.html

[6] S. 1091 — 115th Congress: Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act.” www.GovTrack.us. 2017. May 9, 2025 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s1091>