Joan Clark is one of a growing number of grandparents raising their grandchildren. In 1970 3.2 percent of children lived with their grandparents, three decades later the percentage went up to 5.5 percent which is more than 6 million children. That’s an increase of 76 percent. The increase in grandparents becoming legal guardians can be tied to “four D’s”, death, divorce, desertion and drugs as well as other things such as teen pregnancy, mental and physical illness, crime and incarceration.

Cody Barilla was 17 months old when his mother died and so he lived in two homes, with his father, and with his grandparents. He was best buddies with his grandfather, and always wanted to live with his grandparents. About four years ago his father gave him permission. Joan’s husband died, but she continues to farm. Joan says it’s a harmonious relationship and she loves it, but not all grandparents can say the same.

What grandparents miss most when the children move in is being a grandparent. They don’t feel free to spoil the grandchildren because they're the ones who must keep the children in line. Parenting styles have changed, their own energy level may have declined, and some are also helping aging parents manage their lives.

Grandparents are mostly at a loss when it comes to mental health issues. Children may have been removed from parents because of addiction, crime, abuse or neglect, or have been deserted by a parent. In their short lives, they have probably faced more trauma than adults will in a lifetime and are changed by it. They become angry or anxious, aggressive or withdrawn and emotionally needy. More than a quarter of children in grandparent-maintained homes live in poverty, compared to 19 percent who live with their parents,

Now a Grandparents as Caregivers program is established, it provides a pay of $200 per grandchild, not to exceed $600 a month, for custodial grandparents who meet income qualifications. Children may be eligible for other state and federal benefits even if the grandparents do not have legal custody