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Feds Study Grandparents As Caregivers
Betty Pearson's plans for retirement didn't include taking care of her 8-year-old grandson, Kyle. Pearson put her future on hold eight years ago when her husband, who has since died, took the boy from her son's home in Texas. On that day, the retired nurse joined the hundreds of grandparents in Pittsburg County, Okla., who are raising their grandchildren. According to U.S. Census Bureau figures released Tuesday, about 73 percent of grandparents who live with their grandchildren in Pittsburg County are the children's primary caregiver. That makes the southeastern Oklahoma county the national leader in the category. ``I didn't expect this and I didn't want it, but my heart's involved now,'' Pearson said, while Kyle played and laughed with neighborhood boys in her backyard. ``If he had a house to live where he'd be safe and happy, I'd let him go.'' The Census in 2000 counted 887 grandparents raising their grandchildren in Pittsburg County and 39,729 throughout Oklahoma, a number advocates for the elderly say is growing. Nationally, about one in 10 children is raised by a grandparent, but that number is about one in six in Oklahoma, said Judy Leitner, community relations director for the state Aging Services Division. Tragedy is at the heart of most cases. An American Association of Retired Persons study showed that almost half the Oklahoma grandparents raising their grandchildren took over for a drug-addicted parent, Leitner said. Another one-fourth shelter their grandchildren from parental abuse or neglect, while about 5 percent are standing in for a dead parent, Leitner said. Teen-age pregnancy and poverty are also factors. As the child suffers, so do the grandparents, who have had to postpone or cancel lifelong plans and take on responsibilities that burden their tiring bodies and shrinking savings. ``Caregiving is a tough job already,'' Leitner said. ``These kids are different from the other kids they raised. They're into instant gratification. It's more energy consuming.'' The Aging Services Division tries to ease the burden with an array of services, including providing money for baby sitters so grandparents can get a break, Leitner said. Sandra Norris, who takes care of her 8-year-old grandson in north Tulsa, had to move out of her one-bedroom apartment and into a three-bedroom trailer. Her housing payments nearly doubled. ``It's pretty rough sometimes,'' said Norris, who took Shane in as an infant. Norris said the boy's mother abused alcohol and drugs, and she said she doesn't know who Shane's father is. Shane's many emotional and mental disorders -- including attention deficit hyperactive disorder and fetal alcohol effect -- keep Norris busy. She had to give up volunteer work teaching adult literacy. ``It's really nice for him to go bed at night,'' said Norris, 52, a shipping manager. ``I get a couple of hours of free time after he goes to bed.'' Pearson, 62, began working nights shortly after taking Kyle in and after her husband, Otis, got sick with emphysema. At the time, she got three hours of sleep on a good day. She said the boy had been living in squalid conditions in a home where there was drug abuse. Pearson is looking forward to Kyle getting a bit older so she can get back to some of her retirement plans, like visiting family or joining the gardening club. ``I don't need Kyle,'' she said, pacing in her living room. ``Kyle needs me.” FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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