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Oklahoma
grandparents are breadwinners USA
Today, June 4, 2003 QUINTON, Okla. - 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% 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% 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 to
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." Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
