Free To Grow
Mailman School
of Public Health
Columbia University
722 West 168th Street,
8th Floor
New York, NY 10032
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Grandmothers as caregivers: Raising children of the crack cocaine epidemic
Meredith Minkler and Kathleen M. Roe
The U.S. Bureau of the Census estimates that in 1991, 3.2 million children under 18 were living with their grandparents or other relatives, an increase of about 40 percent over the decade earlier of the period during which crack cocaine emerged. Despite the growth of grandparent parenting, public policies have not changed to accommodate the primarily economic needs of these caregivers and the children for whom they are responsible. The authors label as false the notion of a lack of strong kinship networks among African-Americans, and trace the past and present roles of grandmothers, their health status, and their economic and social support systems. Focusing on the experiences of African-American women who are caring for their grandchildren in Oakland, California, complex intergenerational dynamics are explored, noting the lifestyle changes that grandmothers face when they become caregivers (often reducing or leaving employment), the health of crack cocaine exposed babies, and the lack of monetary or practical support for these women. The experiences of grandmother caregivers should be included in discussions of social welfare policy changes.
Sage Publications, Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 (805) 499-0721 Fax (805) 499-0871 (1993, 240 pp.; $44 cloth, $18.95 paper + $2 p/h)
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