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Caring Grandparents Should Be Supported

Nationals Eastern Region candidate, PETER HALL has again called upon the State and Federal Governments to support grandparents raising grandchildren.

By The Nationals - 6th November 2006 - Back to News

Mr Hall who earlier this year wrote to State and Federal Ministers about this matter, met with a large group of Gippsland grandparent carers last week to further discuss the lack of any financial and administrative support offered to them.

He said in circumstances where parents may be deceased, unable or incapable of raising their children, grandparents frequently assume this responsibility.

"The anomaly is that if a child is placed in foster care, a carer’s benefit is paid by the State Government to off-set the cost of raising that child. If a grandchild is raised by his/her grandparent, no such support is forthcoming," Mr Hall said. "While it makes good sense for family members to raise their relative’s children in these circumstances, they need support to do so."

At the meeting with grandparents Mr Hall heard that the Department of Human Services encouraged grandparents to take the responsibility for raising children where the parents were unable or unwilling to do so. "If they are being encouraged to do so, why not provide the financial support that will make this easier?" he said.

"Many grandparents are on fixed outcomes and face financial pressures when called upon to raise grandchildren. I heard from one grandparent who is raising two teenage grandchildren following the death of her daughter. Due to being on a pension and with no other financial support other than the family allowance paid to all families, this lady has drawn down on her life savings and will soon have to sell her house to meet the costs of raising and educating her grandchildren," Mr Hall said.

"To compound matters, until she reaches the age of 63, this lady is expected to actively seek employment if she is to retain her single mother’s pension. Foster carers are not required to do so," said Mr Hall.

Mr Hall has suggested kinship carers should either be eligible for State based foster care payments or a special Centrelink allowance which acknowledges the task they are undertaking. However he said responses from both State Minister Sherryl Garbutt and Federal Minister Mal Brough had rejected these proposals.

Mr Hall said the meeting with grandparents suggested a number of things needed to be done to assist kinship carers. These included:

• An advisory committee comprising carers, DHS and Centrelink staff to discuss on-going concerns.
• Publication of a booklet outlining entitlements and information
• A standard pack of basic necessities when grandparents are first given children to care for.
• To be treated the same as Foster Carers when it comes to payments and Centrelink benefits.

"Carers throughout Eastern Victoria do a magnificent job and thoroughly deserve greater support from Governments. Grandparents raising grandchildren are a significant component of the broader carer network and should not be neglected. The Nationals carer policy includes a commitment to fully reimburse kinship carers for the cost of raising children of relatives," Mr Hall concluded.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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