Gisbourne GreyPower Members are calling on the Government to offer more financial support to grandparents looking after grandchildren.

By Lisa Mills
GISBORNE Greypower members are calling on the Government to offer more financial support to grandparents looking after grandchildren and to put an end to what they describe as "blatant discrimination".

The call comes following the national Greypower annual meeting at Auckland where members heard from the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust.
Gisborne Greypower member Lex Gordon said he was shocked to hear some grandparents had lost their homes because of the financial burden placed on them because they were looking after their grandchildren.

The group now wants the Government to increase the unsupported child benefit to equal the amount paid to foster parents.

"We are not saying foster parents should get any less just that grandparents looking after their grandchildren should be getting the same," Mr Gordon said.
"The children are entitled to a life and at the moment there would be more financial benefit if they were living with strangers," he said.

Census 2001 figures show over 4000 grandparents had taken on the role of parent to their grandchildren.

As Gisborne had the highest proportion of youth in New Zealand, it was believed there would be some financial "horror stories" to match those in other parts of the country.

Mr Gordon said in many cases grandparents who had taken on the role of parenting their grandchildren had no money left. Some had to sell their homes as a result, he said. "If they were foster parents things would be a different.
"They would be able to access all the extras that could make a difference for the child."

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust national convenor Diane Vivian said there had not been a support group in Gisborne for about five years and the trust was keen to see one reinstated.

Grandparents raising grandchildren was a wide-spread issue not only in New Zealand but around the world.

"Although the Government is to raise the unsupported child benefit by $15 a week in 2005 it is still behind what foster parents receive," she said. "There is a significant number of grandparents raising their grandchildren as primary caregivers. The trust has 2300 members and that number is growing everyday."
Foster parents received about $30 more a week and special benefits, Mrs Vivian said.

One of the main issues faced by caregiver grandparents was the children came at a time when income was diminishing but the child's needs were growing.
There was also the issue of legal costs, with some grandparents spending up to $120,000 battling for custody of their grandchildren often to protect them from severe social, emotional and psychological problems.

Because many grandparents had an asset they were not entitled to legal aid but their children were, said Mrs Vivian.   That meant parents could keep challenging for custody in the Family Court, she said. Some grandparents had lost their homes or had been forced to downgrade because of financial worries. Mrs Vivian supported the call for financial equality. "These are the grandparents who take on this role out of love and concern for the two generations of children involved."

Lisa Mills
Reporter
The Gisborne Herald

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