Grandparent carer calls for funding as living costs surge: Q&A

A charity has called for financial support from the government amid rising inflation, currently at 7.3 per cent, pushing grandparent carers further under the poverty line. 

Sixty-six per cent of grandparent carers receive under $50,000 per annum, of which nearly all said they did not have enough money left by the end of the week.

Dianne Franklyn is vice president of the charity 'Grandparents raising Grandchildren' and a grandparent carer herself.

Franklyn said most carers are on a pension, which did not take into account raising a grandchild or multiple grandchildren.

"These children often don't come to us as little bundles of perfection - in most cases, they're very traumatised," she said.

"Their complex mental and physical issues cost about double what you expect to pay for a child under normal circumstances."

Franklyn told Aged Care Insite that most grandparent carers are on the brink of poverty or already below the line and called for urgent financial support.

ACI: How common is it that grandparents raise grandchildren in Australia, and for what reasons would they end up in this situation?

DF: It's more common than most people realise. There are tens of thousands of grandparent carers in Australia. It is a huge figure that's not recognised at all. No federal payment covers grandparent carers because we are not acknowledged as a cohort of people who should receive compensation. 

There are two reasons why most children come into their grandparents' care: mental health and substance abuse. In some cases, the parents have passed away, but for the majority, it's either mental health difficulties or substance abuse.

What sort of legal complications do grandparents come across?

One of the biggest issues grandparent carers have is that the children are placed in the grandparent carer's responsibility bracket by the Department of Community Services. In some cases, the police or the Department of Children's Protective Services calls, and you have to have several interviews where the parents are given the opportunity to alter their behaviours.

If their behaviours are incapable of altering, the grandchildren are handed to the grandparents immediately. You do have a choice; you can take them, or they can go into the foster care system. Those are your only two options. But then comes that tough job of going through the family court system to gain legal custody of the grandchildren.

It's not easy. I had to sell my home to pay for my court costs. These court procedures can go on for years and years.

What financial difficulties do grandparent carers face while raising the child/children?

When we start to take care of our grandchildren, most of us have already retired and are on a pension or fixed income.

So, our annuities are set up to look after us, not also to raise children. But, of course, it's a considerable expense to raise children. You have to pay for school fees, clothing, sports, after-school activities, and doctors.

These children often don't come to us as little bundles of perfection- they are generally very traumatised. They often have complex mental health and medical issues that cost about double what you would expect to pay for a child under normal circumstances.

And you have to do it, but you don't have the savings as a retiree.

I can also imagine it's harder physically to care for a child.

Well, to put it bluntly, we're older, so you expect some health complications at our age. But, even if you are generally in good health - when you come on to look after small people, that reserve of strength that you've got to look after yourself is totally different. 

For example, we've got great-grandparents in our group that are in their eighties and looking after newborn babies.

I hear stories of older people struggling every day because I'm the person who welcomes new members to our group. In most cases, they're heartbreaking.

What are the top priorities to increase grandparent carers' support? 

It'd be nice to be recognised as a cohort of parents, not just lumped under a carer umbrella, which is where we are. And if we had some parity with what foster carer has received, that'd be nice too. 

We don't even receive a quarter of what the government pays a foster carer. Foster carers get anywhere between $1,500 and $2,000 a fortnight. We get a hundred dollars a week.

I'm sure most of us know someone who does this job, but we don't think about it because it's not touched us, which is perfectly normal. After all, we don't talk about it. 

It's a situation where you find yourself in, but you love your grandchildren with all your heart because they're your flesh and blood. But that doesn't mean that the stresses placed upon you as a grandparent carer aren't enormous and result in your ill health. 

We're in the process now of trying to get state and federal government acknowledgement and help.

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