Are You a Grandparent Raising a Grandchild?
Would You Like Some Help?

Do you need assistance with legal issues, food, clothing, or school? You could be eligible for many resources. Please get in touch with your county’s WVSU Healthy Grandfamilies Coalition Office from our list of West Virginia counties. For urgent requests, please reach out to our West Virginia State University Extension project staff at (304) 204-4078.

What is WVSU Healthy Grandfamilies?

Over 35,000 children in the state of West Virginia are known to live in the primary custody of their grandparents (grandfamilies.org, 2020); however, the National Center for the Analysis of Healthcare Data (2020) puts that estimate closer to 43,000. Grandparents raising grandchildren struggle with knowledge, finances, and resources to parent their grandchildren for a variety of reasons including the disruption in the typical family lifecycle, the challenges of parenting in the 21st century, and their own family trauma due to having a child with an addiction and a grandchild exposed to this crisis.

Since 2015, the West Virginia State University Department of Social Work and WVSU Extension Service have collaborated to offer the Healthy Grandfamilies Program (WVSU HGP). WVSU HGP is a series of 9 facilitated discussion groups held with grandparents raising grandchildren and supportive social work services for assessment, advocacy, and follow-up needs. Discussion group topics include parenting, communication, health literacy/self-care, stress management, legal issues, social media, public school programs and policies, family response to addiction, and nutrition. In addition to the discussion groups, the program provides up to 6 months of social work support services such as a comprehensive intake assessment, help locating community resources, advocacy services, and confidential assistance in addressing unmet needs through an action planning process.

WVSU provides continued support to assist County Coalitions with locating resources, identifying potential discussion group speakers, finding funding for their local programs, analyzing and disseminating data, and ongoing training as needed. Additionally, WVSU serves as a central nucleus of information and resources for grandparents needing assistance to raise their grandchildren, providers assisting these families, and other states seeking best practices to follow.