In many families, grandparents are the favorite and most trusted caregivers for their grandchildren. Parents often prefer to have their children cared for by grandparents instead of by a nanny, babysitter, or day care provider. When parents are unable to care for their children for whatever reason, grandparents are often the first people to step up to the plate and take over the responsibility of providing full time care to their grandchildren. Grandparents often provide care for their grandchildren when their parents become ill, have economic difficulties which affect their ability to support their child, abuse drugs or alcohol, or neglect their children.
Many times, when a child is being raised by a grandparent, the situation arises without any formal legal proceeding. Unfortunately for the grandparents, they may encounter difficulties in stepping into a parental role without the legal status of a parent. Three common issues that grandparents have in caring for their grandchildren when they have not legally adopted them are obtaining medical care for the children, accessing state benefits programs which could provide them with resources to help them provide for the children, and enrolling the children in school. In situations where the child