Pennsylvania launches free statewide legal support program for grandparents raising grandchildren

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Pennsylvania grandparents who find themselves unexpectedly raising their young grandchildren will now have access to free legal advice and support while navigating child custody issues and the court system.

The state has launched the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Legal Line for residents 60 and older who are the primary caregivers for one or more children. The support service is an expansion of an existing program in Philadelphia.

The legal line is staffed with attorneys from the SeniorLAW Center who will provide legal information, advice and referrals to other social services, including food and financial assistance.

“These grandparents are often faced, unprepared, to do something that they didn’t expect to do, and they’re using their resources, the resources they saved all their lives for, to raise those grandchildren,” said Pennsylvania Department of Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich. “These are individuals who need access to legal services, these are individuals who need access to permanency services and other services we have in Pennsylvania.”

About 83,000 grandparents care for nearly 260,000 children across the commonwealth, according to state officials. They often take over these roles after losing their adult children to disease, trauma or other reasons.

Several ongoing issues can play a part into why a parent is no longer able to care for a child and a grandparent steps in, said Karen Buck, executive director of the SeniorLAW Center.

“The opioid crisis, the addiction crisis, the housing crisis, incarceration, poverty, even military deployment,” she said.

Older and aging residents may struggle to navigate a complex field of judicial systems and policies to obtain temporary custody or even permanently adopt their grandchildren, Buck said, which can be financially challenging and time-consuming.

Under Pennsylvania law, parents or grandparents do not have a right to counsel in civil court cases, as they do in criminal court matters, she added, which presents another barrier.

The legal line can be especially helpful in these cases, Buck said.

“Because it’s a telephone-based service, you can access it from the privacy of your home,” she said. “And for older adults, that overcomes the obstacles of transportation, of mobility, of disability, of poverty and other obstacles to accessing legal services.”

There is often no shortage of willingness and passion among grandparents who want to become caregivers to their grandchildren, said Katie Jones, SeniorLAW Center staff attorney.

“One thing that’s striking is how each grandparent truly shows up for their grandchild,” she said. “They show up in court, hearing after hearing.”

Now with the legal line, Jones said older residents can actually get the help they need in representing themselves in court, preparing documents and successfully winning their custody cases.

The legal line is part of the state’s Aging Our Way PA, a 10-year strategic plan on improving aging services across the commonwealth.

The PA Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Legal Line can be reached by calling 1-877-727-7529.