Oregon Legal Research Blog
In Washington County (Oregon), April 2, 2009:
‘Day for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: 37,536 Oregon children live with their grandparents
“In Oregon, over 20,000 grandparents have stepped forward to raise children because their parents struggle with drug and alcohol abuse, incarceration, HIV/AIDS, mental illness, domestic violence, divorce, unemployment or military deployment,” notes Deborah Letourneau, Program Coordinator for Washington County’s Family Caregiver Support Program of Disability, Aging and Veteran Services.
Letourneau is announcing the agency’s first annual day-long event for grandparents, “Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Day for You.”
The activities will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2009, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Beaverton Foursquare Church, 13565 SW Walker Road in Beaverton.
“We wanted to provide a relaxed event – we’ll have free chair massages – while providing top-rate speakers and a resource fair. And the event, including lunch, is free!” …’ (link to full media release)
This, 20,000 grandparents, is a large number in a small state (from a population standpoint), but you can compare with other states.
County law libraries get many questions from grandparents, about adoption, about powers of attorney, about their grandchildren’s health care benefits, and more.
These are tough issues, many (most!) requiring consulting an attorney. If you want to do a little research beforehand, you can ask at your county law library.