Understanding grandparent care: policy and practice implications of grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren in the Australian context
Anne Hampshire, Deb Brennan and Bettina Cass
Mission Australia, University of Sydney and Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW
Contact Email:   hampshireamissionaustralia.com.au

In Australia , Europe and the US, there is a dramatic rise in the number of grandparents assuming the role of primary carer of their grandchildren. This is a consequence of a number of factors including government child protection policies which prefer kinship models of out-of-home care, federal Family Court decisions following family breakdown and informal kin care arrangements where family members determine a more protective care-giving environment is required for a child’s wellbeing. A distinctive feature of the Australian environment is the adoption of an ‘Aboriginal Child Placement’ principle in all jurisdictions. This prioritises placement of Indigenous children within their extended families.

This paper will outline current data on grandparent care in Australia and some of the factors impacting on this growing trend. It proposes a new, more comprehensive model for conceptualising the complex relationships between child, parent and grandparent than is currently used in most of the literature. It identifies some of the complex policy and legal issues impacting on the wellbeing of both grandchildren and grandparents in this form of care. It will also report on a successful Australian program working with grandparents and some of the key practice learnings which have emerged from it.

Paper Download Information (if available):

Brennan_Cass_Hampshire_48.pdf

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