Action Center    GU National Center

GU's National Center on Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children is a national leader in addressing issues facing the more than 4 million grandfamilies (grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives raising children) in the U.S.  GU’s Center provides training and technical assistance, education, and national advocacy on behalf of the families.  In partnership with an advisory group of national leaders in the grandfamilies field, GU helps set the national agenda to advance public will in support of these important families.

The work of the National Center has evolved from funding and supporting over 35 direct service support groups for grandfamilies in over a dozen states serving hundreds of children and their grandparent caregivers to providing education, resource materials and technical assistance to those working directly with the families.  Since establishing our National Center on Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children in 1997, we have directly trained more than 6500 professionals and caregivers, distributed thousands of publications, held more than a dozen online expert chats, and passed the Legacy Intergenerational Housing Act.

In July 2004 GU's National Center focused on convening the second national expert symposium on grandparents raising grandchildren.  The resulting Action Agenda was released January 2005 and is being used to lead the work on behalf of the families.  National organizations that are working with GU in implementing this agenda include the Children's Defense Fund, Child Welfare League of America, AARP and others.

In Janaury 2005, GU's Center convened the first national symposium on Affordable Housing Opportunities for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children.  A dedicated Action Agenda is continuing to drive our work in this area.  The first professional messaging work on identifying language designed to help increase public support and awareness for relative-headed families followed.  The resulting publication, Grand Voices for America’s Children: New Perspectives on Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children - a guide to help professionals in their efforts to garner public support for children being raised by grandparents and other relatives is being disseminated widely to further our efforts on these related fronts.  GU continues to deploy a Network of Expert Trainers from across the country with expertise in various disciplines that cut across the issues facing grandfamilies.

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