Rep. Karen Boback (Columbia/Luzerne/Wyoming) has announced her office will hold a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Seminar featuring state Secretary of Aging Teresa Osborne. The event will take place on Friday, July 20, at the Wyoming County Active Adult center located at 101 Dymond Terrace in Tunkhannock. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m., and the program will begin at 11.
“This event will help grandparents raising grandchildren better understand the resources and programs available to them,” said Boback. “We will have the departments of Aging and Human Services on hand to answer questions and provide information.”
Boback has been active in helping and assisting grandparents raising grandchildren during her time in the Legislature. In April, the House passed legislation that she co-sponsered, House Bill 2133, establishing the Kinship Caregiver Navigator Program, an informational resource to operate both as a website and a toll-free hotline. The website would offer information on support and services available, and a specially trained navigator would be able to provide support and guidance to kinship caregivers.
Also clearing the state House in April was House Bill 1539, which would grant temporary guardianship to grandparents when the parents of the grandchildren are unable to care for them primarily due to substance abuse issues. Boback supported this bill and voted in favor of it.
“An estimated 82,000 grandparents are the sole caregivers for nearly 89,000 grandchildren in Pennsylvania,” said Boback. “We must do everything we can to help and assist our senior citizens who raise and provide for their grandchildren.”
No RSVP is required. To find out more on this event, please call Boback’s district office at (570)-836-4777.