Aug 07, 2023
Over the last few decades, addressing the needs of caregivers has emerged as national priority, with millions of people trying every day to balance work with family life—especially “sandwich generation” parents who are managing both child care and elder care. But there’s another type of caregiving that may have not received as much attention, but it, too, involves millions of families nationwide: It’s called kinship care, a term used to describe the raising of children by grandparents, as well as other relatives, and family friends. Recently, the term “grandfamily” was coined to describe families engaged in kinship care, although roughly 40 percent of these caregivers are not parents. In today’s episode, Gerard Wallace, the founder of the New York State Kinship Navigator, will talk about his deep and abiding advocacy on behalf of kinship caregivers and their families. Since graduating from law school more than 25 years ago, Jerry has become a leading expert on kinship care, drafting federal and state legislation, providing legal continuing education training on kinship law, and presenting at many conferences, commissions, and local forums. His work, along with other advocates, has resulted in more than 30 recommendations becoming laws, regulations or policy changes. Gerry has received numerous awards for his leadership, but more than these accolades, you will be inspired by his far-reaching knowledge of kinship issues; his devotion to supporting kinship families; and his commitment to raising national awareness of the needs, challenges and rewards of kinship care.