Raising grandchildren becoming more common for First Nation grandparents
First Nations grandparents increasingly taking charge of grandchildren
Michelle McQuigge, Canadian Press - Sunday, October 29, 2006
TORONTO -- On Feb. 12, 2005, Connie Johnson sent her husband out to cruise Ottawa's downtown streets in search of her five-year-old granddaughter.
She had just gotten word that Maggie was in the care of her drug-addicted mother, in direct violation of orders from the Children's Aid Society.
Hours later, Johnson's husband found Maggie at a Salvation Army shelter and opened a new chapter in the Inuk girl's life.
Maggie became one of thousands of First Nations children to permanently fall under the care of grandparents who had previously thought their child-rearing days were behind them.
"I had thought all this was in my past," said Johnson, a 70-year-old mother of three. "I never expected to have to do this again."
Johnson's situation is far from unique, according to research conducted at the University of Toronto.
One study states the number of Canadian grandparents raising children under the age of 18 jumped 20 per cent between 1991 and 2001.
While the trend is evident across all ethnic groups, research shows that Canada's First Nations population is most affected by the trend.
Esme Fuller-Thompson, an associate professor of social work at the University of Toronto, said 17 per cent of all caregiving grandparents are of First Nations origin.
"This was easily more than five times the numbers you'd expect to find given the population," she said.
While Fuller-Thompson said it's difficult to pinpoint why aboriginals are so over-represented in the study, she said cultural beliefs and history play a key role.
"There's certainly a strong sense that the First Nations population is very committed to passing on their cultural heritage," she said, adding that residential school experiences strengthened the desire to preserve aboriginal values.
Fuller-Thompson also cited the long-held tradition of deferring to elders for wisdom and guidance, saying that grandparents have historically cared for younger children while their parents tried to support the family.
Today, however, Fuller-Thompson and other researchers found children are usually driven into their grandparents' homes when their parents succumb to substance abuse Johnson said Maggie's mother, who grew up in an Inuit community, began using drugs when the child was only six-months-old.
Maggie lived with her father but frequently spent weekends with her grandparents when Dad did not want to watch over her.
By the age of five, Maggie had become the subject of two separate investigations by the Children's Aid Society after both her kindergarten teacher and staff at her school began to suspect abuse.
Johnson herself became concerned about the way Maggie's father was raising his only child, eventually growing to fear his violent temper, and finally deciding to report her own son to the Children's Aid Society.
"I knew if he came to the door, I wouldn't be able to let him in because of fear, which is very painful," she said.
Maggie has not seen either of her parents since last year, and among the many struggles Johnson now copes with is the emotional strain of watching her granddaughter mourn parents who have abandoned her.
"She would cry, and almost sort of wail ... for her mother and father," she said.
"She would usually go hide somewhere, and you couldn't approach her. ... It was really, really heartbreaking to hear her and know there was nothing you could do."
Another of Johnson's major challenges is coming up with enough money to raise a child.
The Ontario government provides caregiving grandparents with $221 a month plus two $50 handouts with which to buy school supplies and winter clothes.
In contrast, foster parents receive $50 a day to raise their children.
While research shows most provinces have begun to endorse kinship care, only British Columbia offers equal financial support for grandparents and foster parents.
Some provinces, such as Ontario and Alberta, are revisiting their kinship care policies and may provide additional support to struggling grandparents.
"We recognize that in many cases, the best option for the child may be to be placed with an extended family member like a grandparent, but we also realize that those options need to be viable," said Chris Carson, a spokesman from the Ontario Ministry of Children's Services.
"We have policy work underway to make sure that we provide the support that grandparents need to make those options as viable as possible."
While Johnson would welcome financial relief, she said the emotional toll that comes with raising Maggie is her most demanding problem.
She starts many days in tears fearing she is no longer up to the challenge of raising a child with serious behavioural issues, and laments the loss of quality time with her husband, children, and other grandchildren.
She fears that at age 70, her good health may give out at any time, leaving her incapable of raising a girl who needs love and stability above all else.
And she lives in dread of the day when her granddaughter will be able to fully understand the degree to which her parents rejected her.