[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 114 (Thursday, September 14, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING NATIONAL GRANDPARENTS DAY

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 2006

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National 
Grandparents Day. Designated as the first Sunday following Labor Day of 
every year, Grandparents Day began in 1979 by a proclamation from 
President Jimmy Carter. Unfortunately the vital work of grandparents 
frequently goes unrecognized and underappreciated. Not only do 
grandparents provide ties to our past, they often times provide care to 
the Nation's children.
  Grandparents make up 5.7 million households living with over 6.1 
million children, evidence that many of these grandparents are often 
times caring for more than one child. It is important to note that 42 
percent of grandparent caregivers are the sole providers for the most 
basic needs of one or more of the children in their custody. 
Alarmingly, 35.8 percent of grandchildren under the age of 18 live in 
homes with Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or other form of public 
assistance, and 460,000 of these grandparent led households fall below 
the poverty line.
  Chicago, alone, is the home to three of the top ten congressional 
districts for children living in the homes of grandparents or other 
relatives. In my congressional district there are 23,397 grandparents 
living with grandchildren and over ten thousand grandparents who are 
responsible for their grandchildren's needs; indeed the 7th District of 
Illinois, my congressional district, has the highest percentage of 
children living in kinship care in the entire Nation. Not only does my 
district have the highest incidence of grandparent-headed households in 
the Nation, it also has a disproportionate number of African American 
grandparent caregivers, around 82 percent of all grandparent-headed 
households. It is an unfortunate fact that the problem of grandparent-
headed households disproportionately affects African-American 
grandparents who serve as kinship care providers at higher rates than 
other racial/ethnic groups; a fact that federal policies need to 
understand and address.
  B.C. Forbes said, ``Upon our children--how they are taught--rests the 
fate--or fortune--of tomorrow's world.'' The fate of our children and 
their future lies with the millions of grandparents who tirelessly 
raise their grandchildren. Grandparent-headed households are an 
unremitting force on our Nation's children and deserve our gratitude 
and support.

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