Duet is pleased to announce new bilingual kinship case management services to grandparents raising grandchildren. The new service is available now and provides free, one-on-one support to help grandfamilies overcome obstacles as well as achieve self-sufficiency and stability in their homes after placement of children.

“The pandemic has been so difficult on so many families,” said Patricia Dominguez, kinship care services director at Duet. “Many of the grandfamilies we work with need support, connections to community resources and tools to help them be the best caregiver possible. Our new bilingual services are going to be critical to so many families.”

Duet’s grandparents raising grandchildren services offer help in English and Spanish for grandparents raising grandchildren through free-of-charge virtual and in-person support groups, legal guidance and assistance, funds for extracurricular activities, information and guided assistance, educational workshops, and more. All of their services have pivoted to meet COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Interesting Statistics:

· In Arizona, more than 64,000 grandparents are raising their grandchildren as kinship caregivers.

· Of these grandparents, 41.6% are of Hispanic/Latino origin and English is not their primary language, according to Grandfamilies.org.

· Kinship foster care accounts for 44% of the children in out-of-home care in Arizona. This increase continues to exceed the national average of 29% and is reflective of Arizona’s commitment to prioritize kin as the first preference for children who require out-of-home placement (DCS, 2016).

· In kinship families, 1 out of 4 grandparents have a disability and more than 1 out of 4 grandchildren residing with a grandparent lives in poverty.

· Research shows that children placed with relatives are less likely to have mental health issues and are at lower risk of having behavioral issues and trouble at school.

To learn more about Duet’s grandparents raising grandchildren program and the support they offer, visit http://www.duetaz.org/grandparents-raising-grandchildren or call (602) 274-5022.

About Duet: Partners In Health & Aging: Duet is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote health and well-being through vitally needed services to homebound adults, family caregivers, faith communities, and grandfamilies. Duet’s free-of-charge services are available in the greater Phoenix area. To volunteer, donate or ask for help, go to http://www.duetaz.org or call (602) 274-5022.