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"You're not prepared at all, because this is a totally different world...Instead of playing canasta or bingo, you're a soccer mom again!" More than 17,000 grandparents in Idaho are raising grandchildren. They are part of a national trend first pinpointed in the 2000 U.S. Census, which documented that at least four million kids are being raised by their grandparents, a number that grew by more than 50 percent between 1990 and 1998. There are many reasons grandparents end up caring for their children's children, but most are the result of crisis situations. The majority involve drugs, but incarceration, abuse, HIV/AIDS or other medical problems, physical disabilities, and economic instability are also causes. Using documentary pieces and a live call-in discussion, this special "Dialogue" on grandparents as parents aims to assist grandparents who are taking on this role.
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"When people look at me with a 15-year-old, I tell them it's NOT a medical
miracle!"