National Web Sites

AARP Foundation Benefits QuickLINK
About disability benefits, medication coverage, and other state and federal benefit programs for which children and caregivers may be eligible

AARP GrandCare Toolkit for Grandfamilies
Raising your Grandchildren or Other Relatives’ Children

AARP Tax Aide Program
“is the nation’s largest free, volunteer-run tax assistance and preparation service available to taxpayers with low- and moderate-income, with special attention to those age 60 and older.”

ABA Center on Children and the Law
A program of the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, aims to improve chldren’s lives through advances in law, justice, knowledge, practice and public policy. Areas of expertise include child abuse and neglect, child welfare and protective services system enhancement, foster care, family preservation, termination of parental rights, parental substance abuse, adolescent health, and domestic violence.

American Academy of Pediatrics
Provides information and guidance for attaining physical, mental and social health and well being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.

American Bar Association, Kinship Care Legal Resource Center
The center is intended to serve as a toolkit for attorneys, judges, and other child-serving practitioners working with kinship families and having difficulty navigating the complex existing and emerging legal issues.

BenefitsCheckUp, “developed and maintained by The National Council on Aging (NCOA), is the nation’s most comprehensive Web-based service to screen for benefits programs for seniors with limited income and resources.”

Brookdale Foundation Group Relatives as Parents Program
This group is committed to enhancing the quality of life for America’s senior citizens and to further the fields of gerontology and geriatrics. Includes The Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP), which encourages and promotes the creation or expansion of services for grandparents and other relatives who have taken on the responsibility of surrogate parenting.

Casa – National website for Children’s Advocates
Site gives the local office addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) by state.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
A branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services committed to promoting health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. As the nation’s premier public health agency, its focus is not just on scientific excellence but also on protection of the health of all people. The site provides information on many health related subjects such as: Diseases & Conditions, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Environmental Health, Life Stages & Populations, Healthy Living, Injury Violence and Safety.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention section on Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Behavior disorders, including Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD) are common in children who are being raised by grandparents. Children with ADHD can’t control the way they act, can’t sit still, have trouble focusing and completing tasks, forget things, interrupt others, speak or act without thinking. These children are usually very bright, but have a hard time doing well in school and a hard time making friends.

The Child Care Bureau
A subsidiary of the “Office of Family Assistance, [that] supports low-income working families through child care financial assistance and promotes children’s learning by improving the quality of early care and education and after school.”

Child Welfare League of America
CWLA is an association of more than 1,100 public and private nonprofit agencies that assist over 3.5 million abused and neglected children and their families each year with a wide range of services.

Children of Alcoholics Foundation
(COAF) aims to help children from alcoholic and substance abusing families by breaking the cycle of parental substance abuse and reducing the pain and problems that result from parental addiction. The website offers a variety of topic articles. (HelpLink (1-800-359-COAF), a 24-hour service hotline, provides information and referrals to thousands of children of substance abusers, concerned friends and family, and professionals each year.

Children’s Defense Fund
CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick or into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown.

Foster Parent Community
A triple ‘A’ site for helpful links on issues facing relatives and foster parents raising children with attachment disorders,attention deficits (ADD & ADHA), fetal alcohol syndrome and other special needs. Subjects range from adoption to Dr. Seuss.

The Foundation for Grandparenting
Dedicated to raising grandparent consciousness and grandparent identity.

Generations United
The focus is on improving the lives of children, youth, and older people through intergenerational strategies, programs, and public policies. The site offers the Generations United Intergenerational Program Directory, the Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center, information about funding opportunities and resources, action alerts for those interested in GRG public policies, on-line abstracts of publications pertaining to grandfamilies, a guide to healthy eating and physical activity for children, and much more.

Grandfamilies of America
This website offers legal, legislative and other information and support for relative caregivers.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Arizona
This website is for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Southern Arizona Coalition (GRGSoAZ), which was formed in 1999 after the National Satellite Conference on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Implications for Professionals and Agencies.

Grandparents Resource Center
Helps Families to negotiate with the system to re-connect children in foster care with their biological families.

Grands Place
A site coordinated by and for grandparents and special others parenting children, offering chat room and many resources.

Internal Revenue Service, US Department of the Treasury

Kincare – for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and other Kinship relatives  is a web log for Kinship Care families who have taken on the responsibility of a grandchild, niece or nephew, or younger sibling, because the parents are unable to parent at this time. The main focus is to share resources with Kinship Care families and offer regularly posted notes on getting through the systems that kinship care families face: legal, social services, schools, health care. Blog host Helene Ellis is also the author of A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents, info@chicagoroadpublishing.com

Lawyer Referral Directory Service
American Bar Association – Ask for the telephone number of your local lawyer referral service.

National Adoption Center
The Center works with social workers and other adoption professionals to bring children and families together.

National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
N4A’s primary mission is to build the capacity of its members to help older persons and persons with disabilities live with dignity and choices in their homes and communities for as long as possible.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Child Passenger Safety program
Consumer information concerning car seats for children

National Institute of Mental Health (National Institutes of Health)
Website about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a common medical disorder in children, manifesting itself in difficult to manage behaviors.

National Resource Center for Respite and Crisis Care Services
Respite is temporary relief for caregivers and families who are caring for those with disablity, chronic or terminal illnesses, and the elderly.

Promising Practices in Encouraging and Supporting Grandparents and Relatives Raising Grandchildren (32 pages)

The Brookdale Foundation Relatives as Parents Program Guidebook, “with stories of 11 successful aging network sponsors of RAPP programs that have made a difference in the lives of many relatives raising children.”

Safety Belt Safe USA
A national non-profit organization dedicated to child passenger safety. For questions about child safety seats, seat recalls, news releases about safety seats.

SeatCheck
A national campaign to help properly secure their children in motor vehicles. Central to the program is a free child safety seat inspection locator service and toll-free at 1-866-SEAT-CHECK. SeatCheck resources provide a listing of more than 4,000 local inspection locations staffed by trained and certified child safety seat technicians. Website and toll-free telephone assistance are available in both Spanish and English. In addition, the Website offers parents and caregivers other useful information on keeping children safe in motor vehicles.

SeniorsList
Dedicated to your health and happiness. Gives Grandparent Legal Rights and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren information.

Social Security and SSI
Official site for the U.S. Social Security Administration. Deals with Supplement Security Income (SSI) as well as retirement, survivor, disability, and Medicare benefits.

United Way Information and Referral
Information and referral services link people in need with the community services designated to meet those needs.

University of Illinois Extension, Parenting Again,CD
“a resource tool developed to assist support group facilitators who respond to the needs of grandparent caregivers. There are nine topics based discussion guides that are designed to be facilitative tools for support group leaders to use. The topics were chosen based on commonly identified issues of grandparent caregivers.

The US. gov Grandparent Raising Grandchildren

Web Guide: ThirdAge
A leading online lifestage media, marketing and consumer insight company exclusively focused on serving baby boomers.

Wisconsin Foster and Adoptive Parents Association Inc.
A peer and volunteer-based organization that provides support, education, networking, and advocacy to foster and adoptive parents as well as legislative advocacy and education about foster and adoptive families to the media and the public.