Grandfamilies: Growing trend in grandparents raising children

Kiley Worthington was 2 1/2 years old when she declared her independence from her parents.

"That's my daddy," she told her father one day, pointing a chubby finger at a family portrait.

In and out of jail most of his daughter's life, Kiley's father had had little to do with the child. Drugs commandeered — from both parents — any attention that might have been Kiley's.

Still, a piece of his heart fluttered at the thought that his baby girl acknowledged him. Daring to hope, he motioned at his own photo.

"This one?"

Kiley shook her head, blue eyes wide and innocent.

"No," she said.

It wasn't her father's face she pointed to. It was her grandfather's.

An increasing number of grandparents, like Kiley's, are taking over parental duties, trading in the golden years for another round of spit-up and diapers. In 1970, about 3 percent of American children lived in grandparent-headed households. According to the 2008 U.S. Census, that percentage has now more than doubled. At last count, about 18,000 Utah grandparents had stepped in where their own children had failed.

"This isn't just an issue for people on welfare," said Jacci Graham, director of The Children's Service Society, which provides support for grandparents raising their grandchildren. "All types of people are dealing with this — doctors, lawyers, college professors."

High-profile grandfamilies (as these unconventional families are known) include that of Barack Obama, who was largely raised by his maternal grandmother, Michael Jackson, who gave the care of his three children over to his mother, and in Utah, Larry H. Miller and Jon Huntsman Sr., who both took on responsibility for a grandchild.

Historically, death, divorce, illness and monetary problems have sent children into their grandparents' homes. Social workers attribute the recent jump in the number of grandparent-headed households — a 34 percent increase over the past decade — to rising substance abuse problems among parents.

"For most of these grandparents, nobody gave them custody; they just stepped in where they saw a need and took charge," Graham said. "They will do anything to keep their grandchildren safe."

Janet and Glen Worthington, 53 and 57, didn't have much time to mull over how bringing Kiley home might change their lives. They got a phone call in the middle of the night.