River Oak Center for Children: Grandparent Support Groups

River Oak's grandparent support groups are offered to grandparents raising a family member's
child.

While the benefits of "kinship care" (placement of children with relatives) are many -
alternative to foster care placement, stable, loving, and familiar environment for the children -
relatives who provide such care (most often grandparents) often feel financially, emotionally,
and physically overwhelmed by the responsibilities of providing for children who have
emotional, behavioral, and mental health issues. These stressors place children at risk for
placement in foster care.

River Oak's grandparent support groups provide grandparents with coping skills and other
resources necessary to ensure that the children in their care remain with their extended
families and will not enter the foster care system.