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Census numbers show many Jacksonville grandparents are responsible for taking care of grandkids

New census numbers show thousands of local grandparents are responsible for taking care of their grandkids.

Many of them are forced to tap into their retirement savings to do so.

The U.S. Census Bureau just released profiles for each county, the data spans five years.

One of the areas studied was grandparents and grandchildren.

In Duval County, 19,058 grandparents lived with their grandkids. Of those nearly 37 percent were responsible for their basic needs.

The percentage is greater in Clay County, there 6,183 grandparents lived with their grandkids. Of those 44 percent were responsible for their care.

Christina Spudeas, the executive director of Florida’s Children First, said this is nothing new but what is alarming is the reason some of the children are needing to be placed in the system.

“The opioid crisis has had a major impact in the recent years, mental health issues of the children raising the children,” said Spudeas.

She said grandparents are among those who step in the most.

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“A major burden financially, a major burden. I guess emotionally it’s less of a burden because they don’t want to see those kids go to a stranger,” said Spudeas.

Even though grandparents are likely the main caregivers, the help the system provides is often not enough.

“Day care alone can be so cost prohibitive,” said Spudeas. “If you’re thinking we’re going to now pay a relative for a child that’s under 5, less than $250 a month, day care costs that much more a week so subsidized day care is needed for these families too.”

Currently the Department of Children and Families pays relative caregivers who qualify $298 for kids between 13 and 17 but for a foster parent it can be nearly $550.

“If we really want the best for these kids which is to keep them in a more stable environment by their family that they can be safe with, then I think we need to be paying those family members more,” said Spudeas.

The good news is, there’s a new law that will go into effect next year that Spudeas will increase that monthly cash assistance to $330 but she says more still needs to be done.