Senator Collins honored for supporting grandparents raising grandchildren

Advocacy group Generations United presents award on behalf of approximately 2.6 million grandparents raising their grandchildren  Generations United honored U.S. Senator Susan Collins with its Grandfamilies Champion Award for her commitment to supporting grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. Generations United is an advocacy organization focused on supporting intergenerational families. “For nearly three decades, Generations United has worked to improve the lives of children, youth and older adults through intergenerational collaboration,” said Senator Collins. “I greatly appreciate being recognized for my work to support grandparents raising grandchildren. Working together, we can ensure grandparents receive the resources they need to help children thrive.” Earlier this year, Senator Collins, Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, introduced the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act to create a federal task force charged with supporting grandparents raising grandchildren. Generations United applauded Senator Collins for her leadership in introducing this legislation. Senator Collins also chaired a hearing in March where the committee heard from Bette Hoxie, an Old Town native and the Executive Director of Adoptive & Foster Families of Maine and the Kinship Program, which supports grandparents, aunts, and uncles, who keep families together amidst the opioid epidemic. Bette also shared her personal experiences raising grandchildren. Adoptive & Foster Families of Maine works with 3,100 kinship families around Maine – more than 80 percent of them are grandparents raising their grandchildren.