Abstract
Using qualitative data collected from fifty-eight African American grandmothers raising grandchildren in skipped-generation households (SGHs), I reveal how and why women in non-normative families, lacking legal protections and publicly recognized authority as parents, must negotiate risk in pursuit of resources. I demonstrate that these grandmothers struggle for economic survival while seeking simultaneously to minimize the risk of losing their grandchildren and maximize their chances of receiving public assistance. I argue that grandmothers in SGHs face significant challenges obtaining government benefits owing to policy eligibility guidelines, street-level implementation, and family dynamics. Ultimately, I illustrate how the severe deprivation experienced by these grandmothers is exacerbated by their exclusion from safety net programs that could help them support the children in their care.
- Copyright © 2015 by Russell Sage Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Reproduction by the United States Government in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose. I am especially grateful to the study’s interviewees for their participation and candor. Support was graciously provided by the National Science Foundation (award no. 1004123) and the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (grant no. 90YE0112). Research support was provided by the West Coast Poverty Center, Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, and Women Investigating Race, Ethnicity, and Difference (WIRED). I thank Jennie Romich, Jim Gleeson, Scott Allard, and anonymous reviewers for their comments and criticisms. Direct correspondence to: LaShawnDa Pittman at lpittman{at}uw.edu, Department of American Ethnic Studies, University of Washington, Box 354380, Seattle, WA 98195.
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