PCA Caregiver Support Program helps older relatives caring for children

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Paid Sponsor Partnership: Philadelphia Corporation for Aging

Darlene McGlotten-Whitehead says she's been a caregiver to her 10-year-old granddaughter, Laila, on and off for the last eight years.

"A very smart little girl," says McGlotten-Whitehead. "Good at drawing and doing puzzles."

She says stepping up to be the child's guardian about a year ago was never a question.

"I love Laila," she says. "We joke a lot."

But providing was a concern, so she joined PCA's Caregiver Support Program.

"PCA Caregiver Support Program provides services and supports to older relatives and grandparents raising children, or what we call kinship caregivers," says Cheryl Clark-Woods, Director of the Caregiver Support Program at Philadelphia Corporation for Aging. "The way we provide assistance is through a financial reimbursement for out-of-pocket caregiving expenses."

Clark-Woods says those caregiving expenses can include a variety of things, such as summer camps, after-school programs, extracurricular activities, childcare for smaller children, and even respite for older adult caregivers.

"If your grandchildren need school clothes, they help with that," says McGlotten-Whitehead. "And just knowing that takes a lot off you."

"It's a holistic approach. We have a care manager who assists older relatives and grandparents connect to whatever will support them in their caregiving," says Clark-Woods. "Whatever resources can really help along the way."

"When I called them, it didn't take but about two days and they were back with me," says McGlotten-Whitehead. "We did the intake."

She says her case manager reassured her that "everything was going to be alright."

Program participants must be 55 or older and a resident of Philadelphia.

Clark-Woods says they must also be "living with the child and raising the child as a primary caregiver."

There is also a financial eligibility to participate.

"I just pray and hope that a lot of grandmothers just reach out and get to this program, because it will help you," says McGlotten-Whitehead.

To connect to the Caregiver Support Program, call PCA's Helpline at 215-765-9040.

McGlotten-Whitehead says the program has given her a sense of pride that she can help her granddaughter and show her that "she does have somebody."

"And I can just see her maturing to a level that, you know, I could say I'm doing a good job," she says.

For more information, visit PCA's Caregiver Support Program online at: PCACares.org.