Grandparents Raising Children Support Group

If someone will give me the info and letters???, I will be more than happy to write and round up others. :)

Daisy posted her letter under "arg."

You can email your letter to DeMint, but not Franks. If you're out of his district (and I am) you'll have to snail mail him.

So I emailed DeMint and my local Senator and Congressman (Menendez and LoBiondo). You should be able to find your federal reps online and most of them have a way to contact them online.

Here's my version of Daisy's letter. I suggest that you change it to sound more like you -- that way, the politicians won't dismiss them as "form" letters and may take them more seriously.

Just be sure to remember to change the name and title of the person you're writing to :-) - I've indicated the places where Daisy and I personalized our letters.

Dear [Senator or Congressman]:

I am writing to you regarding [112th] H.J.RES.110 : Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to parental rights. I can understand the need for such an amendment. However, if the bill passes as written it will negatively impact the millions of grandparents who have become parents to their grandchildren.

All I’m asking for is a tiny change before the bill is voted upon.

Seven million children are being raised in grandparent headed households. Over 70% of the biological parents are substance abusers who cannot be good parents because of their addictions. Statistically, they have little chance of ever becoming responsible parents. Therefore, the majority of these grandparents will be raising their grandchildren to adulthood.

How does this bill affect grandparents like my husband and me?

In many cases, the child’s grandparents have been raising their grandchildren for most of their lives -- in our case, seven years. Most of us (80%, according to statistics) are utilizing our own funds -- including our retirement funds -- to pay for the children's expenses. We’re even saving taxpayer money, because most of us either do not qualify or do not choose to accept benefits (something the bio parents continue to receive.)

Yet grandparents have NO STANDING in most courts.

Judges overwhelmingly respect the rights of the parent over the best interest of the child. The parent often plays the system by going to court and stating that they have been clean of drugs for two weeks. The judge must give them the opportunity to try again, even if the children will suffer. Since no state has determined what a fit or unfit parent is, parents will receive leniency.

[NAME], we grandparents are not just filling in the void, and we didn’t ask to give up our retirements, our empty nests and the remainder of our lives to become parents again. We do it because we care about our grandchildren and do not want to see them end up in foster care. As one friend put it so well: “"The system has this warped mentality about keeping the family together. I AM family."

If this bill is passed as written, it will give total support to the biological parents, even if they can't raise their own children. Grandparents will not only remain without standing in the courts, but will have no power to protect the grandchildren they are loving and nurturing, from returning to an abusive and/or neglectful parent.

[NAME], I beg you to insist that this bill include grandparents who have become parents again. It’s a very simple change, but one that could go far to protect our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. Please feel free to contact me regarding this issue. I thank you in advance for considering my request.

Sincerely,
[ME]

Thx for your post Sara. Not a problem about editing letter. I stated that mine was just an idea. I believe everyone should impress the legislators with THEIR story. These guys need a less on what we are going through.

Here's a response I got from Senator Menendez of NJ (kind of wishy-washy, and doesn't really answer the question about grandparents, but that's how politicians are :-)

"Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts about a Parental Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution. Your opinion is important to me.

As you may know, the Parental Rights Amendment (H.J. Res. 3) was introduced in the House of Representatives on January 5, 2011. This legislation seeks to amend the U.S. Constitution to stipulate that parents have the right to determine the upbringing and education of their children. Because this amendment would supersede federal and state laws governing the wellbeing of children – including laws that protect children from abuse, negligence and dangerous living conditions – I do not support its adoption. While I recognize that parents are responsible for their children's upbringing, I also believe that the laws in place to protect children are vitally important to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all children.

Amending the U.S. Constitution is a very serious matter and is subject to a lengthy legislative process. As prescribed in the Constitution itself, an amendment must be approved by two-thirds of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and then be ratified by three-quarters of all state legislatures. H.J. Res 3 is currently pending before the House of Representatives. To keep track of this bill, I encourage you to visit the Library of Congress' THOMAS website (http://thomas.loc.gov).

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of concern. I also invite you to visit my website (http://menendez.senate.gov) to learn more about how I am standing up for New Jersey families in the United States Senate."

Thank you for adding your letter of response from your congressman, Daisy. It answered my major question - whether this would supercede all of the Child protection laws of the states. I will be writing my congressman!

I just want to remind everyone that emails and such do NOT have the impact on our congressmen and women that a snail mail letter does. A snail mail letter has been proven to get multiple times more consideration than any electronically submitted response or suggestions.

Sorry, Sara, that was your letter, not Daisy. :P Thanks again!

Here's another link to the bill, just in case someone else has not read it! http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-...