Jun. 04, 2025
HARRISBURG - Rep. Marla Brown (R-Lawrence), along with Reps. Steve Mentzer (R-Lancaster) and Maureen Madden (D-Monroe), have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at supporting grandparents who are raising their grandchildren - a growing population facing significant challenges due to the opioid crisis and economic hardship.
“Grandparents who step up to raise their grandchildren deserve more than our gratitude. They deserve real support,” said Brown. “This legislation is a lifeline for families who have been stretched thin by heartbreak and crisis. By using opioid settlement funds, we are putting those resources to work where they are most needed – with the people who are holding families together.”
In Pennsylvania, more than 235,000 grandparents have taken on the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren. For every one child in kinship foster care, there are 10 being raised by relatives outside of the formal foster system, often without the financial or social support they need. Many of these grandfamilies are living on fixed incomes and relying on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to meet basic needs.
House Bill 1528 would allocate funds from the state’s opioid settlement to support families in crisis. The bill proposes providing grants to local Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to address the urgent personal care needs of children being raised by their grandparents, needs many AAAs report are growing and often unmet.
A recent survey by the National Library of Medicine found nearly all families in which grandparents are raising grandchildren are affected by parental substance misuse. In more than 70% of these cases, opioids like prescription painkillers and heroin are involved.
House Bill 1528 has been referred to the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee for consideration.
Representative Marla Brown
9th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Rick Leiner
717.260.6437 (office), 717.497.8478 (cell)
Rleiner@pahousegop.com
RepMarlaBrown.com / facebook.com/RepMarlaBrown