Grandfamilies have become such a familiar sight in West Virginia that many of us forget how relatively recent a phenomenon they are.

Grandparents raising grandchildren have an unusual set of challenges, and a program of West Virginia State University has been working to help address them.

Earlier this week, WVSU and its Center for Healthy Grandfamilies hosted its second Grandfamilies conference in Bridgeport to teach stakeholders how to better support those who are raising their children’s children. Representatives from all 55 counties participated.

“In the latest census report that came out, 52% of all school-aged children in the U.S. live with someone other than their biological parent, and we believe that at least 80% of that half of the kids are actually with a grandparent,” Healthy Grandfamilies director Melissa Lilly told WV MetroNews. West Virginia has the highest percentage of grandparents raising grandchildren in the country.

Lilly said the majority of grandparents who take advantage of WVSU’s program are in their 70s.

“We all know how things have changed and they’re not equipped to deal with the technology that the kids are using now, or they don’t know how to communicate with the schools because it’s all done on a platform and we don’t call people anymore,” Lilly told WV MetroNews.

There are social factors to consider, too, such as grandparents raising grandchildren who are a different race or ethnicity from them, or who are a different gender from the children they already raised.

Knowing how many challenges these grandparents face, part of the aim of the Grandfamilies conference was to get more people involved. Interested grandparents can learn more and enroll here: https://healthygrandfamilies.com/

Those who have stepped up to take on the job of parent — again — are to be commended, but they need support. WVSU officials saw that need and are working to fill it. For that, they are to be commended, too.