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Fact Sheet
Foster Grandparent Program

The Foster Grandparent Program offers seniors age 60 and alder opportunities to serve as mentors, tutors, and caregivers for more than 80,000 children and youth with exceptional needs. Nearly 24,000 Foster Grandparents volunteer in schools, hospitals, drug treatment facilities, correctional institutions and Head Start and day care centers.

Foster Grandparents help children who have been abused and neglected, mentor troubled teens and young mothers, and care for premature infants and children with physical disabilities. The heart of the program is the one-on-one daily attention that Foster Grandparents provide, helping young people grow, gain confidence, and become more full and productive members of society.

Partnerships

The Foster Grandparents Program is sponsored by city and state government agencies, local children's services, associations for children and religious institutions. Most nonprofits and child- and youth-oriented organizations are eligible to serve as Foster Grandparent volunteer stations. Interested organizations should contact their local Foster Grandparent Program or the Senior Corps information line at 1-800-424-8867.

Requirements and Benefits

Foster Grandparents must meet certain income eligibility requirements and be at least 60 years of age. In addition, they must also be willing to devote twenty hours a week to service. Foster Grandparents participate in pre-service orientation and in-training workshops throughout their service.

Foster Grandparents receive a modest, tax-free stipend, assistance with transportation, meals during service, annual physical examinations, and accident and liability insurance while on duty. In addition to these benefits, the Foster Grandparents receive 40 hours of pre-service orientation and monthly training.

A Smart Investment

• More than 80,000 children, teenagers, and their families are supported by the services of Foster Grandparents every year.
• Nearly 24,000 Foster Grandparents contribute almost 22 million hours of volunteer service annually. The value of this service is $286 million, representing more than a four-fold return on the federal dollars invested in the program.
• More than 14,000 Foster Grandparents are placed in health care settings, helping some of the 39,200 children they serve maintain independence and avoid institutionalization.
• Institutionalized care for a child is $44,000 per year. The annual federal cost for one Foster Grandparent serving 20 hours per week is $3,760.
• The Foster Grandparent Program's fiscal 1996 federal budget of $61.9 million was matched with $31.5 million in cash and in-kind donations from states and local communities. This represents a nonfederal match of 51 cents for every federal dollar invested-well over the 10 percent match required by law.
• Foster Grandparents serve through almost 300 projects sponsored and managed by local nonprofit agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Several of these projects are supported totally by nonfederal funds.

The Senior Corps

The Senior Corps is a network of programs that help older Americans find opportunities to address community needs through service. The Senior Corps includes the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companion Program, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). Together, these programs involve more than a half million seniors in tens of thousands of sites across the country.

Senior Corps information:
1-800-424-8867
TDD: 1-800-833-3722
July 1997
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The National Senior Service Corps is part of the service network of the Corporation for National Service

Corporation for National Service | 1201 New York Avenue, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20525 | Phone: 202-606-5000 | www.cns.gov

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