In New Mexico lots of grandparents raise their grandkids – more than 70,000 children under the age of 18 here live with family other than their parents.
State officials teamed up Friday with the AARP to highlight the issue.
The state Maternal and Child Health program is one of the sponsors of the Parenting the Second Time Around workshop at Barelas Senior Center in Albuquerque. Senator Michael Padilla was the keynote speaker.
"I was raised by my grandparents," Padilla said, "and I’m very very proud of that. It’s made all the difference in my life. She thought she was done and she found out that she had to raise me. And I tell you what, it was the best thing that ever happened to me, I promise."
The workshop provides information to so-called “grand-families” about guardianship and other legal issues when parents aren’t around.
The event continues Saturday at Barelas Community Center.