Rocking the Cradle or the Boat? Assessing Grandparent Partner Relationships

Kinship care is increasingly a first option for children in need of protection across all international child welfare jurisdictions, and predominantly grandparents assume this responsibility (Winokur, Holtan, & Valentine, 2009). A New Zealand study of grandparent caregivers found that a number of their marital relationships were disrupted following grandchild placement (Worrall, 2009). Relational crises of this nature have been previously little discussed in kinship literature. The emotional quality of couple connections affects care provision. Drawing on attachment theory, this article argues that the grandparent couple's relationship must be a key focus of practitioners' preplacement assessments and highlights five domains of relational functioning and four reliable measures for assessing these qualities.