SLS 25RS-924 ORIGINAL
2025 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 17
BY SENATOR BARROW AND REPRESENTATIVE MCFARLAND
COMMENDATIONS. Celebrates the 29
th
Annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Conference and recognizes its founders, Dot Thibodeaux and Danna Spayde, for their
dedication, support, and inspiration to grandfamilies across Louisiana.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To celebrate the 29th Annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Conference and to
3 recognize its founders, Dot Thibodeaux and Danna Spayde, for their dedication,
4 support, and inspiration to grandfamilies across Louisiana.
5 WHEREAS, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) began in 1993, as a result
6 of a conversation between one grandparent, Dot Thibodeaux, raising her grandson and a
7 social worker, Danna Spayde, who worked for the Council on Aging; and
8 WHEREAS, the first action of GRG was to start a support group of grandparents
9 raising grandchildren in Baton Rouge with meetings at the East Baton Rouge Council on
10 Aging; those meetings continue today as monthly gatherings at Family Road of Greater
11 Baton Rouge; and
12 WHEREAS, these monthly gatherings lead to hosting an annual statewide conference
13 that offers a day of workshops, respite, and community building for caregiving grandparents,
14 reinforcing the message that they are not alone in their journey; and
15 WHEREAS, in its 29th year, the conference also serves to recognize the significant
16 contributions and challenges faced by the more than 55,000 grandparents in Louisiana who
17 are raising their grandchildren, often with limited resources, but boundless love and
18 determination; and
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SLS 25RS-924 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, GRG provides vital services to grandfamilies, including support groups,
2 emergency assistance, legal consultation, and educational workshops; and
3 WHEREAS, GRG's emergency assistance includes food, diapers, formula, gas,
4 clothing, and school supplies, as well as financial support to help maintain housing and
5 utilities for families facing crisis; and
6 WHEREAS, these services are often a critical lifeline to grandfamilies, especially
7 considering that over thirty percent of such families in Louisiana live at or below the poverty
8 line, and more than seventy-five percent fall below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income
9 Constrained, Employed) threshold; and
10 WHEREAS, GRG operates without any paid staff and is led by a dedicated
11 three-member volunteer board of directors, all of whom are grandparents with lived
12 experience in raising grandchildren; and
13 WHEREAS, Louisiana ranks fourth in the nation for the highest percentage of
14 children living with grandparents, with approximately 117,859 children living in
15 grandparent-headed households, and nearly 65,000 of them living there without either parent
16 present; and
17 WHEREAS, a survey of 200 grandparents raising 433 children across the state paints
18 a powerful picture of love, sacrifice, and resilience; a safety net that prevents thousands of
19 children from entering the foster care system, yet one that is fraying from lack of support;
20 and
21 WHEREAS, many times these grandfamilies are formed under difficult
22 circumstances and statistics support that children in kinship care typically fare better than
23 those placed in non-relative foster care, as the children in kinship care experience greater
24 emotional stability, are more likely to remain in their communities and schools, stay with
25 siblings, and perform better academically; and
26 WHEREAS, the report generated by the survey for this conference outlines twenty
27 action steps for legislative and community action; bold and compassionate proposals aim to
28 strengthen the support system for grandfamilies, honor their contributions, and ensure that
29 both grandparents and the children in their care are provided with dignity, opportunity, and
30 security; and
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SLS 25RS-924 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, for over two decades Dot Thibodeaux and Danna Spayde guided GRG
2 with their keen insight and strategic wisdom, and even though these inspiring ladies have
3 passed on, GRG continues Dot and Danna's legacy of uplifting, protecting, and empowering
4 grandparent caregivers.
5 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
6 celebrate the 29th Annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Conference and acknowledge
7 the exemplary service it facilitates for grandfamilies in Louisiana and extend heartfelt
8 gratitude to the families of founders Dot Thibodeaux and Danna Spayde for their selfless and
9 visionary leadership.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
11 Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Information Center of Louisiana.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Senate Legislative Services.
The keyword, summary, and digest do not constitute part of the law or proof
or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
DIGEST
SCR 17 Original 2025 Regular Session Barrow
Celebrates the 29th Annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Conference and extends
heartfelt gratitude to the families of founders Dot Thibodeaux and Danna Spayde.
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