The 22nd annual Conference of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Information Center of Louisiana (GRGICL) will be called to order on Friday April 12, 2019 at 8 a.m. This Conference annually attracts 300+ attendees from all over the state and is a free resource to grandparents raising grandchildren and other persons raising children who are not their own. Throughout the day there will be a number of exhibits from community agencies that provide services for grandparents as well as workshops on various topics of interest.
The opening session will include a keynote address by Governor John Bel Edwards or his representative and welcoming remarks from Marketa Walters, Secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, Senator Regina Barrow, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, and other community leaders. Concurrent workshops on topics to inform kinship caregivers on current issues that affect them and the children in their care will be run through the remainder of the morning. A free lunch is provided at noon.
One of the highlights of the Conference is always the Legal Panel that begins as soon as lunch is served. Led by Attorney Todd Gaudin, the panel’s attorneys will discuss their family practices and offer advice to audience members who submit questions. An array of door prizes and tee shirts will be presented to attendees to close out the day. All grandparents raising grandchildren and others raising children not their own are cordially invited to attend the Conference. It will be held at the Holiday Inn South, 9940 Airline Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA 70816.
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren was co-founded by Dot Thibodeaux and Danna Stone Spayde. Danna is a co-founder and life member of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Information Center of Louisiana (GRGICL) and currently serves as Vice-president of the Board. She and Dot Thibodeaux began this organization in 1993 as a local support group when Danna was the program developer for the EBR Council on Aging. Over the years it has grown into a statewide 501(c)(3) organization. She and Dot have received regional and national recognition for this program. Dot is currently is President of the Board of this organization and oversees, as a volunteer, various activities. She is a long time group leader of “Second Time Around” monthly support group in Baton Rouge.
Please call our office to register or for more information at 225.810.3555.