Sen. Casey's grandparents bill becomes law

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Bob Casey's (D-PA) bill creating one-stop-shop resources for grandparents raising children became law Monday.

The law is aimed to help grandparents who are raising children due to the opioid crisis.

Currently, 100,000 children in the Commonwealth are raised by grandparents and that number is growing due to the crisis.

"These grandparents, some of which have stepped in to raise their grandchildren due to the opioid crisis, are faced with unique challenges such as delaying retirement, bridging the generational divide and working through the court system to secure custody," said Casey.

The bill creates a Department of Health and Human Services advisory council that will combine with other agencies to help disseminate information to grandparents such as navigating the school system, planning for the future and addressing mental health issues.