Noah, 12, and Langdon Hoprich, 10, recently spent a night out at a local recreation spot. The boys were adopted by their grandparents Steve and Natalie Hoprich who adopted them after their daughter lost custody due to drug use.
Steve Hoprich, with his sons Noah, 12, and Langdon, 10. Hoprich adopted the boys after his daughter lost custody due to drug use.
Submitted photos
Fund financially helps those raising grandchild
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
WILKES-BARRE — The Advocacy Fund for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren provides funds for legal fees for grandparents and other family members in Luzerne County, which often changes the trajectory of their young charges’ lives.
For Steve and Natalie Hoprich, who assumed custody of their two grandsons in 2017, it meant the ability to adopt their grandchildren while maintaining a bit of financial normalcy.
The couple had been heading toward retirement and not planning for the financial challenges of raising children, which has included increased travel, lessons and other activities.
In the first years after taking custody of their grandsons, the Hopriches averaged $8,000 in daycare costs per year.
They made too much money to receive financial support through the Department of Aging’s Caregiver Support Program, a statewide program that provides resources and assistance to caregivers.
The couple soon realized that adoption provided a better sense of stability and was a better option than simply having custody.
Money received from the advocacy fund for legal services, allowed them to pay off other bills and to look to the future with a sense of security.
Taking custody
Natalie Hoprich remembers getting a phone call in 2017, that she had an hour to get back to her home in Sweet Valley or two of her grandchildren would be placed in foster care.
Hoprich and her husband, Steve, rushed back to the house where they were given temporary custody of their two grandsons.
The couple believed that it would be a short-term situation. They were assured that when their daughter passed a drug test in a few weeks, they would take the children back.
It never happened.
As weeks turned into months and months into years, the couple realized that instead of simply having custody of the children, they were hoping to adopt the children to provide them with a long-term stable environment.
In May of 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the couple adopted the children in a remote proceeding.
When the judge asked why they wanted to adopt the children, Steve Hoprich said, “Because, they’re our family. They’re our kids. We can’t imagine life without them.”
The boys’ now have a relationship with their mother, Brittany, who is sober and has lived with the family since November.
The Advocacy Fund has its roots in a grandparents support group founded by Joan Gower in 2006.
The group was originally geared at supporting foster parents, but soon grandparents raising their grandchildren were included.
Soon grandparents from the group began advocating for assistance from the state, with the support of state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre.
In 2018, Pashinski introduced legislation to provide financial assistance to grandparents and to provide them with temporary custody. The bill was passed later that year.
Shortly thereafter, the Advocacy Fund was established, with assistance from the Luzerne Foundation and Family Service Association.
It is overseen by a board of directors.
In 2019, the fund drew a $25,000 grant from the Luzerne Foundation.
The organization provides grants in the amount of appoximately $2,500 to $3,000 to assist grandparents with legal assistance in matters of custody and adoption.
Board President Frank Mariano encourages grandparents raising grandchildren to keep in touch with others in the same situation and to advocate for other grandparents raising their grandchildren.
The way that change happens is when the difficulties of grandparents raising grandchildren comes before legislators and the public.
For more information about the group or to learn about getting assistance access the group’s webpage at af4grg.org.