With the opioid epidemic ravaging our region and many parents addicted, overdosing and having to go through recovery, children are left without parents in a position to care for them.

In many families, grandparents have stepped in to take the responsibility, assuming the role of parents.

A bipartisan bill, which could aid those in this situation, was been passed by Congress last week and is now headed to President Donald Trump for signature.

The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, as well as Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania and Susan Collins, R-Maine, would establish a federal task force to support grandparents raising grandchildren.

This task force would identify, coordinate and share information to help relatives who are stepping up to raise children meet the needs of kids in their care.

This legislation is much needed and we commend Brown, as he did when pushing the Interdict Act, cracking down on imported fentanyl, through the Senate, for his ability to work with colleagues across the aisle in dealing with the addiction crisis.

It is going to take cooperation from both parties, despite our hyper-polarized political times, to find a solution to this epidemic and Brown’s legislation is a great example of that.