Building Healthy Family Relationships: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

1. Building Healthy Family Relationships: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Presenters: Danneley Duval Kortnie Harris Ashley James Sophie Namugenyi Emily Osteen Ebony Reid

2. Background Information • Group 2 • Chapter 12: Healthy Family Relationships • Lessons: One & Two • Target Audience: Grandparents, ages 35 and older • Location: Local Church

3. Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Part One: Grandparents as Caregivers Part Two: Overcoming Stressors Part Three: Building Healthy Relationships with Grandchildren

4. Part One: Grandparents as Caregivers Grandparent or Parent?

5. Accepting the New Role Number of grandparents raising grandchildren has increased in the past twenty years Part-time or Full-time Commitment Incarceration Child Abuse or Neglect Mental Disorders Increasing Number of Single Parents

6. Accepting the New Role (cont.) • Divorce • Teenage Pregnancies • Substance Abuse • Illness • Abandonment or Desertion • Disability or Death

7. Changes in Family Structure • Grandparent may find it difficult to adjust to new lifestyle and responsibilities • Underestimate role • Generational gap • Emotional burden • Financial stressors • Usually find more grandmothers accepting role as primary caregiver

8. Video: Doubly Stressed…Triply Blessed

9. Part Two: Overcoming Stressors What are some of the possibilities grandparents may have to overcome?

10. Unanswered Questions • May threaten the overall health of the family • Financial Stressors • Legal Arrangements • Health Issues • Educational Needs • Supportive Services

11. Financial Stress • 54% of all grandchildren are raised by grandparents whose incomes are below federal poverty level • Unaware of the government assistance resources available to them and how to access them • May exhaust retirement funds in an effort to care for their grandchildren

12. Financial Relief • Government assistance resources: • Food Stamps • Social Security Benefits • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) • The Special Supplemental Food Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC) • Medicaid

13. Taking a Closer Look at the Stats

14. Choosing a Legal Arrangement • Many grandparents do not have a legal relationship with their grandchildren • Many grandparents do not understand the advantages/disadvantages of each legal option

15. Legal Arrangement Options • Guardianship • Relative Foster Care • Legal Custody • Adoption

16. What are the next steps to ensuring my grandchild’s success? Part Three: Building Healthy Family Relationships with Grandchild

17. Meeting the Necessary Needs • Basic Needs • Develop Social Skills • Emotional Needs • Love • Security • Support • Self-Esteem • Self-Efficacy

18. Affirmation Trust Commitment Quality Time Communication Respect Solving Problems Love Traits of a Healthy Family

19. Instilling Values, Culture, and Tradition • Help grandchild to develop: • Ethnic Identity • Pride • Sense of Belonging

20. Identifying Your Strength Areas

21. Review • Grandparents as Caregivers • Overcoming Stressors • Building Healthy Relationships with Grandchildren

22. Questions?

23. THANK YOU!