Suchergebnisse

AbstractCustodial grandparents play a significant role in sustaining healthy families, but the caregiving is demanding. A social research design and development process informed a school district‐university partnership project responding to the needs of a group of custodial grandparents. Three phases of the project are described: (i) needs assessment; (ii) design and implementation of a psychoeducational group facilitated by social work faculty and a school district administrator; and (iii) evaluation of programme impact. Major themes from the needs assessment and evaluation are presented. Discussion highlights the need for school and family engagement, recognition of the significant changes in family role required for grandparents, and viewing custodial grandparents as leaders and engaged caregivers. The meaning of diversity in group intervention for this population is also explored.

Many families living in rural poverty endure toxic stress and trauma, contributing to challenges in engaging with their children's schools. Rural schools also face challenges in partnering with these families. Family engagement as a prevention approach, implemented by a team of social workers in collaboration with a rural school district, is presented as a case example to describe an emerging model. The conceptual framework, developed through a community-based participatory research approach, is (a) strengths-based, to support and enhance the parents' existing capacity; (b) trauma-informed, to understand and respond to the physiological and psychosocial impact of toxic stress; and (c) systems-focused, to facilitate change within the school system to make it responsive to the families' needs and strengths.