ENHANCING PROGRAMS FOR RELATIVE CAREGIVERS IN NEW YORK STATE: INTEGRATING EXTENSION AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0208612
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2006
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2009
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
ITHACA,NY 14853

Performing Department
POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT

Non Technical Summary
In 2000, 2.4 million children were being raised by relatives (U.S. Census Bureau). The goal of this project is to integrate research and extension activities to support programs for relative caregivers in New York. This project complements the research of the PI, Dr. Rachel Dunifon, who has established a research program examining the ways in which the quality of interactions between relative caregivers and their children influence both parenting behavior and the quality of the kinship relationship. This project will integrate prior research with the Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP)which has been successfully administered by Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orange County since 1998 to provide support for kinship care givers to provide a caring, safe and supportive environment for the children and youth in their care, while also developing the supports, skills and resource networks needed to promote the retention of their relative children and build strong and healthy kin care families. RAPP has been receiving funding from New York State Office of Children and Family Services to operate the core RAPP program in Orange County since 2005, and recently received funds to expand services provided in the core program (i.e. adding mental health counseling and legal consultation); and to replicate the CCE Orange County model for use with grandparent and relative caretaker families in Dutchess and Sullivan Counties (it is now known as the Hudson Valley Regional RAPP Program).

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
802	6020	3080	100%

Knowledge Area
802 - Human Development and Family Well-Being;

Subject Of Investigation
6020 - The family and its members;

Field Of Science
3080 - Sociology;

Keywords

kinship

relative caregiving grandparents

relative care

child well-being

non-traditional families parent education

kincare

family support

Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to integrate research and extension activities in the area of relative care (i.e., children being raised by relatives). This project will examine the quality of interactions between grandparents and grandchildren in custodial grandparent families (grandchildren being raised by a grandparent with no parent present). Because most secondary data sets do not contain large enough numbers of custodial grandparent families to allow for a systematic analysis of this group, we will collect new data as part of a pilot project that will later be expanded into a larger, longitudinal study. By doing so, we will further our understanding of individual differences in the well-being of children who are raised by grandparents. Although all such children have experienced stressful events such as the death or incapacitation of a parent, there is likely to be significant variation in the types of relationships that such grandchildren have with their custodial grandparents, and in how well these grandchildren fare in accomplishing key tasks important to the transition to adulthood. Understanding the factors that are associated with a successful transition is particularly important for children being raised by a grandparent because, once they turn 18, they are no longer eligible for public assistance. In order to inform policies and interventions aimed at these families, it is crucial to gain a better understanding of the circumstances in which youth and grandparents fare well, and those in which they do not. This research will also be used to enhance the Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP), administered by CCE Orange County and other counties throughout the state and the nation. The RAPP provides support for kinship caregivers through support groups and parenting programs. RAPP has obtained funding to expand services provided in the core program, and replicate the Orange County model in other counties. The objectives of this project are to: utilize research-based information to develop new curricula; supplement existing curricula; inform research related to relative caregivers; support more rigorous evaluation of such programs; identify areas of unmet needs for relative caregivers and/or the children in their care; explore ways the RAPP program (and similar interventions) can meet identified areas of need; and enhance the professional development of educators. The research will help identify circumstances under which children and grandparents are faring well (and those situations in which more supports are needed), which will be used to enhance RAPP and other programs to better address the unique needs of grandparent caregivers. For example, the research may identify grandparents' mental or physical health as unmet needs, and as a result, the RAPP program could be modified based on this new evidence. Similarly, research may point to specific groups of children, for example perhaps those whose parents are incarcerated, that may need particular supports.

Project Methods
The research draws from family systems theory, which emphasizes the connections among family members and the pathways through which their characteristics and actions influence each other, as well as social capital theory, which highlights not just the presence of family members in the lives of children, but also the nature of their relationships with children. In order to understand the well-being of children in these families, one must carefully measure parenting behaviors as well as the quality of the grandparent-grandchild relationship. The goal of the study is to collect in-depth data measuring both grandparents' parenting behavior and the quality of the grandparent-grandchild relationship. Potentially important factors include grandparent age, the family's economic circumstances, grandparental marital status and quality, as well as the number of children in the household. The goal is to measure the factors that are associated with grandparent-grandchild relationship quality and parenting behaviors in custodial grandparent families, and then to relate these measures to adolescent well-being. We will collect unique data on grandparent-grandchild relations among 50 dyads in which the grandparent is raising the grandchild with no parent present. In each dyad, the grandchild will be between the ages of 12 and 18. In-person interviews will be conducted with grandparents and their grandchildren (grandparents and grandchildren will be interviewed separately), measuring demographic characteristics, family income, family living arrangements, and other important socio-economic characteristics such as education and employment. To measure youth well-being, we will draw questions directly from existing national surveys to capture key aspects of success in the transition to adulthood (education, idleness, relationships, and behavioral regulation). Other questions asked of both the grandparent and grandchild will measure the grandparent's parenting behaviors, capturing important dimensions such as warmth, monitoring, and control. A convenience sample of participants will be recruited from nearby areas in upstate New York. Attempts will be made to recruit a racially diverse sample for this aspect of the study, but the small sample size will likely preclude an examination of race differences in the data. Several activities will be undertaken to achieve the goal of integrating the research agenda with extension activities to enhance programs for relative caregivers in New York. A thorough review of the literature will identify best practices in relative care and will be used to enhance current curricula being used in New York State. Additionally, we will develop a cutting-edge evaluation tool and method in order to test the effectiveness of relative care programs taking place across the state.

Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: During the course of this project, several outputs have been completed. Presentations on the topic of relatives raising children have been given in several venues, including the 2008 New York State Child Abuse Prevention Conference, the Orange County Cooperative Extension Board of Directors (June 2009), the Quality of Life Program Council of Cornell Cooperative Extension (Spring 2009), and several other gatherings of Extension educators and other practitioners. This project has also resulted in the publication of several Parent Pages relating to adolescent development. These Parent Pages are particularly relevant for relatives who are raising teenagers. They have been distributed to parents and educators throughout the state and beyond, and are accessible on our website (www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu). This project has also resulted in the development of a guide for relatives and others raising teenagers, focused on Teens and Technology Use. This resource is also available on our website (see above). PARTICIPANTS: Kim Kopko, Extension Associate in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell worked with me to carry out all of the goals of this project. Several Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators and other communicty educators assisted in the process of interviewing grandparents who are raising teenagers: Denyse Variano and Brenda Reynolds, Orange County Cooperative Extension Isabelle Jensen, Ontario County Cooperative Extension Dutchess County Cooperative Extension Diane LeTorrey, Family Enrichment Network in Johnson City, NY Lyscha Tejida, GrandFamily Apartments, Bronx, NY TARGET AUDIENCES: Audiences include policymakers and practitioners whose work affects relatives raising children. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Presentations such as those noted above have allowed us provide policymakers and practitioners with new knowledge on the lives of relatives who are raising children. In particular, this research identified several areas of need among these families, including the fact that many children have physical, mental or emtional health problems; relative caregivers have high levels of strain; caregivers do not have adequate knowledge about teenagers and their use of technology; and that many families are in perilous economic circumstances. Some of these characteristics have never before been measured among relative caregiver families in New York, and this new knowledge can be used to inform the development of programs and policies in this area. Our interviews with relative caregivers and youth in their care highlighted the need for more programming relating to the issue of raising teens. To this end, we worked to develop two special supplement to the Parenting a Second Time Around (PASTA) curriculum in order to provide this information to relative caregivers. One supplement is focused specifically on adolescent development and raising teens. The other is focused on teegers' use of technology.. McKlindon, A., Dunifon, R., Variano, D., Reynolds, B., Byster, L. and Healey, P. 2007. The Hudson Valley Regional Relatives as Caregivers Program. Available online at: http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu 3. Kopko, K. 2007. Characteristics of positive parent-child interactions: Autonomy. Available online at: http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu/ 4. Kopko, K. 2007. Characteristics of positive parent-child interactions: Connections. Available online at:http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu 5. Kopko, K. 2007. Characteristics of positive parent-child interactions: Monitoring. Available online at:http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu

Publications

• McKlindon, A., Dunifon, R., Variano, D., Reynolds, B., Byster, L. and Healey, P. 2007. The Hudson Valley Regional Relatives as Caregivers Program. Available online at: http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu
• Kopko, K. 2007. Characteristics of positive parent-child interactions: Autonomy. Available online at: http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu/
• Kopko, K. 2007. Characteristics of positive parent-child interactions: Connections. Available online at:http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu
• Kopko, K. 2007. Characteristics of positive parent-child interactions: Monitoring. Available online at:http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu
• Kopko, K. 2009. Teens and Technology. Available online at parenting.cit.cornell.edu

Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: During the course of this year, several outputs have been completed as part of this project. In April of 2008 I gave a presentation entitled Relatives Raising Children--A Review of the Research as part of a panel on Kincare at the 2008 New York State Child Abuse Prevention Conference. This conference was attended by practitioners, researchers and policymakers, all focused on the topic of programs and policies for relative caregiviers. In Febuary of 2008 I interviewed relative caregivers taking part in a support group held by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County. I asked them questions about their experiences raising their grandchildren, in order to inform my own survey on this topic. In June of 2008 PAM Extension Associate Kim Kopko and I interviewed relative caregivers in Orange County, again collaborating with the Cornell Cooperative Extension office there. We interviewed about 30 relatives, discussing areas of risk and resilience in their lives, in order to inform our future surveys. We also interviewed 10 youth aged 12-18 who were being raised by their relatives, again with the goal of learning more about issues of relevance to this group, in order to inform the development of our surveys. Also in the Fall of 2008, Kim Kopko conducted a thorough review of the latest literature on relative caregivers. This too has been used to identify areas needing more research, and has guided us as we develop our survey tool. During the fall of 2008 we developed surveys for grandparent caregivers and for youth being raised by their grandparents. We will begin pilot testing these instruments in January 2009. Finally, during the course of this past year, Kim Kopko has collaborated with Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator Denyse Variano to develop a supplement to the Parenting a Second Time Around (PASTA) curriculum for relative caregivers. This supplement is focused specifically on issues relating to raising teens, which emerged as an issue of importance in our interviews, described above. PARTICIPANTS: Kim Kopko, Extension Associate in PAM Denyse Variano, Extension Educator, Orange County Isabelle Jensen, Extension Educator, Ontario County TARGET AUDIENCES: As noted in a previous section, I reached policymakers and practitioners at the PREVENT Child Abuse conference in April 2008, bringing new research on relative caregivers in New York to this conference. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
My presentation at the PREVENT Child Abuse Conference in Albany in April 2008 allowed me to provide policymakers and practitioners with new knowledge on the lives of relatives who are raising children. In particular, my research identified several areas of need among these families, including the fact that many children have physical, mental or emtional health problems; relative caregivers have high levels of strain; and many families are in perilous economic circumstances. Some of these characteristics have never before been measured among relative caregiver families in New York, and can be used to inform the development of programs and policies in this area. Our interviews with relative caregivers and youth in their care highlighted the need for more programming relating to the issue of raising teens. To this end, we are now developing a special supplement to the Parenting a Second Time Around (PASTA) curriculum in order to provide this information to relative caregivers.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07

Outputs
The Parenting in Context project, including PAM Associate Professor Rachel Dunifon, and PAM Extension Associates Laura Colosi and Kim Kopko, undertook several activities during this period. On January 22 of 2007, a meeting of the Parenting Program Work Team was held in Ithaca, NY. Attended by approximately 20 parent educators from throughout the state, the meeting focused on developing a series of questions that could be used to measure the impacts of parenting programs throughout the state. We organized and hosted parent the annual parent education in-service training, attended by over 60 educators and professionals from across the state from January 22-23 2007. The program included a review of the Discipline is Not a Dirty Word curriculum; a panel session on fostering literacy in local communities; a presentation on recent research on the role of media in the lives of young children; introduction of the Raising Responsible Children program; and an overview of the PREVENT Child Maltreatment Institute: Enhancing Leadership project. On Feb 28, 2007 we organized and held a distance learning event titled The Cutting Edge: What Parents Need to Know about Self-Injury in Adolescents, presented by Janis Whitlock, Director of the Cornell Center on Self-Injurious Behaviors. The presentation was attended by over 300 people at 10 counties throughout the state. This workshop summarized what is known about the prevalence and nature of self-injurious behavior in the general youth population, and about how the behavior may be spreading. The event is archived on our website at: http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu/events_web.html On April 26 2007, a presentation entitled Relative Caregivers: A review of the research was given at the Parenting the Second Time Around training session in Canandagua, NY. This presentation reviewed the most recent research on relative caregivers, addressed policy issues related to this population, and discussed future directions for research. It was attended by approximately 20 educators from throughout the state. On May 30, 2007, 25 educators and professionals working with youth and families attended the Parent Education Program Work Team Meeting in Ithaca, NY. The meeting consisted of a Project Update, discussion of topics for distance learning events, and suggested topics for Research Briefs and the 2008 January In-Service. Participants also discussed the Parent Education Domains Indicators/Questions and the Parenting Education Demographic Questionnaire, as well as data collection options, in preparation for the upcoming statewide parent education data collection project. Over this period we also continued implementing the Strengthening Families curriculum throughout the state. Strengthening Families is a parent, youth and family skills-building curriculum designed to prevent teen substance abuse and other behavior problems, strengthen parenting skills, and build family strengths developed by professionals at Iowa State University Extension. Over this period, 7 sessions were conducted by Cornell Cooperative Extension educators in 5 counties throughout the state, with 53 youth and 54 adult attendees.

Impacts
The events we have held have clearly influenced parent educators from throughout the state. Results from a feedback form of participants in the January in-service indicate that an overwhelming majority of participants found the presentations on specific programs and topics to be useful or very useful. On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), parent educators strongly agreed (4.24) that they were better equipped to conduct programs in their communities after attending the in-service and took away useful information from these programs (4.61). Participating in this event also helped build connections between parent educators across counties. Feedback from participants in the Janis Whitlock distance learning event indicates that the session gave a good overview of self-injurious behavior and provided information that was useful and relevant for the participants' work. Participants saw this as an opportunity to improve the connections between Cornell faculty and community educators and were eager to suggest topics for future distance learning events. As a direct result of the two Program Work Team meetings, we have developed a survey tool and data collection protocol that will be used with all parent education programs throughout the state. We are currently developing a web-based data collection tool that will be pilot tested next year. The Strengthening Families Program has also had an impact on its participants. Results from pre- and post-tests of both parents and youth participating in the program show that caregivers and youth reported overall positive significant changes as a result of attending the Program. Caregiver responses showed significant positive changes on 12 of 20 questions, and youth responses showed significant positive changes on 10 of 15 questions. Among the most significant changes, caregivers reported an increase in the amount of special one-on-one time spent with their youth, and the youth reported a greater feeling of being loved and respected by their parents and caregivers after participating in the Program. Both caregivers and youth indicated that their families were working together more cooperatively by the end of the Program.

Publications

• Dunifon, R. 2007. New study shows link between sleep and childrens weight. Available online at: http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu
• McKlindon, A., Dunifon, R., Variano, D., Reynolds, B., Byster, L. and Healey, P. 2007. The Hudson Valley Regional Relatives as Caregivers Program. Available online at: http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu
• Kopko, K. 2007. Characteristics of positive parent-child interactions: Autonomy. Available online at: http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu/
• Kopko, K. 2007. Characteristics of positive parent-child interactions: Connections. Available online at:http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu
• Kopko, K. 2007. Characteristics of positive parent-child interactions: Monitoring. Available online at:http://www.parenting.cit.cornell.edu