Success StoryRelatives as Parents Support Group



Relatives as Parents Support Group

Author: M. Elizabeth Coots

Planning Unit: Shelby County CES

Major Program: Grandparents and Grandchildren Together

Plan of Work: Developing Life Skills

Outcome: Initial Outcome

The Woodford County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences partnered with the Woodford County Public School Family Resource Coordinators to offer a monthly support group for relatives raising children, mostly grandparents raising grandchildren. According to Kinship Families Coalition of Kentucky, 6% of children throughout the Commonwealth are in the care of grandparents and other relatives – the highest in the nation. This statistic does not include those situations that are unreported, which would make the figure much higher. The main reason for these relatives to be in the situation of raising the child is due to the child’s biological parent using drugs and/or alcohol resulting in the inability to parent a child. Other reasons include death, incarceration, financial struggles, and unfit living environments. The relative raising the child is faced with many unique challenges for parenting a child who not biologically theirs. The purpose of the monthly support group is to aid in their ability and confidence to successfully parent given their situation. Surveys were distributed through the school system to caregivers identified by the Family Resource Coordinators to gather information about this population. From the results, the majority of the parents had been caring for one or more elementary-aged children for more than a year. Topics of concern from the survey included legal issues, dealing with child’s biological parents, helping child cope with understanding the situation/feelings, and self-help. Professionals in these areas were invited to lead support groups based on these findings, with each meeting having a specific topic.






Stories by M. Elizabeth Coots


Farmers Markets For All

about 2 months ago by M. Elizabeth Coots

In most counties, farmers markets are located in the same location during certain days, and Shelby C... Read More


Stories by Shelby County CES


Stockman's College

about 4 days ago by Corinne Belton

According to a study initiated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Purdue University re... Read More


Farmers Markets For All

about 2 months ago by M. Elizabeth Coots

In most counties, farmers markets are located in the same location during certain days, and Shelby C... Read More