Better Together: Expanding Rural Partnerships to Support Families

Understanding Collaborative Efforts to Assist Grandparent Caregivers: A Multileveled Perspective

“…Sadly, service providers report they also need additional training to educate and sensitize themselves to the unique needs of custodial grandparents (Fruhauf et al, in press;Raphel, 2008;Smith & Dannison, 2003). In addition, the recession of 2007 to 2011 negatively affected service programs and agencies by imposing budget cuts, layoffs, limiting governmental support and tax revenues, and decreasing, if not eliminating, grant funding from private funders to agencies (Shaklee et al, 2012). Not surprisingly, it has become increasingly important, and possibly more difficult to obtain, continual and sustained funding for custodial grandparenting programs and services (Fruhauf et al, in press;Nelson et al, 2010;Shaklee et al, 2012), underscoring providers' needs to better serve custodial grandparents.…”

“…In addition, the recession of 2007 to 2011 negatively affected service programs and agencies by imposing budget cuts, layoffs, limiting governmental support and tax revenues, and decreasing, if not eliminating, grant funding from private funders to agencies (Shaklee et al, 2012). Not surprisingly, it has become increasingly important, and possibly more difficult to obtain, continual and sustained funding for custodial grandparenting programs and services (Fruhauf et al, in press;Nelson et al, 2010;Shaklee et al, 2012), underscoring providers' needs to better serve custodial grandparents. Therefore, it is vital for service providers and agencies assisting grandparent caregivers to recognize that they cannot meet the needs of grandparents by themselves (Fruhauf et al, in press;Roe, 2000) and should consider various collaborative efforts to leverage resources (Miller et al, 2010;Shaklee et al, 2012;Wichinsky et al, 2012).…”

“…Not surprisingly, it has become increasingly important, and possibly more difficult to obtain, continual and sustained funding for custodial grandparenting programs and services (Fruhauf et al, in press;Nelson et al, 2010;Shaklee et al, 2012), underscoring providers' needs to better serve custodial grandparents. Therefore, it is vital for service providers and agencies assisting grandparent caregivers to recognize that they cannot meet the needs of grandparents by themselves (Fruhauf et al, in press;Roe, 2000) and should consider various collaborative efforts to leverage resources (Miller et al, 2010;Shaklee et al, 2012;Wichinsky et al, 2012). Collaborative efforts, often used to stretch resources among community programs and agencies, have received limited attention in the literature (Calley, 2011).…”

“…We would be remiss, however, if we did not recognize that our review of model programs is complemented by other published work that also highlights diverse profiles of current programmatic efforts to support grandparents caregivers and grandchildren (see Thompkins et al, 2009). It is worth noting that deliberate collaborations and connections with universities and agencies can allow service providers greater opportunity to effectively serve grandparent caregivers (Shaklee et al, 2012). All of the approaches discussed in this article foster connections utilizing universityagency partnerships (albeit at varying degrees).…”

“…Grandparents in skipped generation households tend to fare worse physically and emotionally (Fuller-Thomson & Minkler, 2001;Gibbons & Jones, 2003;Generations United, 2009;Hayslip & Kaminski, 2005). Grandparents who raise grandchildren in a skipped generation family, as well as service providers (e.g., case managers, family social workers, medical professionals, school counselors) who assist them, are in need of support from community entities (Fruhauf, Pevney, & Bundy-Fazioli, in press;Hayslip & Kaminski, 2005;Shaklee et al, 2012). Community collaborations are critical to the success of dealing with a variety of social and family issues (Berkowitz, 2001;Calley, 2011;Wells, Ward, Feinberg, & Alexander, 2008;Wichinsky, Thomlison, & Pennell, 2012) and have been recently implemented in communities to address needs of grandparents raising grandchildren (Fruhauf, Bundy-Fazioli, & Miller, 2012;Ganthavorn & Hughes, 2007;Miller, Bruce, Bundy-Fazioli, & Fruhauf, 2010;Thompkins, Pinazo-Hernandis, Perez-Porter, & Pyle, 2009).…”