Kinship care support meetings scheduled

Have you noticed more middle-aged and older adults parenting younger children? Perhaps you’ve seen these families in the grocery store, at school functions, or eating in restaurants.

In the United States, a growing number of adult relatives and non-relatives are parenting children. They are providing what is known as kinship care.

The number of grandparents raising their grandchildren without parental involvement is on the rise. These children often come to them because of family crisis and the relative grandparents or aunts or uncles are not always prepared to deal with the emotional, physical, financial and social hardships of raising children “a second time around”.

Kinship parents are “real” parents in that they are providing full-time care for their children. A child views a kinship parent as the person who will meet his or her needs and provide a safe and secure home, and loving family.

There are numerous reasons for the increase in kinship care and often the reasons are intertwined: parental substance abuse, physical or mental health problems, financial difficulties, incarceration, death and deployment.  Whatever the reason, it can happen anytime to any family including all socioeconomic and racial/ethnic groups.

Purdue Extension-Dubois County is partnering with the Ferdinand Public Library to provide Kinship Care Support for families.  Kinship care is any living arrangement in which a caregiver is caring for children who are related to or have a prior relationship with the caregiver without a parent.  

Anyone who is a kinship caregiver is invited and encouraged to join us in the Community Room at the Ferdinand Public Library for one of the two scheduled sessions. The daytime program will be on Wednesday, April 24, 2019, from 10:30-11:30 AM. The evening program will be Thursday, April 25, 2019, from 6:30-7:30 PM.

The program will offer kinship caregivers support, education and access to resources so they can live happier, healthier lives and can, in turn, raise children who know emotional and physical safety, do well in school and social situations and are prepared to take on the challenges of their new life.

To register for the program, contact the Ferdinand Public Library at 812-367-1671 or Purdue Extension-Dubois County 812-482-1782.  Questions or concerns should be emailed to Jan Dougan at jmdougan@purdue.edu. Activities for children will be provided by the library during the caregiver session. Please register any child(ren) and their age(s) with your RSVP for the program.

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