Resources

This kit is designed to help churches:

• Understand what kinship care is;
• Learn how to offer services and support to kinship care families;
• Discover the kinship care resources that are available to families;
• Find national and state kinship care organizations and resources.

Download documents (in pdf format) from the Children's Defense Fund Website: www.childrensdefense.org

Second Time Around . . . Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Second Time Around is curriculum for grandparent support groups. Researchers at Western Michigan University, in cooperation with the Michigan State University Extension, received funding to develop a curriculum for use in training grandparents in the "not-so-new" role of parent. Drawing from community, university, and private resources, the project resulted from the collaborative effort of attorneys, researchers, professors, and technical advisors in assembling the "need-to-know" subject matter that will contribute to successful parenting the "second time around." The curriculum guide, teaching resources, and instructional materials represent a critical resource for working with these grandparents and their grandchildren. The curriculum contains materials applicable for 8-16 sessions. Topics include:

• Notes to the Sponsor Organization
• Notes to the Facilitator
• Understanding Your"ÒNot-So-New" Role: Grandparents in the Role of Parent, Again
• Promoting Personal Well-Being
• Refining Parenting Skills
• Building Relationships
• Working with School and Community
• Managing Finances
• xploring Legal Issues
• Looking to the Future

For further information, contact: Linda L. Dannison, Ph.D., Family and Consumer Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008; 269-387-3704; Linda.dannison@wmich.edu. To purchase this curriculum, send a check for $75 (includes cost of postage) to WMU at the above address and refer to #386-007-327.

Parents & Grandparents as Spiritual Guides: Nurturing Children of the Promise
Betty Shannon Cloyd
(Upper Room Books, 2000) 164 pages; $13.00

Cloyd explores the simple ways parents and grandparents can introduce children to the presence of God and nurture them spiritually during daily, routine activities. This must-have book includes biblical models of spiritual guides along with insightful stories from children, Christian educators, and the author's own family experience.