Moving Beyond Adversity: Providing Support to Grandfamilies

Nearly 3 million American children under the age of 18 are raised as members of a grandfamily. During this interactive session, participants will explore the world of the grandfamily to develop an understanding of why grandfamilies are created, their unique needs, and how to effectively support members (children, youth, young adults, adults, and older adults) at home, school, work and in the community.

Objectives:
• Describe characteristics of grandfamilies and their incidence and prevalence in the United States and North Carolina.
• List reasons children and youth come to live in a grandfamily
• Describe the need for licensed behavioral health professionals to partner with peer support specialists to meet the needs of the grandfamily
• Identify and examine cultural considerations for working with diverse grandfamily populations