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This paper examines the needs of children in grandparent care, using data from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. Information on the children was obtained from the adult in the household most knowledgeable about the child's education and health care. Most children in grandparent care live with much older caregivers and caregivers with less formal education. They tend to be younger than children in the care of other relatives. While more children in grandparent care than in other relative care live with a caregiver experiencing poverty and health problems, caregiver struggles with housing and child care appear to be less for children living with grandparents than for children living with other relatives. Similar shares of children living with grandparents and other relatives live with food insecurity if the caregiver suffers from mental health problems. Grandparents care for children with similar challenges in terms of their well-being as do other kin caring for related children. Many children in both groups do not receive services for which they are eligible. Many child welfare agencies are adapting services to better service kin caregivers involved with the child welfare system. (Contains 21 references.) (SM)

This paper problematizes the role of caring in women's persistence in literacy programs. The paper draws from the author/researcher's doctoral research, a study of 10 mid-life multi-ethnic Adult Basic Education and English as a Second Language women learners and their lifelong experiences of literacy, schooling, and learning, both inside and outside of a Hawaii literacy program. It explains that since 7 out of the 10 women left the program within a year's time, the author/researcher felt compelled to focus on this issue. The women were interviewed, and their stories were developed in the form of both case study narratives and thematic analysis comparisons. The paper presents five case studies which reveal "caring" amidst the socio-historical and cultural changes taking place in the subjects' lives. A grounded theory approach was used to gain a holistic picture of the women learners' experiences over a life time and of the strategies, internal processes, and pre-conditions of their literacy and persistence experiences. Feminist theories of care were used to highlight the women's caring activities in their families and workplaces and the literacy program. Ethnographic methods were used to uncover the women's experiences with literacy, learning, and schooling. It concludes that literacy programs can help learners persist by paying attention to their histories, their relationships, and the deeper meanings of what they say. (Contains 97 references.) (BT)

This working paper is one of eleven individual research reports in which researchers with expertise in older adult populations gathered the most current available data, examined policies, regulations, and programs relevant to population aging and older Californians, and presented findings and recommendations. The issues examined-- economic well-being, work and retirement, housing, transportation, health status, mental health status, long-term care, residential care, family caregiving, and successful aging-- encompass most of the key issues concerning an aging population and Californias principal responses to its senior citizens. The report notes that the states efforts toward meeting the needs of older adults with mental illnesses must be improved. Programs must be expanded so that more older adults can be served. Further, the report features pertinent efforts made by universities and private organizations, and argues that these organizations assume a critical role in providing for the well being of the older population. Finally, three emerging issues that warrant further attention are highlighted: the increasing diversity of the aging population; the expansion of managed mental health care; and the development of a statewide system of mental health care for older adults. (Contains 60 references and 2 tables.) (GCP)

This report details a qualitative study undertaken to add to the knowledge base about care provided by relatives, friends, and neighbors. Focus group discussions were organized with African American, Puerto Rican, and Dominican women who care for other people's children in three low-income communities in New York City. There were a total of 45 participants in the formal focus group discussion--21 participants in the English groups and 24 in the Spanish. The report discusses findings from the focus group discussions in the areas of: (1) relationship of the caregiver to the parent; (2) number and ages of children in care; (3) origin of the child care arrangements; (4) motivations for providing care; (5) child care schedules; (6) remuneration; (7) quality of care; and (8) caregivers' interests. The report also discusses safety and quality issues, offers a view of child care in the community as a continuum, and suggests implications for public policy and for programs. In conclusion, the report notes that by knitting family, friends, and neighbors together in the shared care of children, child care is a fundamental part of the social, economic, and cultural fabric of low-income communities. The report's four appendices present: (1) project description; (2) organizing the focus groups; (3) analysis of findings: subcategories; and (4) child care continuum. (LPP)

A national survey of registered nurses and analysis of official statistics provided an overview of the dimensions and dynamics of the labor market for nurses in the United Kingdom. Findings indicated the following: enrollment in preregistration nurse training courses decreased by 27 percent over the 1990s; initial entries to the UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Visiting Register from preregistration nursing education courses continued to decline; and family-friendly and flexible working arrangements were the solutions proposed to improve recruitment and retention. The majority of respondents employed in nursing had responsibilities for dependent children, dependent adults, or both. Better resources to do the job, better pay, and greater availability of flexible working hours were cited as the three main factors that would have reduced the likelihood of respondents leaving nursing. More than one-third of National Health Service (NHS) nurses would leave nursing if they could; one-fourth were seeking a job change. NHS nurses cited better pay, better resources to do the job, and reduced workloads as the three main factors that would reduce the likelihood of their leaving nursing. An increasing proportion of NHS nurses agreed they could be paid more for less effort if they left nursing. Two-thirds of NHS nurses working internal rotation said it was not their preferred work pattern. Excess hours continued to be the norm. (14 references) (YLB)

The benefits to employers of employment policies and practices that explicitly recognize the increasing domestic responsibilities of current and potential employees were examined through a study during which data were collected from the following sources: previous research and existing sources of statistical information about demographic and employment changes in the United Kingdom; unpublished Institute for Employment Studies data regarding more than 20,000 employees in 5 public and private sector organizations in the United Kingdom; and interviews with 6 large U.K. employers who have introduced carer-friendly (i.e., caregiver-friendly) employment practices. Among the study's main findings were the following: (1) three factors (an aging population, changes in female employment, and diversity in family structures) have caused an increase in the number of employed individuals who have some form of caregiving responsibility; (2) employers are experiencing increasing difficulties in recruiting, and retraining staff employer competition for key staff groups is increasing; (3) recruitment, performance, attendance, and retention of employees with caregiving responsibilities can be increased through flexible, innovative employment policies and practical care programs; and (4) many such child care and family care policies/programs are currently available and are producing demonstrable business and competitive benefits. (Contains 19 references.) (MN)

The articles in this journal, which is dedicated to the family support field, include such topics as: (1) creating links between family support and early childhood education programs; (2) the challenges facing grandparent caregivers; (3) the problems endemic in social services for infants, toddlers, and their families; (4) the use of the internet and multimedia technologies to enhance family support and education; (5) the benefits of retreats in aiding families to develop a balance among work, family, and other parts of life; (6) a case study of an inner city public school; (6) highlights of the Family Preservation and Support Services Program's first year; (7) a report on how the Center for Family Resources helps others link programs, policies, and practices; and (8) a pull-out guide to advocacy for and with families. (SW)

A program was developed in Virginia to train Black and rural family caregivers of persons with dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease. This final program report begins with project briefs that summarize major products and findings, program objectives and accomplishments, and dissemination activities. Chapter 1 addresses issues related to dementia and caregiving in Black and rural communities. Chapter 2 describes activities related to program objectives, including forming partnerships with organizations and community members who helped develop the training curriculum, developing the training package, implementing the "train the trainer" model, evaluating the project, and developing the replication plan. Chapter 3 summarizes results of program evaluation. The 69 community leaders who participated in training gained significant knowledge about implementing workshops for family caregivers and rated the training highly. The 208 family caregivers who attended workshops given by the 69 community leaders also gained significant knowledge and judged the workshops to be useful and relevant. The last chapter discusses additional program outcomes related to community collaboration, outreach strategies, capacity building, and evaluation. Appendices include suggested readings for trainers and caregivers; directories of community resources in Central and Southside Virginia; forms necessary for program implementation; results of nominal group process for regional needs and resource teams from central and southside Virginia; and evaluation reports for first-level training (trainers), second-level training (trainees), and comparison of full and abbreviated training programs. These reports contain all forms necessary for program evaluation including pretest and posttest questionnaires. (LP)

This study examined the quality and characteristics of black families in South Africa. The research focused on three areas: values and norms regarding marriage and family life, the deterioration of traditional and parental authority, and parenting skills. The fieldwork was done during the years 1988-1990 and consisted mostly of group interviews and group discussions with over 300 respondents across 3 generations; all interviews were taped and subsequently analyzed. A qualitative research design was employed to collect, organize, and interpret the research data. Data were analyzed according to a descriptive approach providing for the individual experiences and views of black South Africans regarding their family life. The main strengths of the family as revealed by the group interviews and discussions appeared to be the enduring belief in the family as an institution, and in its resilience under adverse circumstances. The most serious weaknesses found were the decline of parental and adult authority coupled with debilitating structural problems. The latter include the physical absence of parents or caregivers, often for long periods of time. The recommendations derived from the results concentrate on ways and means to maintain or achieve a close bond between caregivers and youth. (Contains 51 references.) (Author/AS)

This Replication Plan describes an Administration on Aging funded Project, "Assisting Caregivers of Black and Rural Elders with Dementia: Progressive Training through Trusted Resources." The project directly developed the capacities of trusted community leaders (n=69) who served as trainers of African American and rural family caregivers (n=200) in Central and Southside Virginia. The project indirectly improved the capacities of caregivers through the conduct of workshops, and subsequently increased the ability of elders with dementia to remain, as appropriate, in their communities and avoid premature institutionalization. A proven model, this project has been used by the Administration on Aging at national and regional meetings to demonstrate its effectiveness as an educational delivery system. The primary products from this project were a substantive training manual ("Families Who Care: Assisting African American and Rural Family Caregivers Dealing with Dementia" (RC020823)); two directories of helpful resources--one with national resources, and the other, Virginia resources; this Replication Plan; and a Final Report to the Administration on Aging (RC020822). The pilot project officially ended August 30, 1994, but its benefits will continue to be felt via the community leaders who have been empowered to help those in their communities through linkages with their local chapters of the Alzheimer's Association and other community based resources. (AA/Author)

This report describes a 2-year evaluation of a demonstration program designed to train family child care providers to become economically self-sufficient small business operators. The evaluation report reveals that recruitment was stable and successful; that projects provided training to the targeted number of participants and were quite successful in graduating many of these trainees; and that the training programs seemed to directly impact on the quality of the child care to be provided by participants. Placement and retention of family child care providers is described as less successful with only about one-third of original trainees providing family child care one year later. In addition to these general findings, a number of specific findings and recommendations are made related to project components (recruitment, classroom training, home visits, resource lending centers, business start-up assistance, follow-up activities and support services); project outcomes (characteristics of trainees and training completers, characteristics of training completers who become providers, characteristics of training completers who are providing child care one year later, child care skills, changes in trainee economic status, and impact on mentors); external factors (networking and licensing); and future directions (clarifying goals, considering alternative delivery models, and planning and evaluation activities). (NB)

This literature review provides information to help in building a model of family caregiving for children with emotional disorders, focusing on the elements of stress, coping, and appraisal. Because literature on families' perceptions, use of resources, and coping with a child with an emotional disorder is nonexistent, the review uses the literature on family responses to a child's chronic illness or disability. This literature is extensive and cuts across numerous professional domains and academic disciplines. The review describes two conceptual models that provide a view of family response to stress (R. Hill's ABCX model and R. Lazarus and S. Folkman's model). They serve as the basis for synthesizing a tentative but more comprehensive model. The proposed model is specified in terms of constructs or latent variables grouped into three categories: antecedent variables, mediators, and adaptational outcomes. In building a comprehensive model, the review identifies a range of factors, some of which some are given characteristics of the family, child, or community and others are changeable characteristics that may vary as families attempt to deal with their child's illness or disability. With a focus on the conceptual and operational definitions of the major identified mediators, the review looks backwards in the stress process to identify causal antecedents and forward in an attempt to specify adaptational outcomes that capture desired end states. (Contains approximately 130 references.) (JDD)

The Community Services Branch of the Family Services Section of the North Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) surveyed all 100 DSS county directors to determine if directors saw HIV/AIDS as a problem now and/or as a potential problem in 5 years. Forty-one percent of the directors indicated an immediate need for difficult-to-provide services such as residential placement for both children and adults diagnosed with AIDS and the reluctance of social workers, daycare, and homecare providers to work with these clients. Ninety-three percent of the county directors believe that by 1997 clients with HIV/AIDS will place large demands on their services. Some of the specific areas to be affected include children and adult services, Medicaid, and transportation. Most directors said that their staff had received basic training on the transmission and prevention of AIDS, but many of the directors expressed a need for training assistance for new employees. The survey lists the types of training desired by directors along with a list of recommendations and contains an appendix which lists the names, addresses and phone numbers of HIV/AIDS contact people for all of North Carolina's County DSS. (RJM)

This handbook attempts to answer questions about informal caregiving and caregivers, focusing on the rural elderly. The first section presents a national perspective on caregiving. Recipients of caregiving, providers of caregiving, the caregiving dilemma, and psychological, physical, family, and financial issues are discussed. The second section focuses on the rural factor. The third section discusses services used by caregivers, including home maintenance, homemaking, transportation, nursing services, personal care, companion services, adult day care, etc. The fourth section discusses potential solutions to service problems. The fifth section discusses caregiver supports and focuses on respite care. The sixth section discusses support groups for family caregivers, noting that support groups which do work in rural areas tend to focus on education and less on support with personal concerns. This section also discusses the role of education programs for caregivers. The seventh section examines the caregiving issue as a family issue and describes research needs. Appendices include an Education and Training Resources Manuals list (9 items) and a Caregiver Bibliography of approximately 130 items. (Contains 20 general references.) (ABL)

Respite care provides relief or backup emergency care for families of individuals who are developmentally disabled. In sparsely populated rural areas, center-based urban models for service delivery and provider recruitment and training may be inappropriate. Las Cumbres Learning Services has developed a model for provision of respite care services in a large rural area of north-central New Mexico. This report describes elements of this model that could be adapted to other rural areas, including needs assessment; deciding between center-based and home-based respite care; deciding between volunteers and paid providers; limited forms of respite care (on-call providers, after-school arrangements, transportation); allocating respite hours among families; waiting lists; defining emergency use; program publicity; and recruiting, approving, and training providers. Las Cumbres uses a three-tier training model to better meet the needs of families with strong cultural and family structures. Level I providers are family members who complete minimal training. Level II providers complete 40 hours of specialized training or have a bachelor's degree or 3 years of experience in the field. Level III providers meet Level II requirements and provide services to at least two families. (SV)

To assess the impact of gender and filial relationship on adult children's sense of filial obligation, two studies were conducted. The first determined how typical caregiver tasks are classified. Middle-aged men (N=95) and women (N=95) rated seven representative tasks. There was considerable consensus on the designation of five tasks as being either provider behaviors or personal care. To test the impact of gender and filial relationship on filial obligation middle-aged men (N=80) and women (N=80) in northern Indiana responded to a questionnaire which asked them to indicate to what extent they believed they should undertake each of seven caregiving tasks to assist their mothers/mothers-in-law. Despite high levels of filial obligation respondents discriminated between personal care and those tasks that are provider or ambiguous in nature. In general respondents felt less obligated to perform personal care than other forms of caregiving. Second, main effects for gender emerged with respect to four of the seven tasks. As expected, men felt less obligated to engage in each of the personal tasks as well as less obligated to drive their elders to appointments than did women. Third, main effects for filial relationship emerged for every task but driving an elder to appointments. In each case the obligation to mother-in-law was rated as lower than was the obligation to a mother. (ABL)

Examines the impact of family support and relationship difficulties between the caregiver and the care recipient on caregivers' satisfaction and subjective burden. Findings showed that relationship difficulties were associated with both satisfaction received from caregiving activities and subjective burden. Family support was not associated with caregivers' appraisal of the situation. (Contains 25 references and 2 tables.) (GCP)

Describes transitions over 5 years among community-dwelling elderly spouses into and within caregiving roles and associated health outcomes. The trajectory of health outcomes associated with caregiving was generally downward. Those who transitioned to heavy caregiving had more symptoms of depression, and poorer self-reported health and health behaviors. (Contains 19 references and 2 tables.) (GCP)

Caregiving has become a normative family stress that typically extends over multiple years. Traditional conceptualizations of caregiving in terms of burden and stress lead to interventions based in a medical model of care. Wellness is presented as an alternative model with the potential for empowering caregivers and helping them develop healthier lifestyles. (Contains 67 references.) (GCP)