Foster Grandparents Assisting in the Development of Children

1
Foster Grandparents Assisting in the Development
of Children

• Presented by Sherry Black, Director
• Chattanooga Human Services Foster Grandparent
  Program

2
History of the Foster Grandparent Program

• President Johnson established in 1965 as a war
  on poverty project to assist older Americans on
  fixed incomes
• Today, administered under the Corporation for
  National and Community Service that provides
  federal grants for national service programs
• It is the oldest and largest program in the
  National Senior Service Corps, authorized
• by Title II of the Domestic Volunteer
• Service Act of 1973.

3
What is the Purpose of the Foster Grandparent
Program?

• Mission
• 1.) Provide opportunities for older persons to
  give 1,044 hours annually to non-profits in their
  local communities addressing critical needs in
  the areas of education, human needs, public
  safety and health.
• 2.) Provide one-on-one assistance to special
  and exceptional needs children helping them to
  improve in their specific needed areas of
  development.

4
National Facts

• There are 350 programs--in every state, District
  of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
• 29,000 Foster Grandparent volunteers give over 24
  million hours annually
• More than 225,000 children benefit from
  one-on-one assistance

5
State and Local Facts

• Nine Foster Grandparent Programs in the state of
  Tennessee engage 696 seniors in significant
  service to others in 28 counties
• Locally, we are federally funded for 95 Foster
  Grandparents serving 3 counties, Hamilton,
  Bradley, and McMinn. They will serve a minimum
  of 99,180 hours providing assistance to their
  assigned special and exceptional needs children.

6
FGP The Volunteers

• Foster Grandparents must be 60 years of age and
  older living on incomes less than 135 of the
  poverty income guideline, pass a physical exam
  and background check.
• FGP provides volunteers the opportunity to use
  the talents, skills, and wisdom they have
  accumulated over a lifetime.
• Seniors in general are not valued or respected
  in todays society. Low-income seniors are
  particularly devalued because
• Economic status
• Not traditionally those who participate in
  community activities.

7
Volunteer Benefits

• FGP provides volunteers a modest non-taxable
  stipend of 2.65 which enable volunteers to serve
  at little or no cost to themselves
• Also receive an annual physical, daily meal,
  transportation reimbursement, paid personal
  leave, holidays, and vacation
• Provided 40 hours pre-service and 4 hours monthly
  training thereafter
• Support throughout their tenure as Foster
  Grandparents.
• Through their service, our grandparents say
  they feel and stay healthier, that they feel
  needed and productive. Most importantly, they
  leave the next generation a legacy of skills,
  perspective and knowledge that has been
  learned the hard way through experience.

8
FGP The Children

• Through our volunteers, we also provide
  person-to-person service to infants, children and
  youth under the age of 21 who have special or
  exceptional needs.
• Foster Grandparents are assigned 2 or more
  identified children. Goal--improve their
  developmental levels (CCP handout).
• With the dynamics in family life today, many
  children with disabilities and special needs lack
  a consistent, stable older adult role model in
  their lives. Often times, the Foster Grandparent
  is the only one in a childs life who accepts the
  child unconditionally, offers positive
  encouragement and praises their successes.

9
The Children Continued

• FGP focuses its resources where they will have
  the most impact early intervention services and
  literacy activities.
• The majority work intensively with very young
  children to address their problems at as early an
  age as possible, before they enter school.
• Thirty-one Foster Grandparents are addressing
  literacy in Head Starts, forty are assigned to
  pre-elementary day cares, fifteen help in
  physical disabilities programs and remaining
  deal with elementary and public safety issues.
  

10
How Foster Grandparents Can Help Special Needs
Children

• Mentor teen parents, model parental skills
• Offer emotional and physical support
• Assist children with developmental, speech, or
  physical disabilities. Their specific needed
  areas may include self-help, fine gross motor,
  cognitive, social, language, and emotional
• Reinforce literacy skills in classrooms
• Help guide and serve as mentors/coaches to youth
  and more

11
What Difference Does It Make?

• Impact results for fiscal year 2002-03
• 118 older Americans supplemented staff at 30
  non-profits in Chattanooga, Cleveland and Athens.
• 590 assigned children received daily one-on-one
  assistance, others in classroom also benefited.
• 95 of Foster Grandparents achieved their goals
  with their assigned children. Majority improved
  in two or more areas.
• 59 of the grandparents evaluated received a
  98-100 Excellent rating on 23 evaluated areas.
  
• Out of a possible 5, volunteers overall level
  of satisfaction with FGP was 4.67.
• Foster Grandparents gave a minimum of 101,839
  hours of service to the community saving
  non-profits and tax-payers 1,731,264.36, based
  on the Independent Sector service hour rate.

12
FGP Cost Effective Service

• FGP serves our community in a high quality,
  efficient and cost-effective manner, saving local
  communities money by helping older Americans
  stay independent and healthy by providing
  services to non-profits.
• The annual federal cost for providing one Foster
  Grandparent is 3,583. Local contributions cover
  an additional 925cost 4.32 an hour, it doesnt
  get better than this.

13
FGP The Volunteer Station

• Locally, 30 Memorandums of Understanding are
  negotiated with public and private non-profit
  agencies and proprietary health care facilities
  including public schools, secular and faith based
  child care centers, hospitals, emergency
  shelters, and youth homes. Sites are added based
  on community needs and support of 3 or more
  volunteers.
• Requirements
• Supervision of Foster Grandparents.
• Identify professional assessed children to be
  assigned and foster grandparent volunteers duties
  and goals.
• Complete federally required FGP documents as
  requested.
• In-Kind support such as meals, transportation,
  recognition.
• Assure adequate health/safety provisions are
  provided.
• Assist with training covering job and policies.
• Discrimination Prohibited. Program will be
  operated in compliance with Title VI of the Civil
  Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 Handicap
  Accessibility. (MOU handout)

14
Requesting the services of the Foster Grandparent
Program

• Contact the Chattanooga FGP at 423-757-5509 or
  e-mail black_sherry_at_mail.chattanooga.gov
• Explain your compelling community need and how
  many Foster Grandparents you would like to serve
  at your site.
• Identify childrens needs and activities to be
  performed by the Foster Grandparents
• Establish desired accomplishments (what will be
  done) and impacts (what will change).
• (PFI handout)
• To find out more, check out web site www.cns.gov