GRANDcares Phase Two: Positive Youth Development

     GRANDcares program is excited to announce the completion of a newly developed curriculum for children ages 9-12 years old.  The six-week educational intervention was developed by teams from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Colorado State University.  The curriculum was created outside of the box, and the classroom is transformed into the “GRANDcares Youth Club”.  The program features interactive classes that are packed with lively learning activities.  The GRANDcares program is implemented in three phases; strengthening self-care for grandparent caregivers, developing communication and leadership skills in grandchildren, and increasing the ability of service providers to meet grandfamilies' needs.  The GRANDcares Youth Club will launch off the second phase for the national pilot program funded through USDA.  In 2016, the first phase of GRANDcares, was introduced to grandparents raising grandchildren in Hawaii and Colorado.  The first phase is ongoing and the six-week course for grandparents will run simultaneously with the Youth Club.  

A unique element of the GRANDcares Youth Club is that it was designed specifically for grandchildren being raised by grandparents. Research indicates that many children being raised by grandparents may encounter greater risk of behavioral and emotional hurdles.  There are many reasons for this, often the event of losing a parent or being taken away from a parent, is a traumatic experience for young children.  The GRANDcares Youth Club deliberately created activities for youth to strengthen their resiliency, or the ability of a person to recover after experiencing trauma and to overcome problems and difficulties.  The GRANDcares Youth Club is rooted in recognizing and enhancing young people’s strengths while promoting positive youth development.  Each week of the club provides hands-on learning experiences, that have been curated to build leadership skills, encourage self-confidence, practice communications skills and learn goal setting strategies.  Based on similar foundations of 4H Clubs, the GRANDcares Youth Club also helps youth develop and practice important life skills.  By providing “tools” for life skills, they will have more resources to cope with daily situations, make important decisions and enhance their quality of life.

In September 2017, the Youth Club was tested for the first time on the Big Island, Hawaii.  (Photo above) A small group of youth volunteered to be the first to experience part of the Youth Club program as the team reviewed and edited the curriculum accordingly.  Just last week, the first team of Youth Facilitators for the program were trained at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Maui.  The GRANDcares Youth Club begins on Thursday April 5- May 24th, 2018, 5pm-7pm on Maui.  The classes are 90 minutes and prior to this, the grandfamilies are invited to talk story and enjoy a free light meal together.  Currently on the Big Island, GRANDcares program’s first phase is underway with grandparent caregivers until March 31^st.  Dates will be announced soon for the Youth Club on Big Island.  To find out more information contact grandcaresmaui@gmail.com

This week, a team from Hawaii is traveling to Colorado State University to train Youth Facilitators.  The GRANDcares Youth Club will launch in Colorado on March 28^th (kick off!) at 4:30-7:00 pmThe program will run until May 9^th in Fort Collins.  For more information contact Jana.Carson@colostate.edu   There is no cost to join the classes, but space is limited. 

Written by: Christine Spencer, Site Facilitator, GRANDcares Maui