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Relatives as Parents Groups
– June meetings
The Hancock County Children’s Council will
celebrate the end of the school year, by
providing our Relatives As Parents group
meetings on Tuesday (EVENING, June 8th, 2010
from 5:30-7:30pm and Wednesday (DAYTIME),
June 9th, 2010 from 10:30am-12:30pm at
Downeast Health Services, 52 Christian Ridge
Road, Ellsworth. If you are interested in
participating in either of these FREE mutual
support groups, please call Candy Eaton at
667-5304 ext. 261. Our groups will take a
summer break and resume in September.
Are you one of the following types of
grandparent caregivers?
· Custodial grandparents have legal custody
of their grandchildren; they provide daily
care and decision-making tasks. The focus on
this type of care-giving is on the
grandchild and providing them with a sense
of security.
· “Living with” grandparents provide daily
care for their grandchildren, but do not
have legal custody. The child’s parent may
or may not live in the home. These
grandparents focus on providing an
economically and emotionally stable
environment for the child, and often on
helping the parent. Because the grandparent
does not possess legal custody, he or she
has no way of protecting the child from an
unsuitable or dangerous parent.
· “Day care” grandparents focus on helping
the child’s parent and on fulfilling their
own needs. These grandparents tend to be the
least affected by their caretaking role
because the children return home at the end
of the day.
The Hancock County Children’s Council, a
program of Downeast Health Services Inc., in
partnership with Maine Kids-Kin, seeks to
support families who are raising their
relatives’ children in Hancock County. Many
families have recently undertaken the
unexpected responsibility of caring for a
relative’s child. In Maine, over 11,000
children with their grandparents, aunts,
uncles, or with another relative who are not
their parents. Even so, many relatives feel
they are in this alone. These relatives’
lives are complicated, yet they are
experienced parents and bring history and
past lessons to a new relationship with
their relatives’ children. Throughout
Hancock County, there are others who share
many similar experiences and feelings. To
learn more about Maine Kids-Kin and its
services, visit
www.mainekids-kin.org or call
1-866-298-0896.
The Hancock County Children’s Council
collaborates with many local partners to
strengthen Maine’s families. Please call
667-5304 ext. 261, email
children@downeasthealth.org or visit our
website at
www.downeasthealth.org for additional
information on parenting classes, child
development and family resources available
in Hancock County.
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