Grandparents raising their grandchildren are continually challenged by their role and its accompanying stresses. Fordham Graduate School of Social Service Professor Carole Cox, Ph.D., has found that empowerment training—a practice focused on strengthening the parenting skills and social advocacy ability of grandparent caregivers—can help this population adapt to their demanding situations.
Acknowledging this need, Cox developed the Grandparent Empowerment Program in 1998, inviting grandparents to attend 14 three-hour classes at Fordham University covering topics such as self-esteem, communication, and advocacy, among others. Classes combined group discussion and role-play to review materials.
“In the empowerment process, the practitioner does not act as the expert or provider of power to the powerless older person but is instead a co-learner,” Cox wrote in an article for Generations Journal describing the sessions. “The role of the group leader is that of a facilitator who recognizes that participants are experts, that they learn best from each other, and that their problems are not unique.”
Virtual Adaptation
In 2021, like many things, the Grandparent Empowerment Program went virtual. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the need for empowerment among grandparents, who were forced to manage their grandchildren’s new virtual schooling. Because older adults were among those most vulnerable to the virus’s impact, social isolation increased and became another obstacle to self-empowerment.
A grant from the NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA) provided WiFi to 350 public housing tenants and basic education on technology usage. These provided the foundation for the program.
The virtual program operated for two years and graduated over 100 participants, most of whom were Black grandparents of low income who lived in public housing in New York City. While grandparents discussed many of the same struggles as the in-person program, new topics such as grandchildren’s adaptation to online schooling emerged. Participants exchanged phone numbers and email addresses, developing a solid network of shared experiences.
Overall, Cox found that accessibility of in-person and online empowerment programs is important for grandparents’ continued growth and social connection. As the Baby Boomer population grows, programs like these will only become more crucial to a healthy society.
