Parent educators and faculty review latest parenting research

Dinah Castro, Maxine Cohen, Kerri Reda, and Tim Jahn in conversation at the in-service.

The annual Parenting in Context in-service event brings together Cornell researchers with New York State parent educators and others who work with families and youth for networking, professional development workshops, and presentations.

The 2015 in-service, held September 16-17, featured presentations on topics such as parenting in the digital age, custodial grandparent families, cognitive development in social context, positive discipline strategies, and adolescent well-being amidst family instability. Presenters included Rachel Dunifon and Laura Tach from policy analysis and management, Michael Goldstein from psychology, Chris Watkins, director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, local school social worker Melissa Enns, and Parenting In Context staff Kimberly Kopko and Eliza Cook.

Participants came from 9 counties across New York State and left the following feedback on the event:

The updates and research presentations are always thought-provoking and reinforce our connection to the university. It is so important to those of us in the field.

It was very helpful to better understand the environment and dynamics of niche families--grandfamilies and fragile families. Presentations being research-based reminded me of its importance.

Support missing when grandparents find themselves parenting again

Rachel Dunifon

"Grandparents increasingly play a key role in the lives of their grandchildren, as our recent study of U.S. families shows. But some of the most vulnerable in this group are failing to receive the childrearing support that other similarly at-risk families receive," begins a recent post by Rachel Dunifon on the Child and Family Blog. Dunifon, director of The Role of Grandparents in the Lives of Adolescent Grandchildren project in the BCTR, goes on to explain that the past decade has seen a 30 percent increase in the proportion of children who live with both their parents and grandparents. This trend indicates that the social services that support the elderly are, more and more, also assisting children, a fact that should affect policy.

Families where a grandparent or grandparents raise children alone without a parent present are often called "grandfamilies." Dunifon notes that these types of families are often overlooked by policymakers, and left out of aid programs, but not due to a lack of need:

U.S. grandfamilies are, on average, economically disadvantaged. Nearly a third live below the federal poverty line, and almost another third have incomes less than 200 per cent of the poverty level., Grandparents in such families are less likely than parents in other family structures to be employed and are less likely to be married. We see strikingly high levels of health problems in these families – not only in the grandparents but often in the mental health of the children, likely reflecting the misfortune they have often experienced in their lives.

The blog post was also reported by Desert News in an article including personal stories of grandparents raising their grandchildren. Both source the study Grandparent Coresidence and Family Well-Being: Implications for Research and Policy (Dunifon, Ziol-Guest, and Kopko) published in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science in July 2014.

Grandparent Coresidence and Family Well-Being: Implications for Research and Policy - The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

Grandparents raising children alone miss vital family benefits and supports - Child and Family Blog

The problems grandparents face when parenthood starts all over again - Desert News

CCE Summer Interns present their research findings

Katrina Simon next to her poster on her research with 4-H

This year's Cornell Cooperative Extension Summer Interns presented on their summer research on October 7th. Included in the group were four students who worked with BCTR researchers (listed below). This year each student gave a condensed one-minute presentation on their work. Presentations were followed by a poster session/reception where students could talk to attendees about their research.

Each year the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Summer Internship Program connects undergraduates with faculty research projects, helping Cornell fulfill its land grant mission by engaging students in outreach. From research to education and program development, interns are involved in a wide spectrum of activities which they document by blogging.

This year's BCTR-connected projects, which collectively reached eight counties:

Building a Community Legacy Together Program Evaluation
Faculty: Karl Pillemer
Location: CCE Orange County and CCE Genesee County
Student blog by Masrai Williams

Parent Education in New York City: The Parenting A Second Time Around (PASTA) Project
Faculty: Rachel Dunifon
Location: CCE New York City
Student blog by Paisley Marie Terenzi

Refugee Family Child Care Provider Project
Faculty: John Eckenrode with Lisa McCabe
Location: CCE Madison-Oneida County
Student blog by Emily Nina Satinsky

Research for the Continuous Improvement of 4-H
Faculty: Stephen Hamilton
Location: Erie (base), Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming Counties
Student blog by Katrina Simon

Cooperative Extension interns report on statewide research - Cornell Chronicle

New article: “Grandparent Coresidence and Family Well-Being”

Rachel Dunifon and Kimberly Kopko

The BCTR's Rachel Dunifon and Kimberly Kopko (with Kathleen Ziol-Guest) authored a new article that looks at the effects of grandparents living with families. Grandparent Coresidence and Family Well-Being was published in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science this summer.

Abstract:
U.S. children today have increasingly diverse living arrangements. In 2012, 10 percent of children lived with at least one grandparent; 8 percent lived in three-generational households, consisting of a parent and a grandparent; while 2 percent lived with a grandparent and no parent in the household. This article reviews the literature on grandparent coresidence and presents new research on children coresiding with grandparents in modern families. Findings suggest that grandparent coresidence is quite common and that its prevalence increased during the Great Recession. Additionally, these living arrangements are diverse themselves, varying by the marital status of the parent, the home in which the family lives, and the economic well-being of the family. Suggestions for future research are also proposed.

Grandparent Coresidence and Family Well-Being

Talks at Twelve: Kimberly Kopko, Thursday, August 21, 2014

The Relatives Raising Youth Project: An Example of Translational Research in Parenting Education
Kimberly Kopko, BCTR

Thursday, August 21, 2014
12:00-1:00pm
Beebe Hall, 2nd floor conference room

The Relatives Raising Youth Project is jointly directed by Kimberly Kopko and Rachel Dunifon under the BCTR’s larger umbrella project, The Role of Grandparents in the Lives of Adolescent Grandchildren. Relatives Raising Youth incorporates research and extension activities in the area of relative care, specifically, grandparents raising their teenaged grandchildren. The goals of this research are

• to provide greater insight into New York families in which grandparents are raising grandchildren
• to use the results of this research to produce new resources for educators who work with the families, as well as the families themselves

Numerous translational materials were produced from their research, including research briefs, Parent Pages and stand-alone educational modules that specifically address parenting teens. These resources are for use by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) and community educators to inform their work with grandparents raising their grandchildren. In her talk, Kim will discuss the process of working with CCE educators and agency leaders in collecting data for this project as well as findings related to relationship quality and parenting among grandparent caregivers and the teenage grandchildren that they are raising.

Kimberly Kopko received her Ph.D. in Child Development from the Department of Human Development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University in May 2005 and joined the Department of Policy Analysis & Management in 2007 after spending a year as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Ithaca College. Her research and extension interests include parenting and adolescent development. Current research activities focus on examining the well-being of youth (aged 12-18) being raised by a grandparent, specifically, the nature and quality of the relationship between youth and their custodial grandparents, family processes, family communication, and parenting profiles of grandparent caregivers.

Rachel Dunifon is a Professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management. She is also Associate Director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research and PAM Extension Leader. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University in 1999 and joined the department in 2001, after spending two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan's Poverty Research and Training Center. Her research focuses on child and family policy.

2014 CCE summer interns begin work with BCTR researchers

Each year the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Summer Internship Program connects undergraduates with faculty research projects, helping Cornell fulfill its land grant mission by engaging students in outreach. From research to education and program development, interns are involved in a wide spectrum of activities which they document by blogging. Findings are presented in the late summer at a poster event on campus.

This year BCTR researchers are involved with four summer intern projects, reaching eight counties:

Building a Community Legacy Together Program Evaluation
Faculty: Karl Pillemer
Location: CCE Orange County and CCE Genesee County
Student blog

Parent Education in New York City: The Parenting A Second Time Around (PASTA) Project
Faculty: Rachel Dunifon
Location: CCE New York City
Student blog by Paisley Marie Terenzi

Refugee Family Child Care Provider Project
Faculty: John Eckenrode with Lisa McCabe
Location: CCE Madison-Oneida County
Student blog by Emily Nina Satinsky

Research for the Continuous Improvement of 4-H
Faculty: Stephen Hamilton
Location: Erie (base), Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming Counties
Student blog by Katrina Simon

Related:
BCTR connections at the CCE student poster showcase
2012 CCE Student Poster Event showcases summer research projects

Parenting educators, researchers share wisdom

Rachel Dunifon speaking with educators

The BCTR's Parenting in Context Initiative held its annual in-service event with county parenting educators this month. Educators hear about the latest findings on parenting and children from Cornell researchers and researchers have the opportunity to learn about research needs from the educators. This process of communications helps to better serve parents throughout the state with evidence-based information on aspects of child-rearing from infancy to adulthood.

In a recent Cornell Chronicle article about the event, Rachel Dunifon, director of the Parenting in Context Initiative, comments on the process:

The goal is to give extension educators new tools and information that they can use in their programming with families across New York. However, I always come away from these events convinced that I have learned much more than they have. They are an amazing group of professionals committed to making a difference in the lives of those doing some of the most challenging work there is – raising children.

The agenda included presentations on adolescent sexual health, early childhood education, connecting to community agencies, and engaging-low income fathers. The presenters included the BCTR's Jane Powers and Jutta Dotterweich of ACT for Youth, Lisa McCabe of the Corenll Early Childhood Program, and Jennifer Tiffany, BCTR director of outreach and community engagement.

The mission of the Parenting in Context Initiative is to provide research-based resources for parent educators as well as develop new curricula that will enhance existing programs. They also provide training and tools that will be useful in evaluating parenting programs as well as assess parenting programs by county, by program and statewide to identify areas of potential collaboration and resource.

Parenting educators, researchers share wisdom - Cornell Chronicle

BCTR connections at the CCE student poster showcase

Jamie Blum presenting on her research with PROSPER

September 24, 2013, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) hosted their fifth annual student poster showcase. CCE Summer Interns who worked on research projects with the guidance of faculty presented on their findings.

This year the BCTR connections ran throughout the event. BCTR faculty worked directly with some of the students:

• Rachel Dunifon, BCTR associate director and Parenting in Context director, worked with Sarah Catherine Van der Elst on Parent Education in NYC and with Laura Kirsch on Parent Education in Suffolk
• John Eckenrode, BCTR director and PROSPER P.I., worked with Jamie Blum on The PROSPER Partnership Model: Evidence-Based Programs that Reduce Risky Youth Behaviors, Enhance Positive Youth Development, and Strengthen Families
• Stephen Hamilton, BCTR associate director for youth development, worked with Brian McGovern on Research for Continuous Improvement of 4-H

Natasha Herrick presenting

A number of BCTR pilot grant recipients worked with students on their funded projects:

• Jane Mendle (HD) worked with Natasha Herrick, Leticia Vasquez, and Meredith Moser on Transforming Teens: Brief Interventions in a Camp Setting
• Rebecca Seguin (DNS) worked with Meghan Witherow on Measuring and Improving Rural Food and Physical Activity Environments to Improve Health
• Nancy Wells (DEA) worked with Ivy Mumo on Healthy Gardens, Healthy Youth

And, finally, 4-H was connected to three of the student projects:

• 4-H STEM Camp Experience by student Valeria San Juan with faculty member Marcia Eames-Sheavly
• 4H Youth Geospatial Science: County STEM Connections by student Rain Hennessey with faculty member Susan Hoskins
• Development of a Youth Evaluation Tool for the Choose Health: Food, Fun, and Fitness Curriculum by student Hannah Swartz with faculty member Wendy Wolfe

Summer interns present research at poster session - Cornell Chronicle

Dunifon on WSKG Radio’s Community Conversations

BCTR associate director Rachel Dunifon participated in the WSKG program Community Conversations on the topic of Women and the Workplace. Dunifon was in discussion with host Crystal Sarakas and guest Phoebe Taubman, Staff Attorney at A Better Balance. The group considered income inequality, specific difficulties for lower income working women, issues of work/family balance, and how policy could address such issues.

Audio of the program can be heard here.

Fifty parent educators attend the 2013 Parenting in Context In-Service event

CCE parent educator Denyse Variano of Orange County

Approximately 50 Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) parent educators from across New York State gathered in Ithaca for the 2013 Parent Education In-Service. The annual event is sponsored by the Parenting in Context Initiative in the College of Human Ecology and was held on the Cornell University campus on January 14th and 15th, 2013. The In-Service provides parent educators with professional development opportunities including presentations on the latest research on parenting and families as well as the latest evidence on effective parenting programs from Cornell professors and Senior Extension Associates. The event also provides a forum for educators to communicate their knowledge from the field back to the researchers.

Presenters included Kelly Musick, Jennifer Tiffany, Rachel Dunifon, Kimberly Kopko, and Lisa McCabe.

Presentations provided information on translational research and updates on the Parenting In Context project and also highlighted CCE innovative parent education programs for teen parents as well as a Facilitator Training Workshop.

Rachel Dunifon

Parenting in Context researchers, led by Rachel Dunifon, associate professor of policy analysis and management and director of Parenting in Context and Senior Extension Associate Kimberly Kopko, Co-Director of the Project, also presented the results of their annual assessment of CCE parent education programs statewide. Nearly 800 New Yorkers across 11 counties participated in 22 different programs in 2011-12, with many of them reporting, via program evaluations, significant improvements in their parenting skills.

Prior to the In-Service event, the Parenting Education Program Work Team (PWT) held their biannual meeting. The Parenting Education PWT was initiated in March 2004 with the primary goal of fostering communication among parenting educators, as well as providing support and resources to educators throughout New York State. Faculty presenters shared information about new research projects and opportunities for parent educator involvement as well as a panel presentation, Strengthening Campus-County Connections: New Projects and Examples of Past (and Ongoing) Successes, that featured a number of faculty discussing the ways in which they connect their research with parent educators and families in their respective communities.