Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Utilizing A Community-University Partnership To Meet Grandfamilies’ Needs: Development And Evaluation Of A Grandchildren-Mentoring Program, Christine A. Fruhauf, A. Nancy Mendoza, Pamela Bishop, Gail Engel, Suzanna Hetchler

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

In response to the increasing rate of grandparent-headed homes and the needs of grandparents and grandchildren, we engaged in a community-university partnership to develop, implement, and evaluate a grandchildren-mentoring program. Prior to developing the grandchildren-mentoring program, a county needs assessment was conducted. The needs assessment revealed that grandparents wanted opportunities for mentorship of their grandchildren. As a result, we partnered with an undergraduate practicum course to create a new option of college students engaging with grandchildren. During our inaugural grandchildren-mentoring program, we conducted focus groups/interviews with grandparents (n = 5) and grandchildren (n = 7) at the end of the …