PIERWI.INFO

PIER of Wisconsin
(Parents Information and Education Resource)

Introduction to Relative Care

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  Grandparent~
relative caregivers. 


Coalition for Children, Youth and Families has a team of Resource Specialists  to support you and your family every step of the way. If you have additional questions or need more information, please reach out.
 
Coalition for Children, Youth & Families | info@coalitionforcyf.org
414-475-1246 | coalitionforcyf.org

Kinship Navigator Portal (http://dcf.wi.gov/kinship/navigator) can be used by any relative caregiver throughout the state to identify services and resources available to them based on their specific caregiving situation. Caregivers will be asked to answer a set of questions specific to their situation, and based on those answers, they will be provided with an array of information about their eligibility for various programs.

Family caregivers please check out this is a new free online educational tool for family caregivers across Wisconsin. Learn about health issues, care techniques, and managing care for loved ones during flu season.   http://WisconsinCaregiver.org/virtual-events-for-caregivers

`Virtual -Support Groups, Memory Cafes,  Events, and Powerful Tools for Caregivers classes   
           Let’s Get Away, Together: Winter Series explore a new world, experience a variety of engaging opportunities, 
                        and enjoy a sense of camaraderie and community. 
                                       Interactive travel and culture activity sessions
                                       Incorporating storytelling, music, poetry writing, and/or a simple craft.
           Dementia 101- increase your knowledge of dementia
           Ask A Dementia Care Specialist
           Caregiver Rest and Restore –
           Boost Your Brain and Memory
           Online Book Club
           Ask A Dementia Care Specialist
           The Caregiver Experience:  Tools to Assist in the Journey
           Caregiver Teleconnection Program 
           Wisconsin Adoption & Permanency Support  for Grandparents and Relative Caregivers.
           Caregiver Coffee Hour 
           Northeast WI Telephone Support Group
           Caregiver Support Group
           Family Caregivers for a Loved One with Dementia in the Early Stages
           Caregiver Friends Support Group
           Let's Talk Over Coffee
           Alzheimer's/Dementia Caregiver Support Group
           Caregiver Support Group
           Family Caregivers for a Loved One with Dementia in the Early Stages
           Dependable Friends Virtual Support Group
           For Persons Living with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
           Male Caregiver Support Group
           Family Caregivers for a Loved One with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD)
           Family Caregivers for a Loved One with Dementia Living at a Facility
           Wacky Wednesday for Fun and Socialization

           Knowledge is Power Hour - Educational Programming
           Webinar Wednesdays- re: respite care in Wisconsin. https://www.respitecarewi.org 
           Outagamie Caregiver Coalition Chats
           Virtual Pizza & Trivia
           MEMORY CAFES(Memory Cafes provide a way for persons with memory loss and their care partner to socialize                               with other people going through similar journeys.)
 
POWERFUL TOOLS FOR CAREGIVING VIRTUAL CLASSES  
           Check the Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging website for other classes in your area. 
           https://wihealthaging.org/workshops

​

                                             Support Groups

Grandparents & Other Relatives as Parents (GORP) –

Community outreach: quarterly newsletter, warmline (not crisis line but more about finding resources) and community presentations on topics that resonate with relative caregivers. 

GORP meets 2nd Saturday from 10 to noon.

Childcare and food is provided – 2 childcare workers – 1 is clinical therapist and other is volunteer. 

​They offer a presenter quarterly and clinical-type support the other months.  Also hosts annual events (caregiver appreciation month and potluck celebration).  The respond to what is going on with members to meet their specific needs – i.e. lots dealing with trauma – offered presentation on play; substance abuse – setting boundaries, etc.  For more information, contact Serena at referrals@therainbowproject.net or (608) 255-7356.

        Resource webinars that maybe helpful, supportive and informational!
https://www.championclassrooms.org/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Coalition%20Connection
 
Archived Webinars include:

     Lying as Trauma-Driven Behavior  
     Navigating the Holidays
     School Challenges
    Relative Caregiving: Navigating the       Change in Roles
    Anger Management for Children and
                    Parents
    Strategies for Building Stronger 
    Relationships with Teens
    Strategies for Challenging Behaviors
    Greif and Loss in Foster Care and Adoption
   The Anxiety Monster
   The Journey of Forgiveness
   Tips for Positive Parenting
    Preparing children for Transition
    Introduction to Relative Care

 
Tips sheets: https://wifostercareandadoption.org/library-assets/?fwp_library_asset_type=tip-shee         
Include:
      Youth Tip Sheet (19)
      Foster Care (18)
      Adoption (8)
      Kinship (4)
      Siblings (4)
      Trauma (4)
      Grief (3)
      Mental Health Therapy (3)
      Post-Adoption Services (3)
      Special needs (3)


                 Caregiving versus parenting:
https://centerforfamilyinvolvementblog.org/2019/11/22/caregiving-and-parenting-are-not-the-same/
Print and share with your school or circle of family and friends!.
                           From the
Center For Family Involvement
 
CAREGIVING AND PARENTING ARE NOT THE SAME
Stories and information for families and individuals in the disability community

What exactly is a caregiver?
We assume that parent/caregiver is interchangeable. One of the same. It’s not.
A caregiver, by definition, is a family member or paid helper who REGULARLY looks after a child or a person who is sick, elderly, or disabled. All parents serve as a caregiver from time to time. But that is not the same as the “primary caregiver” role so many of us took on the moment we became a mom or dad.

Why does this matter? 
 Acknowledging how different and challenging the parent/caregiver role is important because it can consume us without us realizing it. We love our children so deeply that the lengths we go to ensure their comfort become our new normal. But our norm is not the norm. That’s why recognizing and honoring caregivers is so important. We love our children unconditionally and will do anything for them, part of that needs to be loving ourselves too.

How is parenting different from caregiving?

 Parents need babysitters.
 Caregivers need respite.
 
 Parents take their kids to well visits and sick visits a couple times a year.
 Caregivers administer treatments and carry binders full of medical records to quarterly, 
         monthly, sometimes weekly appointments.
 
Parents listen to doctors.
Caregivers collaborate with doctors. Caregivers get second, third, even fourth opinions.
          Caregivers are often the most important part of the medical team.
 
Parents make dinner.
Caregivers feed their children, by mouth, by tube, whatever is needed.
 
 
 Parents tell their kids to do their homework while they prep dinner.
Caregivers spend an hour helping a child do what should be 10 minutes of homework, which
        they’ve also helped modify. Dinner is a daily crapshoot.
 
Parents go to parent teacher conferences.
Caregivers go to those conferences and also IEP meetings, behavior plan meetings, care plan
      meetings, person-centered planning meetings, Medicaid eligibility meetings. So many
      meetings.
 
 Parents take their kids to soccer practice and drink coffee on the sidelines.
Caregivers search for a sport or program that is suitable, fill out piles of paperwork, meet
      with the people running the program, go over accommodations needed, and are on high
      alert monitoring their loved one, often jumping in to help.
 
Parents sign their kids up for after school clubs.
Caregivers contact clubs to see if supports
      are available. They usually aren’t. So they request assistance, offer to help change the
      system, or offer support themselves. Caregivers sometimes give up or don’t bother asking,
      because it’s not worth the effort.
 
Parenting is planning a family vacation to somewhere fun.
Caregiving is wondering how you can make endless visits to specialists feel like a vacation
      because you have no money or leave left for anything else. Caregiving is forgetting that
      dream vacation and finding something that is doable because of medical conditions that
      make travel difficult.
 
Parents park in the most convenient space available for their family’s needs.
Caregivers arrive to events early hoping to secure a disabled parking spot. Those spots are
      often taken by parents who don’t need them but thought “5 minutes don’t matter.”  So
      caregivers navigate dangerous parking lots pushing a wheelchair or monitoring a child
      who collapses and runs off with no safety awareness of cars.
 
Parents are sleep deprived for the first few months and years of their child’s life.
Caregivers are sleep deprived indefinitely.
 
Parents carry a diaper bag and later some extra clothes and eventually just their own stuff
      again.
Caregivers bags only get bigger in every sense. Bigger diapers, bigger clothes. And the
       emotional baggage we carry but keep buried down below gets heavier, as we see our l
       loved one’s peers pass them by. As the “little kid cute” fades, stares become less kind
       and more prominent. It stings. But we barely have time to process it because we must
       keep on caregiving.
 
Parents’ roles change when their children become adults. They will always be a parent, but
      their “work” is done.
Caregivers will always be caregivers. And their role becomes more complicated as time goes on.
 
 
 
How do we care for a caregiver?
Acknowledge it is hard.
We internalize so much because we love our children.
There is no shame in saying it can be hard.
There is a reason we’re always tired.
Lean on each other for support.
Validation is everything.
Knowing you’re not alone in your feelings makes a big difference.
Advocate for change.
Supports are available but not accessible for so many of us.
Wages for hired caregivers are so low that it’s difficult to find and retain quality respite providers.
There are people pushing for change. Find them and join the movement. It can be as simple as following a group on social media and sending an email when issues arise.
Be kind.
            To your family.
            To yourself.
When everything feels like too much, toss out those arbitrary rules we make.
Turn on a screen.
Order in.
Ask for help.
Step outside and breath for a moment.
Always remember – you are not alone.
 


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