Wraparound is Five Acres' newest program. It is strength based and uses family as the key support. Wraparound provides the all around needed support. For more information, contact Joe Ford at .
Maria's Story - Eight is Enough
Seven-year-old Maria was placed with her
grandmother after her parents were incarcerated. Maria’s grandmother also has
custody of her brother and their four cousins who all have special needs. In
addition she cares for her 24-year-old paraplegic daughter.
Because the family stresses were affecting
Maria the most, Five Acres’ Wraparound team was asked to help her maintain her
placement by providing weekly individual therapy and working with the other
children and the family. Five Acres’ parent partner meets once a week with the
grandmother to encourage her and teach her self-care and parenting skills. The
child and family specialist meets with all the children once a week to work on
behavior modification, self-esteem building and anger management coping skills.
Five Acres will also be working with the grandmother on creating a rewards
system to assist the children in decreasing their negative behaviors at home.
The children attend a school that requires a
lot of homework so their paternal uncle is paid to tutor them every day. The
grandmother and Five Acres divide the tutoring expenses. The children’s
grandmother reports that the children are doing well in school, thanks to the
uncle’s tutoring.
The Wraparound team offers the grandparents
a well-earned monthly respite with tickets to a movie and dinner at a local
restaurant. The family is grateful to be receiving the tools they
desperately need to help keep them together.
