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.
