Serving children with special needs at an army base
Abstract
During wartime, families whose members include military personnel are often separated and/or relocated. At a military base in El Paso, Texas, Foster Grandparents provide emotional and academic support to children with developmental disabilities whose immediate and extended family contact is limited because of their parents' active military status. Through coordination with the child development center located on the base, the Foster Grandparents provide nurturing and support. This program was highlighted in the National Service News, Issue No. 181, March 31, 2003, published by the Corporation for National and Community Service.Issue
Providing emotional and academic support to children with special needs is by its nature challenging. Additional strain can be expected when one or both parents are on active military duty, and children are relocated to an army base where extended family is not in close proximity. Offering nurturing and guidance to these young people in meaningful ways can be difficult.Action
The Foster Grandparent Program of the City of El Paso, Texas has 19 Foster Grandparents serving at the Child Development Center (CDC, or the Center) at Fort Bliss, a major Army base in the city. The Center has about 270 children enrolled from infants through pre-school. The Foster Grandparents work one-on-one with children with special needs and developmental delays, many separated from their families. Effective practices include:- The Foster Grandparents are assigned two children to work with that have special needs or need special attention.
- Staff from the CDC provides pre-service and in-service training for Foster Grandparents serving throughout the El Paso community as well as at the Center.
- Center personnel develop a Child Care Plan that outlines the duties that the Foster Grandparent will work on with his/her child.
- Duties include keeping the child on task, helping with class work, active listening, helping with fine/gross motor skills, spending time and providing one-on-one attention.
- When security was increased after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Center began providing transportation to the Center for the Foster Grandparents.
- The CDC is a year-round facility and in the summer a number of Foster Grandparents serving in El Paso public schools join their colleagues working at the Center.
Context
Fort Bliss Child Development Centers (CDC's) are located on a military base (one at the main post and one at Fort Logan). Many of the children at these centers have adjustment or detachment disorders as well as developmental delays. Most of the children are not from the area so extended family contact is limited. Many exhibit emotional problems due to parental absence because of their active military status.
El Paso Foster Grandparents began serving at Fort Bliss in 1988. In 2002, 19 Foster Grandparents served at the Child Development Center. The Fort Bliss assignment is only one example of how the 151 Foster Grandparents in the El Paso program serve the community. Others are in schools, several YMCA day care programs, a juvenile detention center, a shelter for battered women and their children, and a state Mental Health-Mental Retardation facility.
Outcome
- Foster Grandparents provide nurturing support and a stable presence in the lives of children who are experiencing difficulty dealing with the absence of parents who are deployed in the Middle East.
- Individual attention results in youngsters opening up to staff and other children.
- Four of the Foster Grandparents are men, filling a critical need in the lives of children from single parent homes.
Evidence
In 2002, 19 Foster Grandparents served 48 children at the CDC. The Center reports 90 percent of those children showed considerable improvement in coping skills as well as in overcoming developmental delays.Posted On
December 9, 2003For More Information
Related Practices
Related sites
Fort Bliss Child and Youth Services