OKLAHOMA CAPITOL— Grandparents and other relatives facing the challenges of caring for a second family can get some needed assistance in meeting those challenges during the annual “Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Conference” on Sept. 7-8, 2004, in the conference center of INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, located 3300 N.W. Expressway in Oklahoma City.
Frederic Luskin, director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project at Stanford University in California, a nationally recognized counselor and author, will deliver the keynote address. He will discuss the benefits of forgiveness to one’s emotional and physical well-being.
The longest running conference specifically addressing issues concerning grandfamilies, the annual event will focus on issues facing grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, including such topics as financial stress, discipline, support services, substance abuse, legal issues, school issues and dealing with the state service delivery system.
An information fair featuring details on services and programs now available to serve grandfamilies will be open before the conference begins each day and at noon. Mental health counselors will be available on the first day to conduct small group counseling sessions for those who wish to participate. Participants can also take advantage of a health fair designed to allow grandparents to receive a basic health-care screening free of charge.
The conference includes a workshop on navigating the legal system – always a topic of concern to grandfamilies. Sandy Ingraham, who has worked in both the children’s and senior advocacy areas for many years, will lead the session.
Other featured speakers include Georgette Clark, nationally known trainer and consultant, who will explain the effects of stress in her workshop titled “Slaying the Dragons of Change;” Kit Welsh, of the Cleveland County Health Department and local support group leader, who will discuss the neurological and psychological impact of childhood trauma I during a workshop titled “Scared for Life?” and Dr. Jim McAuley, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, N.C., a nationally recognized researcher and teacher, who will present the findings of a unique survey of Oklahoma grandparents on the housing needs of area grandfamilies.
Sponsors of the conference, one of the first of its kind in the nation, include the Oklahoma Department of Human Services’ Aging Services Division, Children and Family Services Division and Family Support Services Division; the Oklahoma State Council on Aging; INTEGRIS Third Age Life Center; the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council; the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services; the Oklahoma City Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, AARP, Head Start Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma/Canadian County, Inc.
Registration is $20 and includes lunch on both days. For a registration form or information regarding the conference, call the OASIS at 1 (800) 426-2747. Financial assistance is available for qualifying grandparents, and day care is being offered free of charge for children and adults, but must be arranged prior to the conference. To apply for financial assistance and/or day care, please call OKDHS’ Aging Services Division at (405) 522-3073.
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