Student Parents: How To Serve This Invisible Population

1. Student Parents: How To ServeThis Invisible Population

2. 16th International Conference on the First Year Experience July 7-10, 2003Student Parents: How To Serve This Invisible Population Susan M. Warfield, MSW, LICSWK. Giddings, Graduate Teaching Assistant University of MinnesotaGeneral CollegeStudent Parent HELP Center

3. 16th International Conference on the First Year Experience: Outline • Information about this population • A student parent cultural group? • Ingredients for success • Other purposes student parent programs serve • Best practices • Special considerations for this population • Dreams for the future • So how do you do this?

4. Non-Traditional Students: Why the student parent population differs • Children make the difference • Invisible on your campus? • Do you know they’re there? • Are you trying to find them? • What would you do if you did?

5. Non-Traditional Students: Why the student parent population differs • HELP Center student parents... • Have an average GPA of 3.0 • Are employed 20 or more hours/week • Have one child • Are in their 20s • Are female • Spend an average of over $525 per month on childcare

6. Non-Traditional Students: Why the student parent population differs • Different needs, goals, life experiences, responsibilities, lifestyle • Self-select out of programs (study abroad)

7. A Student Parent Cultural Group? • Culture: • The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon [a hu]man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations • the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group

8. A Student Parent Cultural Group? • Roles • Responsibilities • Living Environment • Socialization • Barriers to learning • Maturation/Life Phase • Language, communication • Community

9. “Culture is communication, communication is culture.” -Edward T. Hall

10. Ingredients for Success

11. Ingredients for Success: Support • Group • Own room • Care and Nurturing (more jalapeno pizza) • Mentoring • Modeling • Empowerment • Student-Centered vs. Academic Lecture

12. Ingredients for Success: Support • Group: Here’s what members say: • If you could sum up your feelings about this group into one or two words, what would that/those be? • Love • Great • Fun • Feedback • Helpful • Belonging and Acceptance • Family

13. Ingredients for Success: Support • Group: Here’s what members say: • What was the best part of this group for you? • Friendship with other parents. • Meeting with people that have been in the same situation I am in. • Talking, venting, learning from other student parents. Group is fun. The people are fun. • Comradery with other dedicated parents, excellent advice from staff members, a pace to go where others understand the special circumstances of being a parent in school. Practical advice was great, too. • Having a day during the week to relax…to talk with other moms, learn something new, enjoy a lunch.

14. Ingredients for Success: Support • Group: Here’s what members say: • How does this group make a difference in your life as a student parent? • It gives me a few hours a week to look forward to destressing, commiserating, and sharing. • From other members I can see what to expect about being a student parent (from a pregnant mom). • I have peers at school now—and a place to socialize and learn with other parents—not kids right out of high school who have no clue about the real world (not all people in my classes are like this—just a few). • This is one day a week I don’t have to worry about lunch. I can feel connected here. • Helps so you don’t feel estranged from the campus life and not feel alone with different situations. Help with finding financial aid and understanding it. • I did not feel so alone anymore. • I was able to face the rest of the week after I came from group. • Gives me community. • It gives me important and useful feedback from group providers as well as from other moms. I feel like I BELONG here (U of M), since it can be overwhelming.

15. Ingredients for Success: Special Events • Special Events • Midterm events • End of semester parties • Parent’s Day Out (End of Year)

16. Ingredients for Success: Identification • Identification starts at home • You can’t find someone you’re not looking for • Technology • Database

17. Ingredients for Success: Identification

18. Ingredients for Success: Identification

19. Ingredients for Success • Tracking, Outcome Measures, and Program Evaluation • Research (sharing information nationally, internationally)

20. Ingredients for Success: One stop shopping • One stop shopping • Advocacy (social work skills) • Facilities • Counseling and Advising

21. Ingredients for Success: One stop shopping • Resource and Referral • HELP Center: childcare grants, emergency grants, group, computer center, advising, etc. • Community: housing, child care, community mental health centers, clinics, shelters, food banks, etc. • University: child care, financial aid, women’s center, learning resource centers (multicultural)

22. Ingredients for Success: Networking • Outreach: local high schools, teen parent programs • Partnership: university financial aid, office of admissions, community food bank programs, intern programs, family housing, campus childcare, local housing programs, orientation, university women’s center, first year experience, work/life consortium, other research programs • Volunteers: community and campus • Funding and Development: Coke grant for group, child care grants, emergency grants, other grants—research position, scholarships

23. Other purposes of student parent programs • Educate • campus-wide • in the community • Advocate • Voice • legislatively, administratively, within classroom (academically and student services) • Visibility-physical, flyers, brochures, events • National networking and sharing of information

24. Best Practices • Grantwriting • Community building • Networking—outreach and partnership • Teaming • Cross training • Using intern programs—MSW • Fundraising (the financial outlook is bleak, more and more necessary) • Counseling—child development, family, parent/child • Triaging

25. Some special considerations • Crisis intervention • Mental Health • Domestic Violence • Substance Abuse • Family Violence • Homelessness • Financial Aid • Budgeting

26. Dreams for the future/model programs, etc • Integrate academic programming (parent seminar) • Study abroad • Mo’ Money! • Increased collaboration among student parent programs nationally (first, more programs must exist?) • Formation of advocacy council: specialized first year experiences

27. So how do you do this? • Evaluate your need (you may be surprised) • Look for friendly programs to house you (women’s center, child care center, offices of multicultural affairs, etc.) • Find student parent alums • Look for state funding that may already exist CCAMPIS funds, state grants (usually administered through financial aid or HESO) • Look for support through HR, work/life consortiums, etc. • Research funding sources serving women and children locally and nationally • Don’t overlook smaller donors (restaurant gift certificates, donated food, used computers, toys, books, etc.) • Look for organizations that already fund academic scholarships