No abstract

Increasingly, grandparents are being called on to rear their grandchildren when parents are unable or unwilling to fulfill their parenting role. These grandparent caregivers often find themselves in an economic bind. Financially, most are at a stage in life where they are looking toward retirement and reduced family spending and are unprepared for their new economic reality as second-time-around caregivers. Here, we use a framework of family financial well-being to examine the economic consequences of rearing grandchildren. Based on family life interviews with 26 grandfamilies residing in Montana, we explore the challenges grandparents experience generating and shifting income streams in later life, the variability in received income, and the array of expected and unexpected expenses incurred as a result of taking in their grandchildren. As custodial grandparents strive for financial well-being, there are few resources-especially in rural areas-to help them navigate these new financial waters.

This research examines whether employment in a family‐owned business offers parents of young children more flexibility in balancing work and child care responsibilities than employment in nonfamily business situations. Specifically, the study focuses on whether the family business characteristics and work demands of household managers in these families explain the purchase of child care services in the market. The study uses a subsample from the 1997 National Family Business Survey (1997 NFBS). Findings suggest that household managers who work in the family business are far less likely to outsource their child care responsibilities than families that work similar hours outside the family business. Although the idea that family businesses allow more flexibility in the management of work and family has been around for some time, this is the first research to document the relationship between the outsourcing of child care responsibilities and the household manager's involvement in family business operations.

This research examines whether employment in a family-owned business offers parents of young children more flexibility in balancing work and child care responsibilities than employment in nonfamily business situations. Specifically, the study focuses on whether the family business characteristics and work demands of household managers in these families explain the purchase of child care services in the market. The study uses a subsample from the 1997 National Family Business Survey (1997 NFBS). Findings suggest that household managers who work in the family business are far less likely to outsource their child care responsibilities than families that work similar hours outside the family business. Although the idea that family businesses allow more flexibility in the management of work and family has been around for some time, this is the first research to document the relationship between the outsourcing of child care responsibilities and the household manager's involvement in family business operations.

Home visiting programs are designed to support pregnant women and families of children ages five and under to ensure that children are developing optimally in physical, social, and emotional domains. This study extends the literature on home visitation research outcomes by comparing two types of home visiting models: a collaborative home visiting program and a noncollaborative home visiting program. The collaborative program, called the Partnership Program, uses the resources of both the public health department and a local nonprofit organization eligible to do home visitations to deliver home visiting services. The noncollaborative program, called the Public Health Home Visiting (PHHV) Program, utilizes only the services of the local public health department. This study used panel data to assess whether children in the Partnership Program were more likely to make progress than children in the PHHV Program. Even though children in the two programs made very similar amounts of progress, children in the Partnership Program were significantly more likely to show progress in communication, gross motor, fine motor, and personal/social development than children in the PHHV Program.