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Program aids young caregivers

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published April 12, 2007

The faces have stuck with retired middle school principal and former Largo Mayor Bob Jackson.

There was the girl who showed up at school the morning her mother died. She had been her ailing mother's caregiver and had nowhere else to go.

Then there was the girl who refused to stay for detention. When Jackson confronted her, she sobbed and said she had to go home to care for a sick relative.

Nationwide, about 1.3- to 1.4-million children from 8 to 18 care for a family member with a chronic illness or disability, according to a 2005 study funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging. About 400,000 of the young caregivers are younger than 12.

Most care for a parent or grandparent suffering from Alzheimer's or some form of dementia, heart, lung or kidney disease, arthritis or diabetes, the study says.

In recent months, Jackson, 73, has been trying to make others aware of what child advocates say is often a hidden problem. He is trying to raise support for a new program, Caregiving Youth Project of Pinellas, which seeks to find and help young caregivers.

The program was conceived by a foundation of the Palms of Largo, a 96-acre retirement community that also cares for chronically ill children.

Shouldering adult responsibilities is stressful for children and "leaves them at a very high risk for dropping out of school," said Jeni L. Coticchio, executive director of the Caregivers Support Network, the nonprofit running the project.

So far the network has given a presentation to school nurses to help them identify caregivers. It also conducted an anonymous survey at Largo Middle and Largo High schools to determine the number of children who might be caring for relatives. Of the 1,895 students participating in the survey at the two schools, 569 indicated there was someone at home who needed special medical care. Of those students, 280 answered that living with that person hinders their learning.

Largo Middle School principal Fred Ulrich said he was surprised to learn of the extent of the problem.

"I just think it's a wonderful thing that we can give children some relief," he said. "If a kid every day has to go home and take care of a relative, when does he or she have time to be a kid? They are asked to grow up and mature way before they should."

The next step, Coticchio said, is to identify the children who need help and "let them know they're not alone."

Debbie Preble knows firsthand about the need for such help. The Seminole woman was battling a second bout of cancer when her daughter, Morgan, then 13, had to become her caregiver.

Morgan cleaned the wound from her mother's surgery, gave her shots in the abdomen, slept in her room and ate hot dogs and macaroni and cheese she cooked herself.

"Morgan did great, but it affected her in a lot of different ways," Preble said of her daughter, now 16 and a 10th-grader at Osceola High School.

"As it stands right now, I'm still cancer free," she said. "Morgan is back at school doing well."

The new caregiving project, which started in October, is the second of its kind in the nation, Coticchio said.

It is patterned after a Palm Beach County program launched last fall by Connie Siskowski, a registered nurse with a doctorate in educational leadership.

Siskowski has been consulting with the Pinellas group.

Speaking by telephone, Siskowski said it took time to get funding for her program. But she said interest grew after the release of a 2005 government survey and another by the Gates Foundation, which showed that 22 percent of young adults who dropped out of school for personal reasons did so to take care of a family member.

Child advocates started looking at the caregiving support program as a form of dropout prevention, she said.

The Pinellas County program will work with several groups, including the Kinship Services Network of Pinellas, Neighborly Care Network, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Family Resources.

On Friday, the organization will honor Jackson, who served as a Largo city commissioner from 1974 to 2000 and as mayor from 2000 to 2006, during a fundraiser at the Largo Cultural Arts Center.

In 29 years with the Pinellas County School District, Jackson served as principal at Osceola Middle School, Southside Fundamental Middle School and the Clearwater Exceptional Student Centers.

The $100-per-person event aims to help get the program off the ground.

The group also has approached the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County and United Way for financial help.

Fast Facts:

If you go

Tickets available

You can still get tickets for the Caregiving Youth Project of Pinellas fundraiser at 6 p.m. Friday at Largo Cultural Center, 105 Central Park Drive, Largo. The event includes dinner, entertainment and a silent auction. Call 727 437-1639.

The new Early College Program

- For the first year, enrollment will be capped at 250 students.

- Enrollment is open to public school, private school and homeschooled students, as long as they are county residents.

- Students who will be juniors or seniors at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year who want to apply must attend one of three information sessions, April 24, 26 and 27, each from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Arts Auditorium at the SPC Clearwater campus, 2465 Drew St.

- Have questions? Call 791-5970.

[Last modified April 12, 2007, 00:17:18]