Parenting a Second Time Around (PASTA)

Parenting the Second Time Around (PASTA) is a facilitator training for professionals working with grandparent/caregiver relatives. The program is designed for experienced workshop leaders, and can be implemented using resources available from Cornell Cooperative Extension. The manual contains outlines for eight two-hour workshops, with handouts and supplementary materials, including evaluation tools. Topics include information about child development, discipline and guidance, caring for yourself as a caregiver, rebuilding a family, living with teens, legal issues, and advocacy. Printing of materials was made possible by a grant through the Older Americans Act Award through the United States Administration on Aging, the New York State Office for the Aging, and the Orange County Office for the Aging.

The goal of Parenting the Second Time Around (PASTA) is to train facilitators to lead workshops on childcare for grandparent/caregiver relatives.

Of the fifteen New York counties trained in the use of the PASTA curriculum, seven are known to have used it. Copies have been purchased in over 24 states. In 2003 it was awarded National First Place for Educational Curriculum Package by the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences at the annual session in Salt Lake City Utah.