Contribution to Book
Challenges and Supports for Employed Parents of Children and Youth with Special Needs
The Oxford Handbook of Work and Family
(2016)
Abstract
Parents raising children and youth with special needs due to disability or compromised physical or mental health often find the exceptional care they provide results in caregiver strain and competes with workforce engagement. When parents disclose their family members’ special needs and care demands to obtain support, they can also face workplace stigma. This chapter maps research on family care demands onto studies of available family support, workplace support, and community support that may mitigate challenges and improve employment trajectories. Additionally, a cross-national comparison reveals that policy supports for parents providing exceptional care are fragmented at best in three countries: Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Finally, the chapter proposes systematic investigations that can uncover shifts in policy and practice with the potential to improve employment outcomes for this substantial segment of the workforce.
Keywords
- Caregiver strain,
- Cross-national comparison,
- Disability,
- Disclosure,
- Exceptional care,
- Employment trajectory,
- Family support,
- Special needs,
- Stigma,
- Workplace support
Disciplines
Publication Date
July, 2016
Editor
Tammy D. Allen and Lillian T. Eby
Publisher
Oxford University Press
DOI
10.1093/OXFORDHB/9780199337538.013.14
Citation Information
Eileen Brennan, Julie Rosenzweig, Pauline Jivanjee and Lisa M. Stewart. "Challenges and Supports for Employed Parents of Children and Youth with Special Needs" The Oxford Handbook of Work and Family (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/lisa_stewart/5/