90.5 WESA: Supporting Pa. grandparents and kinship caregivers: New webinar tackles online safety
In 2023, more than 200,000 grandparents lived with their grandchildren in Pennsylvania. PFSA’s director of prevention programs, Justin Donofrio, said these families can face additional challenges when it comes to digital media.
“Grandfamilies, especially when it comes to online safety and digital media, are sometimes overlooked because resources can have difficulty keeping up with what the best practices are for families in general,” he said. “Grand families may have additional barriers, such as a digital divide, or digital literacy challenges that may exist, but don’t quite as much in families of younger adults.”
Digital media can be beneficial to children and teenagers, because it can allow them to learn and do homework or connect with friends. However, screen time can also impact teens’ mental health and sleep, and has even been linked to changes in the brain.
Beyond the webinar, the PA Family Support Alliance offers an online family digital wellness toolkit and other resources. One recommendation from the organization is to make a digital family safety plan.
PFSA also has other programs to support families. Among these is the Front Porch Project, which is a community based program to protect children from child abuse. They also have training for the ACT Raising Safe Kids, which is a parent education program designed by the American Psychological Association, and mandated reporter training.
“Every program we have or every resource that we develop really comes from the foundation of supporting and strengthening families rather than trying to limit them or trying to figure out things that they should just avoid. We really try to focus on how we build them up and make them stronger within their own family unit and within the community,” said Donofrio.
From WESA, July 15, 2025
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