Coping with the Death of a Parent Research Question: How does a child cope with the loss of a parent with AIDS: Introduction: This research study will show the challenges that children they face when dealing with the loss of a parent to the AIDS virus. Sources for the research come from the Tarrant County College Resource Center, online websites, and an interview with a social worker, Rebecca Wright, of the AIDS Outreach Center Youth Services Program. Abstract: These studies determine children's living situations before and after parents' death. It reports how families have begun adopting children whose parents have died. It focuses on the idea that orphaned children could become dysfunctional adults and further destabilize society. There are several initiatives undertaken by the United States government to help these children. Explain what guardianships are and how they are used as a way to allow people with chronic illnesses to care for their children in permanency planning while they are still alive; and implications for foster care. It shows the relevance of the findings for school social workers. There is discussion about how the legal system and the social service system can resolve the conflict. Losing a family member to AIDS can be a devastating experience, losing a parent to AIDS can be even worse. Today, as the AIDS epidemic becomes increasingly problematic in the United States, much attention is being paid to the people who die each year from the disease and the families who are forced to deal with tragedy. While many loved ones are affected by the loss, children who lose their parent t...... middle of paper ......lated. Faithful (1997) suggests that discrimination and stigma will lead to “disenfranchised pain” and the loss will become unspeakable. Melvin and Sherr (1995) remind us that "our understanding of children's problems is embryonic... the burden of secrecy, bereavement, and illness can rest heavily on the shoulders of young people." This is why so many parents choose to keep their HIV status a secret from their children. They feel they are protecting their children from peer rejection and questions about death. Research has shown that children of parents with AIDS are at greater risk of negative long-term outcomes if they do not plan for custody. Children who are victims of sudden and unexpected parental loss show more negative outcomes than children who are prepared for it, and legal complications are greater. (American Journal of Public Health)