RAPP Resources

Publications & Multimedia

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Simulation Toolkit
The Coconino Extension and Kinship Kare of Northern Arizona (KKONA) RAPP has piloted a “simulation” workshop to lead agency participants through the realistic re-creation of the challenges grandparents face raising grandchildren. The workshop was authored by the University of Arizona, Coconino Extension faculty, staff and KKONA Grandparent Mentors, (the mentors are a Brookdale supported project). The Grandparent Mentors ensured that family scenarios were realistic.

The simulation is a unique learning design because attendees drop their professional roles for six hours to become a grandparent family that includes grandchildren, grandparent and other caregiver roles whose task throughout the workshop is to experience the typical challenges that grandparent households face. This simulation promotes attitudes and systems changes among agencies that interact and serve grandparents.

Agency participants commented that they learned, “How hard it is to be able to access services for grandparents. It was so challenging to get resources. That was an eye opener,” and it is “Crystal clear that communication needs to get better for grandparents raising grandchildren (GRG’s). It was evident that resource people respond to questions only pertaining to what they deal with, not giving adequate information.”

The Simulation Workshop is now available from The University of Arizona on CD as a toolkit. The CD includes pieces that an organizer needs to plan, replicate and host a Grandparent Raising Grandchildren Simulation for their organization or community. The toolkit is organized into four sections which includes: Section one: the organizer’s materials. These include schedules, family profiles and other procedural materials. Section two: materials for conducting a pre-training for collaborating agencies and facilitators who assist with conducting the workshop. The third section: materials and all participants handouts for distribution on the day of the workshop. The fourth section: a bibliography and evaluation templates, both the workshop and follow-up evaluations.

To order a copy of the toolkit contact toll-free, the University of Arizona at 1-877-763-5315. Cost is $25.00 each and does not include shipping and handling. For questions about the “simulation” workshop contact one of the authors at (928) 774-1868 ext 120 (Beth Tucker).

Promising Practices in Encouraging & Supporting Grandparents and Relatives
This publication, a collaboration of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (N4A) and the Brookdale Foundation, is intended to make the aging network across the nation aware of important and successful Relatives as Parents Programs (RAPPs) operated by Area Agencies on Aging.

We hope this guidebook will encourage the replication of RAPP supportive services to relative caregivers by the many Area Agencies on Aging that serve older adults.

Note, hard copies of this publication are not available; however, you may download the guidebook here.

Developing Rural Relatives As Parents Programming: Promising Practices- A Collection of Practice Wisdom from Across Rural America was written by the University of Maine Center on Aging and funded by The Brookdale Foundation Group. The manual provides Relatives as Parents Programs (RAPPs) with a thorough review of the strengths, needs, and challenges of rural kinship caregivers, as well as practical tips on serving rural grandfamilies.

The information in the manual is based on a combination of published research and extensive surveys and interviews with both service providers and kinship caregivers. Service providers offered input about the unique needs of their rural clients, barriers rural clients may face in accessing services, and strategies that they have used to help their clients. Kinship caregivers across the country offered insight as to what makes great programming for rural grandfamilies. The result of this effort is a collaborative and comprehensive manual showcasing many of the promising practices in use across the country.

The complete publication is available for download at no charge by clicking here. Professionals in any field that work with grandparents raising grandchildren or other kinship caregivers are encouraged to utilize this manual to better support rural grandfamilies.

For questions or more information on the manual, contact Jennifer Crittenden at jennifer.crittenden@umit.maine.edu or by phone at 207-262-7923.

GrandFacts: Data, Interpretation, and Implications For Caregivers
One million American children live in grandparent-headed households in which their parents are not present, effectively skipping a generation. These little-known families face unique challenges, highlighted in this new report.

The information in GrandFacts: Data, Interpretation, and Implications For Caregivers, will be a vital tool for national, state and local policymakers, as well as agencies providing services to grandfamilies nationwide.

This report points to the need to learn more about the caregivers and children in skipped generation grandfamilies. Click here to view full data charts and more information about these and other grandfamilies.

Key findings about skipped generation grandfamilies include:

Most children are teens. Forty-two percent of the children are 12 to 17 years old. In parent-child families, only one-third of children are 12 to 17 (the rest fall evenly between two groups: ages six to 11, and younger than six).
More children have physical and mental health needs than in parent-headed households.
One-third of the children are in families with incomes below the poverty level. This is double the child poverty rate in parent-child families.
Nearly half struggle with housing costs – renters as well as home owners. This is significantly more than is the case with parent-child families.
Nearly one-third of grandparent householders have not completed high school. This compares to one-eighth of parents in parent-child families who do not have high school diplomas.

These findings – which highlight the sub-group of skipped generation grandparents – came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest national sample, the 2005-2007 American Community Survey’s three-year estimates.

The report was made possible with funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Brookdale Foundation Group. The complete publication is available for download at no charge by clicking here.

Parenting The Second Time Around
Cornell Cooperative Extension
A Cornell Cooperative Extension Workshop Series for Grandparents, Relatives and Others who are parenting again. This curriculum is designed for experienced Workshop Leaders, Professionals, Social Workers or Adult Educators. The Manual contains outlines for six workshops, with handouts and supplementary materials. Each workshop is planned for a two-hour block of time. Topics include child development; discipline and guidance; acknowledging ambivalent feelings; rebuilding a family; legal issues and advocacy. Quantity discounts are available. Visit their website, http://www.cce.cornell.edu/store/customer/product.php?productid=16433&cat=&page=1 or e-mail resctr@cornell.edu.

The Ties That Bind: Training for Caregivers
Children of Alcoholics Foundation
These resources focus on parental substance abuse and its impact on all members of the kinship care family. The curriculum is designed to be facilitated by a professional with a group of kinship caregivers. The modules can be used individually, in combination, or as a whole. The Ties That Bind is based on a family systems approach and strives to generate understanding and awareness of the issues facing caregivers, children and birthparents. The goals of the training are to:

Teach participants basic information about alcohol and other drug addiction
Promote discussion of substance abuse related issues with children
Provide strategies to cope with the behavioral and emotional issues children in kinship care may present
Help caregivers be supportive of parent/child relationships
Encourage utilization of available support resources
Promote improved relationships between caregivers and birthparents

The training combines lecture, small group discussion, and activities to provide an interactive, experiential-based learning environment. The training can be offered through a kinship care support group or independently. Areas covered include drugs, alcohol, and addiction; caregivers, children, birthparents and home safety. Topics covered include an overview of kinship care and parental substance abuse; introduction to alcohol, other drugs, and addiction; caregiver feelings; understanding and supporting the child; talking about substance abuse with children; caregiver relationships with birthparents; maintaining a safe home; supporting the parent-child relationship; and accessing support. The curriculum contains instructions, accompanying handouts, and overheads. Facilitators have permission to duplicate these materials for use in the workshops. In addition to step-by-step instructions, background information has been provided for facilitators who may lack expertise in particular areas.

To learn more about the handbook, fact sheets, curriculum or training and consultation services, contact Kim Sumner-Mayer, Kinship Care Outreach Manager, at ksumner-mayer@phoenixhouse.org, call (646) 505-2063 or visit the Children Of Alcoholics Foundation’s website at www.coaf.org.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Legal and Policy Challenges
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Legal and Policy Challenges is a three-session, video-based program consisting of a videotape and a CD ROM that contains background information for the facilitator, detailed plans for the educational sessions, handouts and additional materials. The program is designed for presentation to grandparents who are raising grandchildren, relatives who are raising kin, the professionals and paraprofessionals who work with them, and interested community members. This program has been adapted from the videoconference, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Legal and Policy Issues, produced by University of Wisconsin-Extension and Purdue Extension, which was broadcast nationally in 2001. Where necessary, the information has been updated.

Sponsors of the videoconference were AARP, the Brookdale Foundation, the Child Welfare League of America, Generations United, and the National Association of State Units on Aging. Dena Targ, Professor Emeritus, Purdue University, Mary Brintnall-Peterson, Program Specialist in Aging, University of Wisconsin-Extension, and Mary Haselow-Dulin, Editing Services, Madison, Wisconsin, developed the program.

Purdue Extension produced and is distributing this educational material for a fee. If you would like to see an overview of the program and/or an order form, access the following website: https://secure.agriculture.purdue.edu/store/item.asp?itemID=7159.

Best Practices Manual for Service Providers Assisting Kinship Caregivers in the State of Michigan
As part of The Brookdale Foundation State RAPP initiative, the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging has published a “Best Practices Manual for Service Providers Assisting Kinship Caregivers in the State of Michigan.” The manual was researched and written by Ms. Krista Powers, a Hartford Fellowship/MSW Intern from the University of Michigan, in response to needs identified through a survey completed by Michigan’s sixteen area agencies on aging. It contains resources and tools that can be adapted to provide the most appropriate and extensive services possible to kinship caregivers and the children in their care. The guide has been distributed across the state to area agencies on aging and local service providers to assist them in developing responsive and accessible services for kinship care families in their local communities. The guide is available free of charge from the Office of Services to the Aging or click here to download.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Simulation Toolkit
The Coconino Extension and Kinship Kare of Northern Arizona (KKONA) RAPP has piloted a “simulation” workshop to lead agency participants through the realistic re-creation of the challenges grandparents face raising grandchildren. The workshop was authored by the University of Arizona, Coconino Extension faculty, staff and KKONA Grandparent Mentors, (the mentors are a Brookdale supported project). The Grandparent Mentors ensured that family scenarios were realistic.

To order a copy of the toolkit contact toll-free, the University of Arizona at 1-877-763-5315. Cost is $25.00 each and does not include shipping and handling. For questions about the “simulation” workshop contact the authors at (928) 774-1868 ext 12 (Beth Tucker) or ext 15 (15 Michele Lytle).

RAPP Brainstorming Sessions

RAPPs have brainstormed on key issues that have helped them create, expand and sustain their programs. Here are some examples:

Marketing and Outreach
Funding
Continuity and Expansion

Please note: This list of resources has been created by or in collaboration with a Relatives As Parents Program (RAPP) and is provided for informational purposes only. For more information about the resources listed, please see the website or contact listed.