The Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) was initiated by the Brookdale Foundation in 1996. High Country Caregivers received its first seed grant for RAPP from Brookdale in 2008. It is designed to encourage and promote the creation or expansion of services for grandparents and other relatives who have taken on the responsibility of surrogate parenting due to the absence of the biological parents.
In partnership with the Brookdale Foundation, High Country Caregivers supports RAPP by providing the following services:
- Phone support to provide information, advocacy and a “listening ear” to those providing (or considering providing) relative/kinship care.
- Training for caregivers and professionals.
- Educational resource development (such as this website).
- Community networking, organization, and advocacy.
High Country Caregivers’ RAPP goals include providing information, assistance and training to both caregivers and professionals regarding parenting education, legal and financial issues, educational and life success, and networking and advocacy to increase awareness of caregiving needs and access to services for kinship caregivers.
Our RAPP support groups meet monthly in Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey counties. If you are interested in joining our RAPP groups please contact High Country Caregivers.
Additional Resources
