Melinda_Perez-Porter joined - Brookdale Foundation
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| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Thank you for joining us today for our web chat, "Sustaining Your RAPP." A very special thank you to |
| | |Linda and Andrea for facilitating the chat. Two handouts are available - they were sent this morning |
| | |in a listserv announcement and can also be downloaded here on the private page, under "web chats." |
| | |Feel free to ask questions and to share your tips on what you have done to sustain your RAPP. Let's |
| | |have fun. All questions are welcomed. Let's get started! |
| |dannisonl |Hi, we are typing from snowy Grand Rapids, Michigan. Welcome everyone. |
| |smitha |Hello to you all from Michigan! Looking forward to our discussion this afternoon. I'm Andrea Smith |
| | |and will be typing in green. Linda Dannison, my colleague, will be typing in purple. |
| |dannisonl |We sent everyone a handout from our text - running "Continuation Groups." |
| |dannisonl |It lists possible topics for Continuation Groups. Members are encouraged to prioritize their |
| | |interests. |
| |smitha |What experiences do you all have with running groups for kinship care family members? What kinds of |
| | |challenges have you experienced? What successes can you share? |
| |Waushara |I am finding that it is hard to get people involved here in WI as we are a rural area and members are|
| | |so spread out, it is hard to get a good group going. So far we have only had about two families out |
| | |of 21 on our listing. |
| |Liz |Hi, this is Liz from Colorado. We have had a successful monthly psycho-education group that we've |
| | |been running for the last year and a half. The topics change every month. The group is both a support|
| | |group and a psycho education group. |
| |Janice_Hassen |We have had seven years experience running groups. The biggest challenge is identifying families and |
| | |getting them to understand what we have to offer. |
| |smitha |Hi Janice--the challenge you cite is one that most of us who work in kinship care will agree with. |
| | |Identifying families and getting them to come to the first meeting or two is often really difficult. |
| | |We've had some success recruiting families’ sort of "second hand"--i.e.: by building relationships |
| | |with teachers, public health care workers, social workers, etc. that families interact with. Having |
| | |these professionals talk up the potential of being involved in a kinship care group really takes some|
| | |of the fear of the unknown away from families. Also, families who are currently or have been involved|
| | |in groups are great recruiting tools. That word of mouth piece can't be beat. We've also found that |
| | |having an informal open house, where grandparents/grandchildren can come in, meet staff, learn about |
| | |group services, fill out paperwork, etc., in an informal and more one on one manner is useful. We |
| | |always provide snacks, etc. so that families feel welcomed. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Linda, I just had a call - one big challenge has always been attendance. We stress that consistent |
| | |dates and times are a must! |
| |Liz |Child care and providing dinner has helped a great deal in terms of attendance. |
| |pfcs |We are having trouble attracting new families. Any suggestions for how to build up our RAPP group? |
| |dannisonl |It can be a challenge to get a group started - generally we have found that they may need help with |
| | |transportation. Small incentives can also be useful. |
| |smitha |I'm first going to respond to Liz. I'm curious about how you determine what topics are of |
| | |interest/need to your group members. Do you have a curriculum that you use? Where do you obtain |
| | |info/resources? |
| |Liz |The topics are discussed with the group members so that they can weigh-in on what is of interest. |
| | |Common topics include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in children, working with the school district, |
| | |establishing good self-care for the group members. We also bring in speakers from the community which |
| | |the group really enjoys... |
| |dannisonl |The culture of the group is really important - good food, fun atmosphere, small gifts or gift |
| | |certificates help to get things going. |
| | | |
| |Helen_Johnson |Please define psycho education. |
| |Joan_Vance |Like Janice, I'm very interested in the psycho education. We have a lot of interest from members in |
| | |learning about the prescription drugs so many of the youth are taking....I'm not sure who would be |
| | |best to address that topic! |
| |Liz |If you could have a substance abuse counselor speak to the prescription drug piece that would probably |
| | |be effective...good idea re: a topic, I'll pass that on in my shop. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |If you are interested in a chat on psycho education, let us know and we can do that. In the interim, |
| | |let’s concentrate on sustaining our RAPPs. |
| |Janice_Hassen | |
| | |I would be interested in a chat on the psycho education. |
| |Helen_Johnson |I would be interested to know more about it. |
| |Shannon_Kassab |We just began our RAPP in May and have already had almost 10 families participate. We offered a special|
| | |respite night this past weekend and one grandmother said it was the first time that she had a Saturday |
| | |afternoon to herself in two years. Another couple said that they were finally able to have a romantic |
| | |dinner and share all the things they've wanted to talk about, but haven't had the time. It was |
| | |fantastic to hear! |
| | | |
| |Rolanda_Pyle |We have heard that giving the group members ownership of the group helps with attendance. Often letting|
| | |them have a say on what topics and activities they are interested in helps them bond with the group and|
| | |each other. |
| |dannisonl |Generally we have found the groups need respite, socialization opportunities and information that they |
| | |can immediately use. |
| |Rolanda_Pyle |Planning activities for the children concurrently with the group helps with attendance. |
| |dannisonl |Yes, we generally run a group for children at the same time as the grandparent's group. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Yes, we have to be responsive to the needs of the group. Many RAPPs constantly survey caregivers to |
| | |find out what they want and what they need. We have surveys available in the RAPP library so that no |
| | |one reinvents the wheel. |
| |Liz |We have an on-going monthly respite program that our kinship parents have the option of using, but most|
| | |don't take advantage of the respite offered. |
| |Waushara |We have done a couple groups where we partnered with other agencies in our area such as the Department |
| | |of Aging for a Caregivers Retreat where there were a couple speakers, booths about various topics of |
| | |interest and massages were available as well as having a joint meeting with our Foster Care |
| | |Association. This last meeting seemed to be successful so we are hoping to maybe try to do these joint |
| | |meetings periodically as we are hoping both groups can help each other. |
| |pfcs | |
| | |Can you talk more about the respite program? How does it work? Do the parents drop kids off at a |
| | |central location (the agency) or do you send individuals out to their homes to watch the kids? |
| |Dannisonl |Many times, the grandparents who live near each other will start volunteering to offer babysitting |
| | |opportunities for each other’s grandchildren – they all benefit from some time off. |
| |Shannon_Kassab |We’ve found that the grandparents don’t take advantage of the monthly respite care as much, but do |
| | |enjoy the Special Respite Nights where we provide respite on a Saturday from 3:00-8:00pm. |
| | | |
Danisonl We’ve used “movie nights and pizza parties” as an opportunity to give
| | everyone a night out. | |
| | | |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Sometimes RAPPs will offer respite in the form of time off, but many times caregivers want to do fun |
| | |things with their grandchildren but can't afford it or don't have time to plan. RAPPs can do that - have |
| | |intergenerational respite events that caregivers and the children in their care will love! |
| | | |
| |dannisonl |We also send home developmentally appropriate crafts and children's books for grandparents to utilize in |
| | |their homes. |
| |Shannon_Kassab |We offer two types of Respite Care. The first is a monthly voucher given to participants to use for a FREE|
| | |day of care at our Child Care Center and the second is the Special Respite Nights. The participants drop |
| | |off their children at the Child Care Center while they take time for themselves for the afternoon and |
| | |evening. Our child care staff does crafts and activities with the children. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter | |
| | |Great Shannon! |
| |Waushara |Respite was one of the topics that was brought up at our last meeting by a grandparent so I would be |
| | |interested in that info. |
| |Joan_Vance |Has anyone partnered with 4-H to have craft nights or activities? |
| |smitha |4-H is becoming a popular means of collaboration for many professionals working with kinship care. If you |
| | |haven't looked into the possibility of partnering with 4-H, I'd highly recommend contacting your local |
| | |extension office and see what clubs/activities are available in your area. |
| |Betty_Duncan |4-H is a great place to collaborate. |
| |Helen_Johnson | |
| | |Extension/4-H is a great idea. |
| |Joan_Vance | |
| | |We've had 4-H clubs that provided dinner as part of their community service. |
| |Jaime |I work with 4-H but I am also responsible for the RAPP in the District of Columbia. We are planning a |
| | |respite day for relative caregivers to drop off kids for a day party. The kids will receive pajamas. |
| |Jaime |How do you advertise for the special RAPP nights? Just wondering if you would get other people that might just want to |
| | |drop their kids off. Do you make it only for the relative caregivers that came to the last few meetings or what? |
| | | |
| |dannisonl |We find it is helpful to include all the grandparents who want to come for the respite nights; |
| | |they enjoy meeting each other and often form friendships. |
| |Shannon_Kassab |The Special Respite Night information is on all of our flyers, brochures, etc. However, we share |
| | |dates as they come up with the Support Group participants. We only ask that they attend once. I |
| | |send out postcards with the information and date on it to anyone that has attended a support |
| | |group meeting. |
| |Duane |Don't forget about social activities and trips for grandfamilies. They have been the main reason |
| | |we have kept grandparents involved in our groups. We just had a Christmas luncheon that |
| | |grandparents from 4 of our groups attended. Over 40 grandparents attended. Restaurant outings are|
| | |also popular. |
| |Rolanda_Pyle | |
| | |Great Duane! |
| |dannisonl | |
| | |Scouting can also be a helpful collaboration |
| |smitha |Scouting is another of those overlooked areas. Also, at least here in Michigan, churches are |
| | |becoming very interested in providing services for kinship care providers. Another place to |
| | |connect is through Head Start. Many children receiving Head Start services lived in homes |
| | |headed by grandparents or other relatives. |
| |Rolanda_Pyle | |
| | |Andrea, that is true – re: scouting, one of our RAPPs partnered with a Girl Scout troop and |
| | |there are many intergenerational activities for the families. |
| |Melinda_Perez- |Connecting with head start is a great idea especially because, many times, they are unable to|
| |Porter |continue to provide services to older children. They would love to connect with RAPPs that |
| | |provide supportive services to our families. |
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| |smitha |I'd agree that child care, transportation, and food are great motivators for getting folks to group |
| | |sessions. We've done lots of different things, including providing gas cards, bus/taxi vouchers, |
| | |arranging car pools among members and picking up and dropping off members ourselves. Just get them |
| | |there--once that's taken care of, the "magic" of the group itself can take over. |
| |Janice_Hassen |I agree with Smitha |
| |dannisonl |We also hand out books as well as food vouchers. |
| |Pat_Edwards |Hi, this is Pat in Savannah. I’m here with Jackie Edenfield and Alie Redd. Is audio available with this|
| | |chat? |
| | | |
| |Rolanda_Pyle |No audio Pat! |
| |Pat_Edwards | |
| | |Thanks, I'll let the others know. Will a transcript be made available after the chat? |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |All web chat transcripts are available on the RAPP private page of our website. |
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| |Janice_Hassen |Has anyone put together a Kinship Coalition to help build support groups? |
| |pfcs |What's a Kinship Coalition? |
| |Janice_Hassen |I read it somewhere and can’t remember where. You ask agency leaders that work with families to meet |
| | |and brainstorm ways to work more effectively with Kinship families. I am thinking about starting one |
| | |after the first of the year. |
| |dannisonl |Advisory boards can be very useful to help plan meetings and to work with other professionals in your |
| | |communities. We generally ask a couple of grandparents to serve on our advisory board in addition to |
| | |other local professionals. |
| | | |
| |linda_in_alaska |I’ve had success in building attendance at support groups by having a drawing for gifts that have |
| | |been donated by community businesses. Examples are calendars, wildlife posters, baked goods, gift |
| | |cards etc. Nothing expensive, but the drawing creates an atmosphere of fun for the grandparents at |
| | |the support group event. |
| |Helen_Johnson |I have collaborated with the local Historically Black College Extension Department to conduct a |
| | |support group conference. |
| | | |
| |Shannon_Kassab |We have an advisory committee. It includes the Children, Youth and Family Services Director, a |
| | |representative from the Area Agency on Aging, Penn State Cooperative Extension, and Cen-Clear, Inc. |
| | |Also, a grandparent raising grandchildren is on the committee. We meet quarterly and they have been |
| | |fantastic referring families and offering information that is helpful. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |That's right Shannon. We ask ALL RAPPs to have advisory committees. They can help in a myriad of ways|
| | |including marketing the RAPP, presenting at meetings, helping you with programmatic issues, writing |
| | |for your newsletters and helping with fundraising. Members of Advisory committees and coalitions can |
| | |also help identify gaps in services and, working together, you can make a difference with workshops, |
| | |child care, in-kind assistance and the like. |
| |dannisonl |Additionally, advisory committees can be very helpful when you are looking for grants as sources of |
| | |funding. Extension offices can be very helpful - sending guest speakers, tying grandparents to other|
| | |useful community agencies. |
| |Joan_Vance | |
| | |I'm very new to this, but apparently our probate judges, who work with guardianship families, have |
| | |been a great source of referrals. |
| |dannisonl |Yes, Joan - we usually ask someone from the Probate court to serve on our advisory committee. |
| |Rolanda_Pyle | |
| | |Great suggestion Joan! |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |That's great Joan - all RAPPs should ensure that their RAPP calendars and meeting dates are known by |
| | |others in the community including judges, mental health facilities, schools, community organizations |
| | |that provide assistance to both older adults and children and let's not forget our Area Agencies on |
| | |Aging and Departments on Aging. |
| |smitha |I'm going to follow up on Linda in Alaska’s comment about gifts/incentives. When we first started |
| | |working with grandparents, we built some dollars for incentives into our budget. What we learned was |
| | |that, while incentives are important, they don't have to be anything sensational. One of our best |
| | |strategies was to visit the dollar store ahead of a group meeting and fill up a grab bag of incentive|
| | |"prizes". We included everything from small books/toys for the grandchildren, to nylons, nail polish,|
| | |kitchen items, etc. for grandparents and (the most popular item of all)--chocolate candy bars. The |
| | |group members were much more excited to reach into the grab bag each week then they ever were about |
| | |our more carefully thought out incentives. Saved a fair amount of money too! |
| | | |
| |Shannon_Kassab |That's a great idea! We gave away laundry detergent at our last meeting. They were so thankful! |
| | | |
| |smitha |I love the laundry detergent idea! Also, toilet paper and Kleenex are pretty popular! |
| |dannisonl |We often got incentives at the local dollar store. |
| |Rolanda_Pyle |Also Andrea, RAPPs can fill out their community maps and look at who is in the community. Local |
| | |stores and businesses are often willing to donate items that can be used as incentives and/or provide|
| | |food for refreshments. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Look for your community maps in the brainstorming sessions on our website. |
| |Janice_Hassen |The Arizona Simulation is a fantastic way to inform agencies about the dynamics of these kinship |
| | |families and how they can improve their services and the way the organizations work with them. We |
| | |have done 7 in Western PA. (To find out more about Arizona’s Simulation Project, please see the |
| | |Resource list listed under this transcript). |
| |smitha |Part of the project that we put in place in 10 states involved having each grandparent resource site |
| | |put on some type of professional in-service opportunity each year. It's SO important to make sure |
| | |that local professionals, who may or may not actually work with kinship caregivers, are familiar with|
| | |and sensitive to the strengths and challenges of these family members. |
| |Pat_Edwards |We've collaborated with the local extension service for our support group meetings and they provide |
| | |nutrition training which includes such things as healthy inexpensive snacks and quick meal |
| | |preparation in 30 minutes or less. They prepare the meals and snacks at the support group meeting and|
| | |everything they fix the caregivers get to eat and/or take home. They really like the presentations |
| | |and look forward to attending. |
| | | |
| |dannisonl |It can be very helpful to collaborate with another agency - kinship care is cross generational, don't|
| | |overlook working with agencies to serve children as well as adults. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Building trust is also so important, not only for caregivers but for your referral sources. That can |
| | |never be stressed enough. RAPPs can build trust by having intergenerational events where caregivers |
| | |get to know the facilitators and other caregivers. Children too can help make RAPPs a success if |
| | |activities are provided for them. Concurrent meetings help RAPPs with attendance. |
| |dannisonl |You can reach many more families by working with other local professionals, speaking about kinship |
| | |care to schools, health care agencies, extension, mental health, etc. |
| |linda_in_alaska |If I am looking for a donation from a particular business in Anchorage, I go to their website and |
| | |often they have an application for donations that can be printed and faxed into the business for |
| | |approval. This saves me a lot of time. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Great suggestion Linda from Alaska! |
| |dannisonl |Schools can be helpful too, they can advertise, provide meeting places, speakers and recreational |
| | |support. |
| |smitha |I agree Melinda and Rolanda. One of the strengths of the kinship care field is that it's cross |
| | |generational. That really opens up possibilities of places where you can obtain funding, services, |
| | |goods, etc. You can tap into the early childhood/educational arena and also the gerontology/aging |
| | |services. |
| |Duane |All Departments of Aging receive funds for caregiving programs. Most goes to support adult children |
| | |supporting their elderly parents but up to 10% of their funds can go to support grandfamilies. Most |
| | |Aging offices don't fund programs for grandfamilies but they should be contacted to discuss the need.|
| |Rolanda_Pyle |Duane, you are so right. RAPPs should always make sure that the local AAA knows about their program |
| | |and you should keep them abreast of all activities and events. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |We also always tell RAPPs to "court" their possible funders of in-kind or in-cash assistance. It may |
| | |be easier for donors to give if they have been getting notices about the services you provide - by |
| | |mail or part of a listserv announcement! |
| |smitha |I think that different organizations have come to the forefront in different areas of the country. |
| | |Extension has been very supportive in some locations, while other areas find more support through |
| | |private sources. Bottom line, support is out there. You just might need to be creative in looking for|
| | |it. And be politely persistent--there's a lot of folks from a lot of different human service areas |
| | |looking for support in these tight economic times. |
| |Helen_Johnson |For those in rural areas, how do you continually sustain support groups in small communities, when |
| | |you are in competition with established agencies that are having meetings with more goodies etc., |
| | |than you? |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Helen, don't forget the rural manual that recently came out from the University of Maine - it’s |
| | |available for download on our website and gives great ideas to those of you who live in rural areas |
| | |about how to serve our special families. I will never forget going to a site visit in a rural area |
| | |and the trees were a great source of marketing. The RAPP facilitator put up meeting notices on them! |
| |dannisonl |Although incentives are helpful to get the groups going, once grandparents meet each other and the |
| | |"culture" of the group starts to form, they really don't need incentives to keep coming. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Remember, too, to court your community restaurants and bodegas or grocery stores and supermarkets - |
| | |bakeries and pizzerias - they like to be supportive of the community and who wouldn’t want to help |
| | |our relative caregiver families? |
| |Shannon_Kassab |Our RAPP is the only program in the area that supports relative caregivers through support groups |
| | |meetings and respite care. |
| |smitha |I'm curious about groups that are currently running. How long do your groups typically stay together?|
| | |Do you have services built in to keep groups' cohesive? What tends to work/not work? |
| | | |
| |pfcs |Smitha: We've had our groups running for a few years. We do concurrent childcare and provide dinner. |
| | |But over the years, the group has dwindled. Not sure why, but we're really looking to build it back |
| | |up. |
| |dannisonl |We have also hired grandparents who have been leaders in some of the groups to co-lead new groups - |
| | |that tends to help members "identify" with the leader. |
| |smitha |pfcs--do you have any type of structured "curriculum" that you use in your continuing groups? Do new |
| | |members cycle in at any times, or is it that same group of people that continues to meet? |
| |dannisonl |Do you use "co-facilitators"? |
| | | |
| |pfcs |Smitha - I think some new members have cycled in. Both of us on this chat were not part of the |
| | |program when it started, so we don't have all the details. I don't know that we follow any specific |
| | |curriculum. We have had our moderator change several times over the years, though. |
| |Amber |Dannisonl, we are about to start that format as well. Did you have any problems picking out |
| | |co-leaders? I want to be fair to all who would like to do it, but not sure how. |
| |dannisonl |We approach grandparents individually and also provide training. It tends to work better if the |
| | |grandparent is "co-facilitating" with an experienced professional. |
| |smitha |What types of training do your groups' co-facilitators have? Do your groups have particular content |
| | |areas that members' seem to most need information about? |
| |dannisonl |It is also helpful to use a program topic list where grandparents can prioritize their desired |
| | |session topics. |
| |Amber |So are most of the groups here led by you or you bring in a "professional" and sit with the group. I |
| | |am the program coordinator but also facilitate the groups, but I don't consider myself a professional|
| | |facilitator. Where do you find yours and do they volunteer their time? |
| |smitha |We've found that having some type of curriculum/planned topic is helpful in initial services to kinship|
| | |care members and especially for groups that have been continuing on for several months/years. You may |
| | |(and often do) deviate from what you have planned, but without some type of topic/learning, etc. groups|
| | |can get side tracked and become sort of "dumping grounds". That's one area where co-facilitators can be|
| | |really helpful. If there's a grandparent who really is struggling with some issues, the group can be |
| | |helpful to him/her for a while. But a co-facilitator can continue on with the group as a whole on the |
| | |topic of the night, while the co-facilitator can spend some time processing that particular problem |
| | |area with the individual grandparent. |
| |Shannon_Kassab |We try to spend the first hour on a topic, whether I present or facilitate myself and then allow the |
| | |other hour for grandparents to talk about whatever they need to. We find that works well for our group.|
| |smitha | |
| | |I agree Sharon--groups need to find a balance between social/respite/problem solving, etc. and also |
| | |provide some type of education/strategies etc. for members. |
| |marvawilliams |I (a grandparent raising a grandchild & the RAPP Administrator in Kansas) received training from the |
| | |Family Friends Program of Children’s Mercy Hospital, who serves KS & MO. There are other agencies in |
| | |Kansas (Kansas Children's Service League) who train people to be support group leaders. There are also |
| | |training manuals - we developed one in Kansas that I have shared with the Brookdale Group & would be |
| | |happy to send to anyone who wants one - my email address is marva.williams@aging. |
| |Amber |Thanks Marva. |
| |dannisonl |A facilitator should be familiar with adult education techniques - support groups need to be |
| | |educational and benefit from using a curriculum for kinship care. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |One of your handouts includes great curricula available for Western Michigan University and you can |
| | |look at our RAPP Library List to see more. |
| |Pat_Edwards |Thanks Marva, I facilitate the group here in Savannah with usually a grandparent |
| | |co-facilitating. I haven't found one yet that wants to lead the group on their own and |
| | |maybe some sort of formal training might help. I'll email you for the training manuals. |
| |dannisonl |Grandparents enjoy "handouts" that they can immediately use, tied to community resources |
| | |with good parenting tips - we usually provide a binder where they can store their |
| | |materials. |
| |member |A monthly newsletter helps as well. |
| | |If you use volunteers, share with us how and where you get them! |
| |Melinda_Perez | |
| |Porter | |
| |linda_in_alaska |We have four groups in Alaska going...three are facilitated by volunteer Grandparents. We|
| | |find that meeting the needs of our participants keeps them coming back. Our groups value |
| | |a chance to process their kinship care challenges, good coffee and quality child care for|
| | |their grandchildren while they are free to share with each other. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Linda, that's a great point. We have found that groups are more successful if a caregiver|
| | |co-facilitator co-facilitates with a professional. |
| |Rolanda_Pyle |Some of our RAPPs use volunteers from professional civic engagement programs, i.e. |
| | |Encore, AmeriCorps, Senior Volunteer Programs, etc. Other RAPPs recruit volunteers from |
| | |the community. |
| |marvawilliams |Almost all of our volunteers in the Kansas RAPP Support Groups that I am aware of have |
| | |been grandparents or other relatives raising children who have themselves at one time or |
| | |another needed information & assistance for the children they are raising. |
| |Betty_Duncan |Some of my volunteers come from personal friends who have connected with me and the RAPP |
| | |program; grandparents who desire to be involved in helping other RAPP become successful. |
| |dannisonl |Great points Betty - some grandparents gain confidence in groups and the opportunity to |
| | |become a co-facilitator provides them with even more confidence. |
| |smitha |After we developed curriculum for our "initial" grandparents groups, which ran for 8-12 |
| | |weeks, we found that grandparents really didn't want to be done with services. We |
| | |encourage them to join a "continuation group", which continues to provide socialization |
| | |and respite but also allows grandparents to dig into some pertinent topics more deeply. |
| | |As new members cycle into the group, they're able to learn from the folks who've been |
| | |there for a while (and who love sharing their strategies and expertise!) |
| |dannisonl |We have developed the Second time around curriculum, Continuation curriculum, In-Home Services, Child |
| | |Care training for Grandparents, Grand Ideas for Grandkids - I think Brookdale has a copy of all of our |
| | |materials. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter | |
| | |The flyer provided as a handout for this web chat has ordering information from the University of |
| | |Western Michigan (The flyer is included under “resources” for this web chat). |
| |Rolanda_Pyle |A curriculum can really help you with topics to address but also remember you can adapt the curriculum |
| | |to meet your group's needs. |
| |smitha | |
| | |You bet Rolanda--I can think of very very few sessions that weren't heavily adapted! |
| |dannisonl |We begin each session with "mood" dots on their table tents - grandparents enjoy talking about the kind|
| | |of week(s) that they have just had. |
| |smitha |marvawilliams--I like that way you describe splitting up your sessions. Grandparents have so much |
| | |information to share with one another and it's important to provide them with sufficient time to do |
| | |that. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |As the groups sustain, they really need to know what the caregivers want. Successful groups constantly |
| | |survey their families and don't assume a certain workshop or topic will be of interest - you can keep |
| | |your caregiver's interest if they contribute to your programming. |
| | | |
| |smitha |I agree completely Melinda. Our group members complete an evaluation sheet after each and every |
| | |session. That allows us to make sure we're meeting their needs and also learn about what future |
| | |topics/needs should be addressed. |
| | | |
| |Shannon_Kassab |We also do a survey and I based each of the monthly support group topics on the responses received from|
| | |them. |
| |dannisonl |The most popular topics relate to the grandparents themselves (their not-so-new roles), legal issues, |
| | |financial assistance, help with the schools, community resources, communication with family members, |
| | |and activities to do with grandchildren. |
| |linda_in_alaska |Absolutely...honoring the wisdom of the grandparents and encouraging them to share with other Grands is|
| | |empowering and builds the community of support. |
| |smitha |Surveys are great!!--and important! |
| |Janice_Hassen |Smitha can you send a copy of the evaluation that you use to jma2@psu.edu. Thanks! |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Hi Linda, we can make the survey and any other materials available to all rapps with the transcript of |
| | |the chat! |
| |dannisonl |I would be happy to send the weekly evaluation to Melinda and she can share it with everyone. |
| |Amber |I like the splitting up as well. Is it more time to get up and mingle or is it as |
| | |structured/facilitated as the 1st hour, but the group just flows from one topic to another naturally. |
| |smitha |I think how you structure things depends on your particular group and it's culture. One thing is |
| | |sure--grandparents really like and need time to build relationships with one another. We typically |
| | |began our group sessions with some snacks and beverages and allowed grandparents to share a bit about |
| | |the week they'd just had. Some groups needed to be highly structured in this type of activity, so that |
| | |everyone had a chance to share. Other groups were able to handle more "freedom" and things could flow a|
| | |bit more informally. Just when you think you have it down, you'll find that something changes and |
| | |you'll have to adapt once again! |
| | | |
| |Shannon_Kassab |For those groups that use a topic each month - do you send out or hang flyers each month - every couple|
| | |of months or just use a general flyer? |
| | | |
| |Janice_Hassen |We send out monthly flyers with the topic and speaker. |
| |Tray |We publish a monthly newsletter with our group schedule and topics listed. |
| | | |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Many RAPPs use email to send out their fliers and some have started to use the social networking sites |
| | |to do so as well. |
| | | |
| |Tray | |
| | |We also use a phone tree for group reminders. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Tray, monthly newsletters are great not only for the families, but for possible collaborators and |
| | |referral sources. Calendars of ongoing events are great to send to a listserv, the local papers and for|
| | |cable TV. |
| | | |
| |Shannon_Kassab |And who do you send out the flyers to? We probably send out 150 flyers to social service agencies and |
| | |businesses, so postage can start to add up quickly. |
| |Waushara |We also send out a monthly letter and include any other low cost activities that may be going on in the|
| | |surrounding communities. We also offer to pay for the activities for our families if $$ is a hardship |
| | |for them at the time. |
| |smitha |The phone tree is a great idea. Some of our grandparents are pretty computer savvy and do emails well |
| | |also. Others are a long way from that! |
| |dannisonl | |
| | |Post cards work well to remind group members of special activities. |
| |Tray | |
| | |I do an e-list for all businesses and social service agencies. |
| | | |
| |dannisonl |Those are great ideas! You can also post flyers in grocery stores, churches and schools. |
| |smitha |I've seen so many great strategies that are "unique" to different cultures and parts of the country. I |
| | |think it's important to remember that there's no one "correct" way to run these groups. Know your |
| | |community, know your participants, and then decide what will best meet those needs. |
| |dannisonl |Teachers often know which children are being raised by grandparents and are willing to send home flyers|
| | |as well. |
| |Tray |I found contact with people at the schools, grocery stores, churches etc. work better than just a flyer|
| | |alone. |
| | | |
| |smitha |Absolutely Tray! |
| | | |
| |Rolanda_Pyle |Some schools have sent RAPP fliers home in the children's backpacks. |
| | | |
| |Helen_Johnson | |
| | |Sounds great. During the warm weather we advertise through yard sales. |
| |Shannon_Kassab |We do school flyers as well. The guidance counselors have information as well to give families. |
| |dannisonl |And also encourage grandparents to invite other grandparents. Word of mouth tends to be the very best |
| | |way to contact grandparents. |
| |Tray | |
| | |This is off topic but I am having trouble recruiting and retaining childcare workers during groups. Any|
| | |ideas? |
| |dannisonl | |
| | |Can you hire students from the local university or community college? |
| |Waushara |We use our agency mentors to work with the kids when the adults are having their meetings. Sometimes |
| | |they do crafts or maybe just watch a movie with them. |
| |Rolanda_Pyle |Tray, try student interns from colleges and high schools especially those majoring in education. |
| |smitha |One suggestion, Tray, is to look for high school students who may need volunteer hours. In Michigan, |
| | |National Honor Society members need to accrue a certain amount of volunteer time to maintain their |
| | |membership. These students have been a good source for us. |
| |Melinda_Perez-Porter |Wow! This was a great chat! Thank you so very much Linda and Andrea for facilitating and sharing your |
| | |great tips and ideas with us! Thank you, too, to all the RAPPs that joined us and to those who shared |
| | |their ideas as well. One thing is for certain, to be a successful RAPP you can't give up. Use the tips |
| | |here and network with your fellow RAPPs for more. The site bulletin is now available and has ideas |
| | |about children's services, marketing tips and more. Make sure you download it on the RAPP private page.|
| | |Thanks so much Linda and Andrea! Thank you all for joining us today! A transcript of the chat will be |
| | |available soon! Don't forget to send us your ideas for chats! |
| | | |
| |dannisonl |Thank you everyone! |
| |Elizabeth | |
| | |Thank you! |
| |smitha |Thanks for having us today--great to hear all of your ideas and know that kinship care programming is |
| | |going so well all across the country! |
| | | |
| |Rolanda_Pyle | |
| | |Thank you Linda and Andrea! |
| |marvawilliams |One thing that is sometimes hard to remember is that just because the numbers in your group may start |
| | |to dwindle doesn't necessarily mean that your group was not successful - relative caregivers, as with |
| | |everyone else, are very busy (with, among other things, raising children); and many times they may only|
| | |show up when they have a real need. I liked the idea of keeping in touch via emails & telephone. |
| |John_Herring_Jr | |
| | |This was my first chat...thanks for the great info! |
| |Tray | |
| | |Thanks! |
| |Joan_Vance | |
| | |Great conversation. Thanks! |
| |Helen_Johnson |There is no one way, to sustain a group over the years. I wish there was one or two sure ways – try |
| | |different things. I have to admit, it can be very discouraging when great efforts have been made and |
| | |yet it is not enough. I don’t mean to be negative, because I have had successes, however the let downs |
| | |can be there. |
| |Betty_Duncan | |
| | |Thanks everyone for all the great info! |
| |Janice_Hassen | |
| | |Thanks for the great ideas. |
| |Janice_Hassen | |
| | |How often will you be doing these chats? |
| |Melinda_Perez |Please look out for upcoming web chats. They are announced on our listserv. |
| |Porter | |
| |Eve_Barth | |
| | |Thank you all for the great info! |
| |Helen_Johnson | |
| | |Thanks everyone for all the information. Melinda and Rolanda I will be in touch. |
| |Sean | |
| | |When will the transcript be up on the website? |
| |Melinda_Perez |The transcript of this web chat will be available shortly. All past web chat transcripts can be |
| |Porter |accessed on the RAPP private page. |
| |marvawilliams |Thanks, everyone! I really enjoyed this chat. Looking forward to seeing old friends & meeting new ones |
| | |at our upcoming Brookdale RAPP Conference. Wishing you & your families a Very Merry Christmas & a |
| | |Blessed 2011! Marva Williams/KS |
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