RAPP - Relatives As Parents Program

Did you know that there are thousands of West Virginians who are taking care of a relative child? This is called a kinship family and it is a situation where a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other family member is raising children instead of the biological parents. The Relatives As Parents Program, also known as RAPP, offers services and support to these families and there are RAPP support groups throughout the state.

On January 8th at 1PM, the Charleston RAPP group will be meeting to discuss the topic of child welfare provisions of WV State code 48 and 49. The discussion leader is Sara Thompson, Education and Outreach Services Librarian of the WV State Law Library. To learn more about Chapter 49 on child welfare, click this link: Chapter 49. To learn more about code 48 on Domestic Relations, click here: Chapter 48. The meeting will be held in room E-314 in the East Wing of the State Capitol Building in Charleston. Room E-314 is on the 3rd floor. There is free-metered parking on California Avenue.

Services to kinship families include cash stipends to RAPP groups, a resource library, workshops, a list serve, and kinship information and resources on the Mission WV web page. Additionally Mission WV maintains a warm line. Kinship caregivers can call 1-866-CALL-MWV to ask questions, receive resource information, or a listening ear. For more information about RAPP, contact Laura Lou Harbert at Mission WV. Her phone is 304-380-6775.

RAPP is a joint effort of Mission WV, the WV Department of Health and Human Resources, WVU Extension Services, The Bureau of Senior Services, and Legal Aid.

Join us for an Adoption Day Celebration!

The WV Recruitment and Retention Collaborative invites you to a day of celebration in honor of National Adoption Day. On November 20th starting at 2PM, participants can explore the Clay Center's Avampato Discovery Museum, which houses two floors of hand-on exhibits featuring more than 12,000 square feet of nonstop fun. At 4:30 we will head to the Intermezzo Cafe for refreshments and to hear guest speakers. Ending the celebration at 6 o'clock we will hold a candlelight ceremony outside of the Clay Center. Please feel free to join us at any time during the celebration event. To view the flyer for the event, please click here: Adoption Celebration Flyer

Open House!

Mission WV is organizing another Adoption/Foster Care Information Open House in Beckley, WV on November 6th at 11AM. The event will take place at the Prosperity First Baptist Church located at 308 Prosperity Road Beckley, WV 25801.

At the Open House, potential foster/adoptive parents will learn more about waiting children in WV, the certification process to foster and/or adopt,what to expect as a foster parent, international adoption and how the adoption process works, and get to hear the personal story and advice of an experienced foster/adoptive parent.

By attending this event, you don't have to make any commitments, we just hope that you will join us to learn more about foster care and adoption if it is something you are interested in. If you have any questions about the Open House or would like an information packet about fostering and/or adopting, we can send that to you today! Just call 866-CALL-MWV or email Carrie at crobey@missionwv.org

Thanks and we hope to see you on the 6th!

Foster Care/ Adoption Information Open House

Please click on the image above to download the flyer.

On Thursday September 30th at 6PM please join us for a foster care/ adoption information open house in Romney WV. If you don't live near Romney, don't worry, we plan on having one open house event in each region of the state. The first open house will be held at the Bank of Romney Community Building.

The open house is a no commitment relaxed atmosphere event for people who are interested in adopting or providing foster care in WV. An experienced foster mother who has also adopted will be at the open house to speak about the kind of real life experiences you can expect. Also, we will have speakers from the WV Dept. of Health and Human Resources, Children's Home Society and most likely Burlington United Methodist Family Services. At this event, you will be able to learn more about the foster/adoption certification process, waiting children and international adoption.

This open house is FREE and light food will be provided! If you have any questions or would like more information, please call 866-CALL-MWV or email crobey(at)missionwv.org

We hope to see you there and if you would like to help plan the open house events in either region I,II or IV, please call!

What exactly is PRIDE training and how do I sign up?

Any family who is interested in becoming certified to provide foster care and/or adopt a foster child, must complete the PRIDE training course and have a completed homestudy. PRIDE stands for Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education. The training covers topics including child abuse/ neglect, emotional and behavioral issues, discipline, and overviews of adoption and foster care.

While at the training you will have an excellent opportunity to meet with other families who are also going through the certification process. We also have a letter from a couple who took the PRIDE training and wanted to share more about their experience.

"My husband J and I completed the PRIDE classes last month. We were told we needed 27 hours of training to become foster/adoptive parents. We couldn't imagine what they would teach us since we already raised two boys and have two grandsons. Not that we know it all, but 27 hours?!?! Well, now we would like to say this: The classes provided us with so much information and necessary skills to prepare us for a child who has experienced losses. We had a wonderful teacher who did a great job sharing her knowledge and experiences. We learned things we didn't know anything about and now realize how important this information will be in caring for foster/adoptive children." - J & B from Pennsboro WV

We thank this couple for sharing their story and if you have a positive and encouraging foster/adoptive story to share, please email us! Our email is adopt@missionwv.org

If you are interested in becoming certified, please give us a call at 866-CALL-MWV and we will send you more information. Also, there is a calendar of PRIDE trainings listed on the WVDHHR website and can be viewed by clicking here: http://www.wvdhhr.org/oss/adoption/adoption_calendar/diary.asp

MWV is hiring 4 more Resource Navigators

Mission WV is hiring four "Resource Navigators" to assist and provide resources to families within their own community. Navigators will be available for one on one discussion, attend foster/adoptive related media events, recruit foster parents and spread a positive message about foster care/adoption throughout their community and seek out resources for foster children and kinship/relative families.

If you are intersted in becoming a Resource Navigator, please click here to read more: Letter describing the position and requirements. After reading this information you may decide to apply and you can find the application by clicking here: Resource Navigator Application.

The deadline for the application is September 10th. If you have any questions, please call 304-562-0723 and ask for Carrie. Thanks!

luggage for foster children and youth!

We would like to thank the Charleston Gazette for publishing this article: Luggage for foster kids to help our mission of providing luggage for foster children. We would also like to thank all of the kind people who have called in and donated luggage for foster children. There is a camp for foster children this month in WV and we are most certain all of the children will be able to leave camp with their belongings in luggage - not trash bags! Many foster children end up carrying their belongings around in garbage bags and we are trying to change that. With the kindness and generosity of others, we can accomplish this goal. Pictured above is just a portion of the luggage we have been able to collect as a result of this article. Thank you again and again.

If you have gently used or new luggage to donate, please call 304-562-0723 and ask for Carrie.