NH Relatives as Parents Program

Welcome to the NH Relatives as Parents Project, a Web resource for New Hampshire “kinship caregivers,” grandparents and others raising or helping raise their relatives’ children. Professionals and volunteers who work with these kinship-care families will also find this site useful.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, about six million children across the nation live in households headed by grandparents or other relatives. In New Hampshire, 12,458 children live with kinship caregivers, 3,869 of them in households without either parent present.

Kinship caregivers and the children they care for have needs and concerns beyond the usual challenges of childrearing. This Web site will help these families find both general and specific local information and support networks they need to:

• Understand the relationship dynamics of kinship-care families
• Meet children’s needs
• Get legal help
• Make ends meet
• Connect with others in online and real-world support networks

NH RAPP is a program of UNH Cooperative Extension with funding from The Brookdale Foundation and NH-AARP.