Learning from Experience: What Is Successful Respite During and Post-Pandemic?

Authors

Jennifer A. Crittenden, School of Social Work, University of MaineFollow
Darlene Sansone, Penn State ExtensionFollow
Kristina Brant, Department of Agricultural Economics, Society, and Education, The Pennsylvania State UniversityFollow
Jennifer Odum, ONEgenerationFollow
Caitlin O'Brien, Cornell Cooperative ExtensionFollow
Lisa McCormick, Duet: Partners in Health and AgingFollow

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had immediate and long-lasting impacts on both kinship families and the organizations that serve them. During the pandemic, as families navigated health challenges, economic consequences, and school and daycare closures, relatives as parents programs (RAPPs) were challenged to surmount staffing and programming hurdles to meet family needs. Despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic, RAPPs developed creative solutions to offer respite programming. Some of these programs continue to be used today, over four years after the start of the pandemic. This article describes the presentations and discussions that took place during a 90-minute workshop at the 2023 Brookdale Foundation RAPP Network Conference. Panelists discussed successful respite program strategies used during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the audience participated in a discussion regarding COVID-19-related challenges for respite programs and the principles of practice that programs are using or plan to use post-pandemic. Strategies noted across the presentations and discussion included using technology to deliver educational and support programming, finding ways for families to have fun together despite social distancing, and using outdoor spaces for programming. Going forward, respite programs anticipated offering a combination of online, hybrid, and in-person programming to meet the diverse needs of families, along with sustaining new respite practices developed during the pandemic.

Recommended Citation

Crittenden, J. A., Sansone, D., Brant, K., Odum, J., O'Brien, C., McCormick, L. (2025). Learning from Experience: What Is Successful Respite During and Post-Pandemic?. GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy, 8 (1).
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/grandfamilies/vol8/iss1/13