Through the Caregiving Certificate Program and the Pope Fellowship Program at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, RCI prepares future leaders to address the caregiver crisis.Students in these programs are engaged in the work of the RCI and in course work. Students learn about the caregiving challenges that accompany the "age wave" and the rise in chronic illness not only in the United States, but globally. Students learn about the roots of human capacity to care in biology and in life-long learning, the human need for "care", characteristics of effective helping, the changing nature of care over history, and the multiple challenges of building community-based systems of care. Students are exposed to cutting edge polic and practice issues in caregiving, including self-determination of people with disabilities, "money follows the person", evidence-based intervention and public health approaches to supporting caregivers.

Although RCI's academic and degree-granting programs are currently only available at Georgia Southwestern State University, plans are underway to expand access to these programs by placing them online and making them available at the graduate level and for career professionals.Stay tuned!