Register for Our Upcoming Webinar! | | |
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Conducting Culturally Responsive Evaluations
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
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Explore general considerations and lessons learned in building culturally responsive evaluation plans. A review of several initiatives will illustrate key considerations that can be applied in evaluating kinship programs. This will include conducting research in partnership with tribal communities under federal grant initiatives using an Indigenous Worldview, and evaluation initiatives designed to address racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity and equity. Our presenters are Network Subject Matter Expert Dr. Angelique Day, Associate Professor, University of Washington School of Social Work, and Dr. Sharonlyn Harrison, CEO of Public Research and Evaluation Services, Inc. | | |
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Since we launched our LinkedIn page in September 2023, we’ve shared dozens of resources, funding opportunities, and training events. We invite you to follow our page to keep up with our latest news between monthly issues of this newsletter. | |
What's New From the Network? | |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): October 11, 2023 Webinar on Final Rule & Kin-Specific Approval Standards
This fact sheet contains 20 questions and answers related to the new federal rule on kin-specific foster home licensing/approval standards and the Kin-Specific Approval Standards that jurisdictions can use to create their kin-specific standards.
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Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde GrandFacts
Fact Sheet
Our partners at the National Indian Child Welfare Association have prepared another tribal fact sheet, and we have added it to the GrandFacts Fact Sheet page of our website. The fact sheet focuses on programs and services available from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and it is full of information and links that will be useful to kinship/grandfamilies and the professionals who work with them.
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Monthly Resource
A Snapshot of Exemplary Kinship Programs
This resource spotlights the best practices and visionary approaches of three programs that have received the Network’s Exemplary Program designation. We are grateful to our partners at ZERO TO THREE for their leadership in producing these monthly resources. Thanks also to Network Subject Matter Experts and Generations United GRAND Voices Gail Engel and Sarah Smalls and the leaders of the profiled programs for their reviews.
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Also, take a look at the celebratory cake that the Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio, Inc. enjoyed in honor of the Exemplary designation of their Kinship Navigator Program. | |
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We hope you've been seeing our Exemplary Program designations over the past couple of months. We've loved seeing the programs and their supporters reshare and engage with the posts that celebrate their accomplishments.
Check out our LinkedIn page to see the latest announcements about Colorado Kinnected and Project GRANDD. Don't forget to share a reaction!
Read about all the programs that have earned a designation to date here. We hope you pull something for inspiration and/or pass these stories along to others who you think may be inspired as well.
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Individual Technical Assistance Spotlight | |
The Network is responding free of charge to individual technical assistance (TA) requests from professionals who work in systems and organizations that serve kinship/grandfamilies. To request assistance on the array of issues impacting kinship/grandfamilies, please complete our request assistance form. | |
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Here is an example TA request and response.
Request
How can I help caregivers address sensitive topics like family dynamics and how to talk with children in their care about the absence of their parents?
Response
Navigating relationships with birth parents – whether between caregiver and parent or child and parent – can be one of the most difficult aspects of being a kin caregiver. The two resources below may be helpful to professionals wishing to support caregivers through these challenging circumstances.
Helping Caregivers Address a Parent's Absence
Navigating Family Dynamics in Kinship Families: Tips for Service Providers
To make an individual request, please complete this form and we will get in touch.
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Upcoming Presentations by the Network | | |
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Today, Thursday, April 18, Network Director Ana Beltran, Network Assistant Director Melissa Devlin, and Network Subject Matter Expert and Management Committee Member Sarah Smalls will lead a workshop called “Exemplary Kinship Practices Supported by Cross-System Collaboration” at the Child Welfare League of America’s 2024 National Conference in Washington, DC. Along with Network Technical Assistance Specialist Kylee Craggett, they will also be staffing the Network exhibit through this evening. If you're attending the conference, please stop by the booth and say hello! | | |
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From Tuesday, May 21 through Thursday, May 23, Melissa and Network Technical Assistance Specialist Shalah Bottoms will be staffing the Network exhibit at the 2024 National Lifespan Respite Conference in Albany, NY. ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center – which is led by one of the Network’s newest subject matter experts, Jill Kagan – is co-hosting this event with the NY State Caregiving and Respite Coalition and the NY State Office for the Aging. If you're attending, we hope to meet you! | | |
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Ana has been invited to speak at an invitation-only conference on the care economy hosted by the Brookings Institution on Monday, June 10 and Tuesday, June 11. She will be part of a panel discussion, where she will share about the role of grandparents and kin in the care economy. | |
Our staff had a great time at the 42nd Annual Protecting Our Children Conference, hosted by our partners at the National Indian Child Welfare Association. | |
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Pictured, from left, are Robyn Wind, Maari Weiss, Kylee Craggett, Ana Beltran, Shalah Bottoms, and Melissa Devlin. | |
What's New Around the Network? | | |
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Webinar – Title II Auxiliary Benefits: Social Security Benefits You’ve Never Heard of, and Who is Eligible for Them
National Center on Law & Elder Rights, U.S. Administration for Community Living
Tuesday, April 30, 2024, 2:00 p.m. ET
Join this webinar to learn more about the eligibility requirements for benefits for spouses and ex-spouses, children, and parents of workers. About one in four U.S. families receives income from Social Security benefits, and many more could receive this income if they knew they were eligible. In this training, participants will learn about the eligibility requirements for Social Security benefits for children of retired, disabled, or deceased workers.
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Webinar – Adverse Childhood Experiences Among School-Aged Children
School-Based Health Alliance
Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 2:00 p.m. ET
This webinar aims to increase the audience’s knowledge of and capacity to define adverse and positive childhood experiences, identify strategies health centers can implement to address the impact of adverse childhood experiences, and enhance positive experiences or mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences.
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Webinar – Bipartisan Policy Discussion on Kinship Placements to Avoid Foster Care
Bipartisan Policy Center
Thursday, May 2, 2024, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET
There is broad and bipartisan support for prioritizing placement with relatives and other kin when children must be separated from their parents and placed in foster care. This webinar delves into the differing opinions about appropriate policies and practices to guide situations when kin step up to care for children to prevent state custody. An expert panel, including Generations United GRAND Voice Victoria Gray, will discuss hot-button issues from varying perspectives, including recently enacted and proposed state legislation and federal guidance.
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Webinar – Implementing Foster Kinship’s Evidence Based Navigator Model
Foster Kinship (Nevada)
Tuesday, May 7, 2024, 12:00 p.m. ET
Kinship families need a village. Implementing a Kinship Navigator Program will offer hope to families in practical and real ways. Foster Kinship's evidence-based kinship navigator model is proven to provide the stability grandparent and other kin caregivers need to help children overcome trauma, neglect, and abuse. Because the model has been found to meet the evidence-based standards of the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse, other jurisdictions implementing the model with fidelity are eligible for federal reimbursement of 50 percent of all program costs. The funding is not capped and does not impact a jurisdiction's other title IV-E funding. In this webinar, you’ll learn more about the model and the four phases of implementation: Strategic Planning, Deep Dive, Capacity Building, and Implementation and Monitoring. Several jurisdictions are implementing this kinship navigator program model, including GRANDfamilies Kinship Care at Children’s Service Society of Utah.
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Webinar – Supporting Latino Kinship Families: Exploring Culturally Responsive Services to Enhance Well-being
Capacity Building Center for States
Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
Dr. Kristina Lovato, a professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of California at Berkeley, is the principal author of “Latino Grandfamilies: Helping Children Thrive Through Connection to Culture and Family,” a toolkit created by Generations United. She will present on key resources and strategies from the toolkit. Monica Lopez, a peer kinship navigator in the GRANDfamilies Kinship Care Program at Children’s Service Society of Utah, will describe strategies for outreach to and engagement with Latino grandfamilies. Network Director Ana Beltran, who wrote some of the toolkit and edited all of it, will speak about Generations United, the Network, and additional Spanish-language resources.
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49th Annual USAging Answers on Aging Conference and Tradeshow
Tampa, Florida
Monday, July 8 – Thursday, July 11, 2024
USAging is one of the Network’s five managing partners, and they are hosting their annual conference this July. Network Technical Assistance Specialist Kylee Craggett and USAging Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network Program Manager Leland Kiang will be presenting a workshop called “Building Capacity to Support Kinship/Grandfamilies: Funding Beyond NFCSP and NACSP” on Wednesday, July 10. The Network will also have an exhibit booth at the conference. Register and pay by Sunday, May 5 to receive the discounted registration rate.
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Summer Meals Eligibility Map
No Kid Hungry
The No Kid Hungry Summer Meals Eligibility Map has two layers. One shows areas that have been designated as rural by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (in keeping with the expanded definition in use under the interim final rule issued at the end of 2023). The other layer shows areas that meet the 50 percent free and reduced-price eligibility requirement or meet the "averaged" eligibility requirement. Users can toggle the map to look at rural designations and area eligibility at the same time or separately.
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Notable Funding Opportunities | |
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Michigan is the first state to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement kin-specific foster home licensing standards, while Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community was the very first jurisdiction in the country to receive that approval. Please note that the wording of the press release linked above has regrettably led to confusion about program eligibility among kin caregivers and service providers in Michigan. Only kin caregivers who are raising kin children who are in the legal custody of the child welfare system are eligible for this support. Learn more about what Michigan is doing by watching the recording of our April 4 webinar, Kin-Specific Licensing: Progress So Far, which featured an official from that state, in addition to officials from Oklahoma and Tennessee.
A new final rule updates the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) regulations such that people who receive informal food assistance from friends, family, and community networks will no longer have to report that assistance as unearned income.
The Social Security Administration announced it will decrease the default overpayment withholding rate for Social Security beneficiaries to 10 percent (or $10, whichever is greater) from 100 percent, significantly reducing financial hardship on people with overpayments. People experiencing a new 100 percent withholding during the transition period should call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to lower their withholding rate. Additionally, people have the right to appeal the overpayment decision or the amount. If beneficiaries already have an overpayment with a withholding rate greater than ten percent, they too should call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or contact their local Social Security office to speak with a representative.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Has Released Several New Rules, Guidance, and Announcements
Additional Actions to Help People Stay Covered During Medicaid and CHIP Renewals
Fact Sheet: Medicare Prescription Payment Plan Final Part One Guidance
Guidance to Expand Access to Behavioral Health Care Providers and Nurse Advice Lines
New Final Rule: Contract Year 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D
New Final Rule: Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025
New Final Rule: Streamlining the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Basic Health Program Application, Eligibility Determination, Enrollment, and Renewal Processes
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Please follow the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network on LinkedIn here! |
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All of our previous newsletters are linked on our website, so you can access them anytime. |
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Generations United is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. For more information, read our full statement. | |
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The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network is the first-ever national technical assistance center for those who serve grandfamilies and kinship families. It was created to help guide lasting, systemic reforms. The Network is a new way to collaborate, to work across jurisdictional and systemic boundaries, to eliminate silos, and to help one another and be helped in return. Thank you for being part of it.
We'd love to hear from you! Please send any feedback on this newsletter to mweiss@gu.org.
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The Network is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $9,950,000 with 95 percentage funded by ACL/HHS and $523,684 and 5 percentage funded by non-government sources. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
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