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The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network is now on LinkedIn. Please follow us here!
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Register for Our Two January Webinars! | |
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HUD Funding to Develop Housing for Grandfamilies
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
In early 2024, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will release a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly, a program that includes funding to support the development of intergenerational housing for caregivers who are age 62+ and raising grandchildren or other kin children. We will host representatives from HUD to discuss this program, and we have also invited guests who received this funding previously and are now providing housing for grandfamilies and kinship families. The 2022 NOFO question and answers document is available here.
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Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in Kinship Families
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET
In 2022, over 128,000 children entered the U.S. with no lawful immigration status and no parent or guardian immediately available to provide care. Around 60% of these children were released into the care of sponsors who are kin, elevating the need for kinship programs to be aware of this special population. This webinar will provide more information about these kinship families and the unique challenges they face and explore opportunities to provide culturally relevant services to these families in your community. Our presenter is Emily Smith Goering, MSW, PhD.
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Apply by January 30 for Consideration to be Part of the Bridging Systems for Kinship Families Initiative! | |
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We are thrilled to roll out a unique opportunity to work with the nation's leading experts on kinship families. The Network will select two jurisdictions – states, territories, and/or large counties – and Network experts will provide in-depth support to each. Apply by January 30 for the chance to receive support to improve collaboration across government systems and nonprofit service providers, address service barriers, and leverage resources to maximize support of all kinship families, whether they are involved in the child welfare system or not. The Network's support, all free of charge, will focus on collaborative goals identified by the lead agencies and their partners. Please note that the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), a Network partner, will release a separate application in January to work with one tribe or tribal organization. | |
What's New From the Network? | |
EXEMPLARY PROGRAM: GRANDfamilies Kinship Care at Children’s Service Society of Utah
We are excited to begin announcing our Exemplary Kinship/Grandfamilies Program Designation recipients. The first program to earn this recognition is GRANDfamilies Kinship Care at Children’s Service Society of Utah, which is the only kinship-serving program in the state. They help kinship/grandfamilies by providing case management with wrap-around services; individual counseling; separate educational support groups for children, teens, and caregivers; and monthly events.
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Black Kinship Families – Unsung and Underserved
This video presents a conversation between Karyne Jones, President and CEO of the National Caucus & Center on Black Aging, Inc., and the Reverend Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III, Senior Pastor of Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas and President of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
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Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community GrandFacts Fact Sheet
The latest addition to our library of GrandFacts fact sheets focuses on the programs and services offered by Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC). Prepared by our partners at the National Indian Child Welfare Association, in partnership with SRPMIC, the resource will be useful for families and professionals within SRPMIC and Arizona.
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Kinship/Grandfamily Provider Resource Guide
Along with our partners at USAging, we drafted this guide for SupportCaregiving.org, a website created by several national partners to support the dissemination and implementation of the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. To help you support these families, acknowledge their strengths, and address their challenges, this guide contains links to an array of resources for you as a service provider. In many cases, you can share the resources with the caregivers themselves.
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In this monthly section, we'll share a tweet or other small bit of information that you can easily copy and share.
Our monthly resources are on holiday this month, but we’re revisiting our December resource from last year, which offers tips that you can share with the caregivers you serve to help them take action to feel less isolated during a potentially lonely time of year. Check out the resource and like, comment, and repost our LinkedIn post about it.
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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 date, we have responded to TA requests from 47 states and territories.
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To request assistance on the array of issues impacting kinship/grandfamilies, please complete our request assistance form.
Here is an example TA request and response.
Request
There are limited mental health services available in my area. How can I learn more about supporting the mental health of kinship families?
Response
The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network works closely with Generations United’s National Center on Grandfamilies, which puts out a report each year on grandfamilies. This year’s report aims to bring attention to the mental health and emotional wellness of grandfamilies, shed light on their resilience and challenges they face, and provide innovative solutions and resources to better support them. The report also includes policy and program recommendations for strengthening these incredible families. Check out the report and webinar recording.
To make an individual request, please complete this form and we will get in touch.
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What's New Around the Network? | | |
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Recommend a Program or Service to the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse
Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Deadline: Friday, December 22, 2023
The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse requests recommendations of programs and services intended to provide enhanced support to children and families and prevent foster care placements. Recommended programs and services that are eligible for a systematic review will then be prioritized and added to the queue for review. Once reviewed, the Clearinghouse rates eligible programs and services as well-supported, supported, promising, or does not currently meet criteria. The Clearinghouse’s specific areas of interest are mental health, substance abuse, in-home parent skill-based, and kinship navigator programs and services.
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2024 Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Stakeholder Webinars
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Wednesday, January 10 and/or Wednesday, January 31, 2024, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET
These webinars seek to engage Champions for Coverage, navigators, certified application counselors, agents/brokers, partners, issuers, and other stakeholders during the Marketplace Open Enrollment Period. Each meeting will focus on current and new Marketplace resources, theme weeks of action, data snapshots, and other Marketplace updates.
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Kin-First Child Welfare Webinar Series
Centers for Excellence at the University of California, Davis
This webinar series is dedicated to promoting the work happening in California towards cultivating a kin-first culture in child welfare. The next webinar in the series will take place on Tuesday, January 9, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET and will explore how agencies can help children and youth stay connected with their family, extended family, and community.
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Health Coverage Options for American Indians and Alaska Natives Fact Sheet
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
This fact sheet provides information and guidance that navigators and certified application counselors (collectively called assisters) need to know in order to help American Indians and Alaska Natives understand health coverage options through the Marketplace, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
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Partnering to Expand Access to Home Modifications, Repairs, and Weatherization for Community Living Action Guide
Housing and Services Resource Center
USAging, one of the Network’s five managing partners, was a major partner in the development of this action guide, which is designed to provide approaches for aging, disability, and health organizations to build partnerships with the housing sector for home modifications, repairs, and weatherization services. These partnerships can improve the accessibility and safety of existing housing and support community living for older adults and people with disabilities. The priority for action should be the populations with the greatest social and economic needs, including individuals who are low-income, underserved, and living in rural communities.
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Expanding the Menu: Opportunities for Medicaid to Better Address Food Insecurity
Center for Health Care Strategies
“This brief outlines four opportunities for state Medicaid agencies to use existing policy levers to address food insecurity more effectively, including: (1) covering [health-related social needs] services; (2) encouraging investments in food security infrastructure; (3) incorporating an equity lens in social risk factor screening and referrals; and (4) streamlining state and federal program benefits and enrollment.”
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Including People With Disabilities in Disaster Operations Course
Office of Disability Integration and Coordination, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
The purpose of this two-hour, self-paced course is to increase awareness and understanding of the need for full inclusion of disaster survivors with disabilities and FEMA staff with disabilities. It is designed for all personnel involved in disaster operations. It provides an introductory overview of information and strategies to include people with disabilities during mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. It also explains the importance of disability equity and inclusion and provides guidance to FEMA staff on how they can ensure physical, program, and communication access to the whole community.
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Notable Funding Opportunities | |
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The Grants for Expansion and Sustainability of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbance program provides resources to improve the mental health outcomes for children and youth, birth through age 21, at risk for or with serious emotional disturbance (SED), and their families. The program expects to award 23 grants of up to $1 million per year per award to cities, counties, towns, territories, and American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and tribal organizations and up to $3 million per year per award for states. The project period is four years. Applications are due Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
The Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnerships for Success for States program and the Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnerships for Success for Communities, Local Governments, Universities, Colleges, and Tribes/Tribal Organizations program seek to help reduce the onset and progression of substance misuse and its related problems by supporting the development and delivery of state and community-based substance misuse prevention and mental health promotion services. The state program expects to award 12 grants of up to $1.25 million per year per award, covering a project period of up to five years. The non-state program expects to award 41 grants of up to $375,000 per year per award, covering a project period of up to five years. Applications for both programs are due Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
The purpose of the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program – Produce Prescription Program is to demonstrate and evaluate the impact of projects on (1) the improvement of dietary health through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables; (2) the reduction of individual and household food insecurity; and (3) the reduction in healthcare use and associated costs. All applications must include a letter of support from one or more healthcare partners. The program expects to award 11 grants of up to $500,000 each, covering a project period of up to three years. Governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. Applications are due Wednesday, February 28, 2024.
The Tribal Behavioral Health program seeks to prevent and reduce suicidal behavior and substance use/misuse, reduce the impact of trauma, and promote mental health among American Indian/Alaska Native youth, up to and including age 24, by building a healthy network of systems, services, and partnerships that impact youth. The program expects to award 52 grants of up $250,000 per year per award, covering a project period of up to five years. Applications are due Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
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This program seeks to support efforts to apply direct certification with Medicaid to free and reduced price meal eligibility in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. No Federal funds will be made available for this program, but, once selected, administrative expenses may be allowable costs under State administrative expense funds (SAE) and SAE reallocation funds. Applications are due Monday, January 15, 2024.
These two AmeriCorps Seniors programs provide adults age 55 and over with opportunities to support others in their communities. Applications to both programs are due by 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 1, 2024.
December 18, 2023
New data provides critical insight into the impact of state policy and operational choices to take up strategies and flexibilities offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to keep eligible individuals, particularly children and youth, enrolled in state Medicaid and CHIP programs.
November 29, 2023
“Millions of low-income older adults and people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and who had their benefits reduced or discontinued during the pandemic are entitled to millions in overpayment waivers and other relief” due to the settlement of a lawsuit. SSi recipients who qualify will automatically receive a credit in their accounts.
KFF Health News
November 3, 2023
Starting in January, Medicare will begin covering services provided by mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists. "This cadre of more than 400,000 professionals makes up more than 40% of the licensed mental health workforce and is especially critical in rural areas." Medicare will also add coverage for intensive outpatient care and increase the availability of mobile crisis services.
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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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