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This month, we’re celebrating Pride Month.
Please read on to learn about our next webinars, our latest activities and newest resource, and other news from around the field.
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Register for Our Upcoming Webinars! | | |
Funding Kinship Programs and Services: Tips & Resources
2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. ET
Explore sources and tips for diversifying your funding for kinship services and programs. We’ll discuss federal, state, and local government funding, along with private sources.
Then, to help you pitch your idea or create your formal proposal, we will share a Network-created funding toolkit that provides templates and other resources. Leave empowered with ideas and tools to fund your kinship services and supports.
Our presenters are Tiffany Allen, CEO, Boss on a Budget; Steven Olender, Federal Child Welfare & Kinship Policy Expert and Network Subject Matter Expert; and Anita Rogers, Senior Fellow, Generations United.
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Respite Services for Kinship/Grandfamilies
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET
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Supporting Kinship/Grandfamilies with LGBTQ+ Youth
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
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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? | |
Two Jurisdictions Begin Bridging Systems for Kinship Families
We are thrilled to announce that the state of Idaho and San Diego County, California are two of the three jurisdictions that we will be engaging in the two-year, intensive Bridging Systems for Kinship Families initiative! The third jurisdiction is a tribe, and our partners at the National Indian Child Welfare Association will be announcing their selection and beginning their work soon!
Since the last newsletter, we have traveled to both San Diego and Boise to help each jurisdiction create their own shared vision of how they can best support kin and then develop concrete steps to get there. Each meeting was very productive, resulting in draft action plans. For the next two years, the Network will assist each jurisdiction in implementing their plans, while addressing service barriers, breaking down silos, and leveraging resources to maximize support of all kinship families, whether they are involved in the child welfare system or not.
We look forward to helping Idaho and San Diego County implement their ideas over the next two years! The Network will then share the lessons learned from these efforts so you can take their roadmaps and adapt them to your community!
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Monthly Resource
Finding and Paying for Child Care
Long waitlists, high costs, and limited choices make finding child care a challenge for most families. For the 56% of kin caregivers who are in the workforce, and didn’t plan or expect to raise the children in their care, this task can be even more difficult. Your help with navigating the child care system will save kin caregivers time and stress—and possible lost income. Many grandfamilies have an immediate need for child care and no idea where to turn.
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This summer, college expenses are on the minds of so many grandfamilies, particularly those who need financial aid for their loved one to attend. That's why the Network developed Kinship/Grandfamilies & the FAFSA: College Financial Aid, one of our newest resources. The FAFSA's federal deadline is June 30, so it's urgent that you get this resource into the hands of the kinship families you serve. You can check out our post about it on LinkedIn, re-post it or share it with your networks, and send us a TA question if you need further help. | |
Individual 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
Our child welfare agency is interested in streamlining our foster care licensing standards for both kin and non-kin. What resources and tools can help us?
Response
For non-kin foster care licensing standards, consult the NARA National Model, which was the result of several years of research and work by Network Director Ana Beltran and Subject Matter Expert Heidi Redlich Epstein, along with several partners, most notably NARA. That model “heavily influenced” the National Model released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) back in 2019. This FAQ document links to the National HHS Model and explains the similarities and differences between the NARA and HHS Models. We encourage jurisdictions to refer to both models when streamlining their non-kin licensing standards.
In fall 2023, HHS released a rule change allowing title IV-E agencies to implement kin-specific foster care licensing standards that are separate from non-kin standards. This change reflects the unique strengths and challenges of kin who serve as placements for children in foster care. A short Network resource explains that rule and the benefits of commonsense, tailored kin-specific standards for kin, and links to a Google document where the new national model kin-specific standards are housed.
The Network has hosted two webinars on this topic, and we’re very pleased to share that Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Michigan, Nevada, Nebraska, and Tennessee have each had their plans approved by HHS to implement kin-specific foster home licensing.
In six short months since the rule became final, that’s remarkable progress!
To make an individual request, please complete this form and we will get in touch.
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Exemplary Kinship Navigator Program Accessing Ongoing Federal Funding
The Network has designated and is elevating 14 Exemplary Kinship Programs around the country. One of those programs - GRANDfamilies Kinship Care at Children's Service Society of Utah - has a robust, wrap-around kinship navigator program. To access ongoing, uncapped federal funds through title IV-E, they are currently following the Nevada Foster Kinship program model and are working in close partnership with their state’s child welfare agency, the Utah Department of Child & Family Services.
During the Network staff’s site visit to Children’s Service Society last summer, we elevated Nevada’s program as a potential model to follow that meets evidence-based standards as determined by the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse). A model must be in the Clearinghouse to access the ongoing funding.
While the exemplary Utah program continues to pursue its own evaluation of its program for inclusion in the Clearinghouse, the opportunity to follow an existing kinship navigator program model with fidelity and draw down the ongoing federal funding is a solution open to all title IV-E child welfare agencies and their nonprofit partners. See https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/policy-guidance/pi-18-11 for more information.
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Upcoming Presentations by the Network | | |
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On Wednesday, July 10, USAging Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network Program Manager Leland Kiang and Network Technical Assistance Specialist Kylee Craggett will present a workshop called “Building Capacity to Support Kinship/Grandfamilies: Funding Beyond NFCSP and NACSP” at the 49th Annual USAging Answers on Aging Conference and Tradeshow. | |
What's New Around the Network? | |
Webinar – Who is Eligible to Receive Social Security Survivors Benefits?
U.S. Social Security Administration
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET
OR
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET
Some children in kinship/grandfamilies are eligible for Social Security Survivors benefits and are not receiving them. A child may qualify on the work record of a parent who died or on that of a grandparent who had been raising them and died. This webinar will provide more information to help you help the families you serve get the financial support they need.
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Intergenerational Approaches for Living, Learning, and Growing in the Mid-Atlantic Region: Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference
Pennsylvania Intergenerational Network
Wednesday, July 10 – Friday, July 12, 2024
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
This conference, which is open to attendees from around the country, has multiple tracks, including one called “Grandfamilies & Kinship Care Families.” There is a pre-conference symposium called “Support for Kinship Care Families: Issues and Initiatives,” sponsored by The Brookdale Foundation Group. It will feature a presentation by Dr. Deborah Langosch and a series of short presentations and roundtable discussions on mental health support, educational programs and opportunities, researcher-practitioner partnerships, and kinship navigator systems. Network Subject Matter Expert and Generations United GRAND Voice Sarah Smalls will be presenting at the conference, as well.
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Webinar – Caregiver to Caregiver (C2C) Respite Network
ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center
Thursday, July 18, 2024
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
The Caregiver to Caregiver (C2C) Respite Network is composed of families of children and youth ages 0-26 with disabilities and specialized support needs who agree to both give and receive respite. Caregivers in these families may include parents, foster parents, or grandparents or older siblings who have custody. The program then matches them with another family member to share respite based on: the child’s medical and support needs, where the family lives, and language and cultural identities and preferences. The webinar presenters will discuss the extensive planning process they undertook for implementation, the essential components of the respite opportunity based on reciprocity, and the match process. They will also share how they are working to engage diverse families and caregivers.
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2023 Profile of Older Americans
Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
In May, the Administration for Community Living released its annual Profile of Older Americans. It cites U.S. Census data to share that, in 2022, there were 1.1 million grandparents 60 and older responsible for most of the basic care of coresident grandchildren under age 18:
- 394,000 were in the labor force
- 35% were unmarried (never married, widowed, or divorced)
- 31% had a disability
- 17% lived below the poverty level
- 23% spoke a language other than English
- 46% reported there was no parent of their grandchildren present
The inclusion of this data in this report profiling older Americans is yet another positive step for the visibility of kin caregivers and their families. For more kinship/grandfamilies data, check out the data page of our website.
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Report – A Season of Hope: Growing the Role of Families
Casey Family Programs
The 2024 Signature Report from Casey Family Programs champions the value of a kin-first culture, describes how various communities are implementing this approach, and provides resources to help other communities begin to cultivate a kin-first culture. We appreciate Casey Family Programs for citing our Network resources in this report.
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Older Veteran Behavioral Health Resource Inventory
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
While we lack clear data, we know that many kin caregivers are also Veterans. This inventory provides information on resources to help health and social service professionals support older Veterans and other older adults who have or are at risk for behavioral health conditions. This inventory is not exhaustive. Rather, it provides an overview of programs and publications on topics including post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide prevention, long-term services and supports, and much more.
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Notable Funding Opportunities | | |
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REMINDER AND DUE DATE EXTENDED! The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly. The NOFO provides up to $35 million in funding to develop units for intergenerational families that include a child and the child's grandparent or other relative who is a head of the household and aged 62 or older. The application deadline has been extended to July 18, 2024. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions resource to learn more. To receive email alerts from HUD, sign up for a HUD mailing list.
Native Voices Rising grants support Native-led organizations that are improving the lives of their community members. Applications for the 2024 grant cycle are due by Friday, June 28, 2024.
The lululemon Centre for Social Impact’s Here to Be Grant seeks to accelerate the work of community-led non-profit organizations around the globe that are advancing the wellbeing of their communities. Applications for the 2025 cycle are due by Friday, June 28, 2024.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is accepting applications to the OJJDP FY24 Supporting Tribal Youth: Training and Technical Assistance and Youth Leadership Development grant program. The Grants.gov deadline is Monday, July 1, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The Application JustGrants deadline is Monday, July 15, 2024 at 8:59 p.m. ET.
Innovation Awards from the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health seek to support new or piloted projects from direct-service organizations that will help address the far-reaching challenge of stress, anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues in children and young adults in the U.S. Applications are due by Monday, July 8, 2024.
The Program Instruction (PI) for Federal Kinship Navigator Program Funds provides guidance to state, territorial, and Tribal title IV-E child welfare agencies on the actions required to apply for the 2024 title IV-B funding to support the development, enhancement, or evaluation of kinship navigator programs. Applications are due no later than July 12, 2024. Since 2018, Congress has appropriated $20 million a year in these funds for Kinship Navigator Programs. In 2024, the appropriation was reduced by half, and each agency that applies will be receiving significantly less than in the past six years. The Administration for Children and Families estimates that each state and territory will receive approximately $172,129 and each Tribe that operates its own Title IV-E program will receive approximately $21,704. Actual awards may be higher if some agencies decide not to apply for these FY 2024 funds. Please note that, in many jurisdictions, these funds are shared through contracts with nonprofit organizations that provide these services, but those nonprofits may not apply directly through this process.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living is accepting applications to its Advancing Aging Network Capacity to Support Family, Kinship and Tribal Family Caregivers: Understanding, Testing and Evaluating Caregiver Navigator Services program. Applications are due by Monday, August 5, 2024.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living has opened the application window for its Advancing State Implementation of the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers program. Applications are due by Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is accepting applications to its Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Competitive Grant Program. Applications are due by Thursday, August 29, 2024.
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Network Subject Matter Expert and Generations United GRAND Voice Sarah Smalls was honored to be invited to speak at the signing event for a new law for Virginia’s kinship families. The law seeks to increase foster placements with kin and provide more support to kinship families.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Housing Counseling has published a final rule outlining housing counselor certification requirements for housing counseling conducted in connection with the Indian Housing Block Grant and the Indian Community Development Block Grant programs.
As part of the approval, Tennessee will now be able to cover 100 diapers per month per child for children under the age of two who are enrolled in TennCare or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (known in Tennessee as CoverKids).
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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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