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This month, we are acknowledging Foster Care Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, and Older Americans Month. This year’s theme for Older Americans Month is Flip the Script on Aging. The idea is to focus on transforming how society perceives, talks about, and approaches aging. It encourages individuals and communities to challenge stereotypes and dispel misconceptions.
Please read on to learn about our latest resources and other news from around the field.
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Seeking Testimonials
As we prepare to enter our fifth year of operating the Network, we are collecting testimonials about the impact that our technical assistance has had on you, the work that you do, and the families you serve. If you are interested in sharing your experience with us, please reach out to us at info@gksnetwork.org. We invite you to submit your comments in writing or contact us to set up an interview. We look forward to hearing from you!
| | | | Since we launched our LinkedIn page in September 2023, we’ve shared dozens of resources, funding opportunities, and training events. Follow us to keep up with our latest news between monthly issues of this newsletter. | | What's New From the Network? | |
KINSHIP MATTERS TO…
Outreach Brochures for Education and TANF
As part of our effort to encourage all government systems and nonprofits that interact with kinship/grandfamilies to coordinate with each other to better serve the families, we have been creating system-specific outreach brochures. Each brochure briefly introduces kinship/grandfamilies, explains how the families interact with the named system, and describes why cross-system collaboration would be beneficial. The idea is to raise awareness and educate individuals who are new to this topic. You can share these pieces with colleagues and potential partners in the named system to help make the case for targeted support and collaboration for kinship/grandfamilies. Our newest brochures are for education and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). We already have brochures for aging, nutrition, and Family Resource Centers, and more are on the way. To access the brochures on our website, go to the “Who We Serve” tab and select the “We Serve Government Agencies and Nonprofits” page. Then, scroll down to the list of systems and click the link associated with the system of interest. Please reach out to us at info@gksnetwork.org if you would like printed copies of the existing brochures or access to the professional printing files.
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Sullivan Goes to See Mama Virtual Book Launch Party
Tuesday, May 28, 12:00–1:30 p.m. ET
The Network is pleased to be an event partner and co-host for the virtual launch party for Beth Tyson's new picture book. The story follows a grandfamily (depicted as koalas) as they navigate the complexities of family time (also known as supervised visits). The book is a tool for social workers, therapists, other professionals, caregivers, and parents to use to help children process the confusing emotions that can come from spending time with their biological family while in care.
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In case you missed it, a national Harris Poll showed that Americans agree that supported kinship care is the best option for children who cannot live with their parents! Learn more and join the conversation by accessing our LinkedIn post.
| | 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. | | |
We answer questions and respond to requests of all sizes. Some questions focus on a very specific topic and/or location, while others are much broader. Below, we share an example of a TA request and response.
Request
We are trying to find creative ways to build trust with kin caregivers. What would you recommend?
Response
Kin caregivers connect with social service professionals at a time when they feel vulnerable and overwhelmed. The extent to which they access and benefit from services depends in large part on the relationship you build. The Network developed a tip sheet on building trust as part of key takeaways from five learning community sessions for social service professionals who want to improve outreach to kin caregivers. Four of the tips from this tip sheet include:
- Be intentional in your first conversation with families.
- Wonder, listen actively and without judgement, and be curious.
- Tailor your response to families’ circumstances.
- Arrange activities that are just for fun.
Review all the tips and the full resource at https://www.gksnetwork.org/resources/building-trust/.
To make an individual request, please complete this form and we will get in touch.
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Alyssa Craven directs the GRANDfamilies Kinship Care program at the Children’s Service Society (CSS) of Utah, the only kin-serving program in the state. It started in 2002 in response to the need to support the growing number of grandfamilies across the state.
For the past 3.5 years, Alyssa has tapped into the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network for technical assistance, and she regularly attends Network webinars and reads the newsletter.
At first, Ana, Shalah, and Kylee were just names on a screen or in her email inbox. But that changed quickly. “The way they show up—it’s hands-on, thoughtful, personal,” Alyssa reflects. She explained that Network staff members don’t just support the program’s work. They believe in it. She saw this first-hand when Network team members visited her organization in 2023 when CSS’s GRANDfamilies Kinship Care program was designated an Exemplary Program. “They spent time with our community partners, families, and staff. They really took the time to get to know our program, recognized our strengths, and offered ideas to make our services even better.”
The most transformative moment came when Network staff encouraged her to implement something she hadn’t yet considered: incorporating those with lived experiences into GRANDfamilies Kinship Care's programming and curriculum. With the Network’s guidance, Alyssa welcomed a kin caregiver to co-facilitate her program’s 10-week psychoeducational course. The change was immediate—and deep. In just the first week, caregivers opened up and real conversations happened–much more quickly than they had before.
Today, when Alyssa has tough questions—like how to help caregivers facing legal risks—the Network responds quickly, connects her with others, and shares relevant resources and toolkits. “They gently push us to dream bigger. They’re like wonder women,” she shared. “Every single one of them.”
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| Presentations by the Network | | | | Leland Kiang from USAging, a Network managing partner organization, will be representing the Network at the Shoshone-Bannock Taking a Stand Against Elder Abuse Conference in Idaho from Tuesday, May 20 to Thursday, May 22. He will present two sessions about kinship/grandfamilies and resources that can help professionals better support kin caregivers. | | | | On Wednesday, May 28, Ana will be participating in a virtual convening held by the Center for Adoption Support and Education. The convening, called “Kinship Caregiving Continuum of Care,” will explore evidence-based practices and current gaps in mental health support. | | | | On Thursday, May 29, Ana will be presenting to the Family Caregiver Alliance of Rhode Island and their partner, the Aging and Disability Resource Center. She will provide information on kinship families, the supports and services that benefit them, and the Network. | | What's New Around the Network? | |
Join Us at the Generations United Conference
Wednesday, June 25 through Friday, June 27
Louisville, Kentucky
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The Generations United conference will feature more kinship sessions than any other national conference in well over a decade. Join us for a full-day pre-conference kinship symposium and over 40 sessions focused on supporting the families. Learn first-hand from leaders at evidence-based kinship navigator programs, legal programs for kin, respite programs, kinship peer mentor programs, and so much more.
Don’t wait to register – rates go up after today!
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Summer Meals Outreach Toolkit
No Kid Hungry
| This toolkit seeks to help you get the word out to families about meals available for children and teens this summer. The materials are in both English and Spanish, and they are ready-to-use and customizable. | |
AFCARS Dashboard
Children’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
| | This new dashboard summarizes and displays national and state foster care data for a given fiscal year. The foster care data includes, but is not limited to, numbers entering and exiting foster care, their ages and race/ethnicity, and characteristics such as permanency plans and living arrangements. One of the living arrangement options is “Relative or kin,” and you can look into the category further and see the breakdown between licensed and unlicensed relative and kin placements. | |
| Online Course: Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed Essentials for Aging Services | | This free, 100% online, self-paced course equips those who support older adults with practical strategies and tools to create meaningful, person-centered, and trauma-informed practices. Older adults who have become kin caregivers may have experienced trauma in association with the circumstances that brought the child(ren) into their care. Eligible social workers can earn five continuing education credits for completing the course. | | |
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Rural Data Central
Housing Assistance Council
| The Housing Assistance Council created Rural Data Central as an easy way to access U.S. Census American Community Survey data on rural and small-town communities, and it also contains the same data and information for suburban and urban communities. After creating a user account, you can access social, economic, housing, and finance data for your state, county, census tract, congressional district, continuum of care, or tribal tract. | | Funding Resources & Notable Opportunities | |
Funding Resources
A Nonprofit Checklist: Conducting a Risk Assessment for Federal Funding, from the National Council of Nonprofits, provides initial steps that organizations can take and decisions to consider in the midst of the current climate in which federal grants and contracts are under threat of termination.
The Relational Fundraising Playbook from Every.org outlines a new approach to online fundraising, seeking to teach nonprofit organizations how to ask a lot of people for money online in a way that creates a sustainable revenue stream. Relational fundraising is an opportunity to be in conversation with donors and treat each donor as an individual with their own unique strengths, gifts, social networks, and, of course, financial capital to contribute. It is only possible at scale because of digital technology that can help with segmenting donors and the responsible and strategic use of AI to customize stories and messages.
Funding Opportunities
Federal Fiscal Year 2025 Title IV-B, Subpart 2 Funding is available to support the development, enhancement, or evaluation of kinship navigator programs. The Children’s Bureau issued a Program Instruction (PI) on April 30, 2025. The PI provides guidance to state, territorial, and tribal title IV-E child welfare agencies on the actions required to apply for title IV-B, subpart 2 funding. Each title IV-E agency applying for funds must submit a request form and narrative by Friday, June 6, 2025.
The Centene Foundation partners with organizations with deep community expertise and history. These partnerships focus on three distinct drivers of health: healthcare, social services, and education. Because they recognize that transforming the health of our communities requires more than one-time contributions, they seek partnerships that can grow over time and position communities to thrive. The Spring application cycle is open through Friday, May 30, 2025.
Tribal Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (Tribal HUD-VASH) Expansion Grants provide rental assistance and supportive services to Native American Veterans who are homeless or at risk or homelessness living on or near a reservation or other Indian areas. Approximately $2.2 million in fiscal year (FY) 2017 funds were not exhausted and are now available. The application deadline is Friday, August 15, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
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U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), May 14, 2025
In some cases, states and service providers may extend support for family caregivers to minors who are caregiving, but they may not be aware of this option. This report shares information on caregiving youth in the U.S., federal support programs, and practices from England. Network Director Ana Beltran and Generations United Deputy Executive Director Jaia Lent spoke with the GAO to help with this report.
May 13, 2025
The foundation's grants will fund programs that support whole-person health for older adult kin caregivers. Grantees are utilizing the funding to expand existing initiatives or pilot new programs that ultimately increase access to behavioral health services, support case management, connect kinship families to support groups and social activities, develop culturally tailored support models, and more. Six groups received funds, including Children’s Service Society of Utah, which we previously recognized with our Exemplary Kinship Program designation. The Idaho Caregiver Alliance, which is a partner in our Idaho Bridging Systems for Kinship Families initiative, received funds as part of a collaboration with Boise State University Foundation. The other four grantees are Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, Family Education & Support Services (Washington), Impact NW (Oregon), and Marimn Health (Idaho).
"By supporting the caregivers, we're ultimately supporting the children," said Andrew Over, director of strategy and operations at Cambia Health Foundation. "When kinship families receive sufficient resources, all generations have the opportunity to flourish together."
Annie E. Casey Foundation, May 5, 2025
Joseph Crumbley, a Network subject matter expert, has produced many resources for the kinship field. This blog post links to some of those resources and shares Dr. Crumbley’s answers to a series of questions about supporting kinship families. On May 13, 2025, Youth Today printed a version of this blog post.
KFF Health News, April 28, 2025
Rather than withholding 100% of affected beneficiaries’ monthly payments as a way to recoup alleged overpayments, as previously announced by the Trump Administration, the Social Security Administration will now withhold 50%. This article indicates that recipients can “request a lower rate of withholding, reconsideration, or a waiver.”
The Council of State Governments, April 16, 2025
In some states, child welfare systems use the Social Security disability, survivor, or other benefits that children in foster care are entitled to receive to reimburse themselves for the cost of providing for the children’s basic needs. Several states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, and Oregon) have laws that prevent the child welfare system from doing this, and state agencies in Massachusetts and New Mexico have policies that do not allow for such “interceptions.” Thanks to an executive order signed by the governor, Kansas has now joined these states. Laws and policies that ensure that children in foster care receive their federal benefits support children in foster care with licensed kin, as well as those who are in homes with non-kin.
Annie E. Casey Foundation, April 15, 2025
Since the federal rule allowing for kin-specific licensing took effect in the fall of 2023, 16 states and tribes have implemented it. This piece quotes Network Director Ana Beltran. She said, “The rapid uptake of these standards shows how ready and eager jurisdictions are for this flexibility to help support their goals of child welfare transformation through a kin-first culture.” We appreciate the authors for referring to the Network as “a leader among kinship organizations developing best practices and resources to help states adapt the federal rule.” On April 29, 2025, Youth Today printed a version of this blog post.
Additionally, since the publication of this blog, two more states have approved kin-specific licensing: Kentucky and South Dakota.
Federal News Network, April 11, 2025
Social Security Administration (SSA) regional offices will now communicate with the public via posts on X, rather than through press releases and “Dear Colleague” letters.
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All of our previous newsletters are linked on our website, so you can access them anytime. |
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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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