VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 3 | DECEMBER 2022
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This month, we’re excited to encourage registration for our January webinar and to share new resources. Please read on for more information.
Please share your latest news, upcoming events, and highlights with us. They may be featured in our next newsletter!
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Register for Our January Webinar! |
The Important Role of Area Agencies on Aging and Title VI Native American Aging Programs in Serving Kinship/ Grandfamilies: Research, Resources, and Strategies for Success
Wednesday, January 11, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
Presenters
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Leland Kiang, the program manager at USAging overseeing USAging’s role in the Network
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Ana Beltran, the director of the Network
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Arcelia Armstrong, LSW, Coordinator, Caregiver Support Program and Kinship Navigator Program, Area Office of Aging of Northwestern Ohio
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Criss Grant, Director, Southeast Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability
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Pam Plimpton, Intergenerational Coordinator, County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency, Aging & Independence Services
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Marsha Rose, LSW, Kinship Navigator Program Supervisor, Area Office of Aging of Northwestern Ohio
You won’t want to miss this webinar! An attendee at our last webinar called it “one of the best and most insightful trainings I have been to since starting my navigator role 2 years ago.”
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What's New From the Network? | |
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Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands GrandFacts Facts Sheets
The GrandFacts Fact Sheets for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands join fact sheets for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the nation as a whole. Each fact sheet includes data as well as information about programs and public benefits. All of the fact sheets are available in English and Spanish.
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Home for the Holidays:
Staying Connected
This is the first in a new series of monthly mini resources produced by the Network, under the leadership of our partners at ZERO TO THREE. The resources will all be short (this one is two pages) and, in alternating months, they will be geared toward either families or professionals. This month’s resource, which focuses on reducing caregiver feelings of isolation, is intended to serve as a useful tool that you can provide to the families with whom you work. The resource is available in both English and Spanish.
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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. | |
This month, we're promoting our January webinar:
The @GensUnited Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network is hosting a webinar with @theUSAging! Discover how Area Agencies on Aging & Title VI Native American Aging Programs can help kinship/grandfamilies
Wednesday, January 11
2:00-3:30 pm ET
Register: https://buff.ly/3Vvpoy0
This draft is styled for Twitter; for other social media platforms and newsletters, please tag/mention USAging and please use the full name of the Network (Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center).
The graphic can be copied and included in your promotion. If you use the graphic, please be sure to add alternative text so that people with disabilities have equal access to the content of the graphic.
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Individual Technical Assistance Spotlight | |
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The Network is accepting individual technical assistance (TA) requests from professionals who work in systems and organizations that serve kinship/grandfamilies.
To request TA, please complete our Technical Assistance Request Form.
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Here's an example TA request and response.
Request
I want to help kin/grandfamily caregivers better understand their options when it comes to establishing a legal relationship with the child(ren) in their care. Are there any good resources available?
Response
Generations United, with support from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, developed a brief, a national chart, and several state-specific charts comparing adoption and guardianship. If your state or territory does not have a chart and your agency or organization would be interested in working with us to develop one, contact Generations United’s Public Policy & Advocacy Coordinator, Chelsi Rhoades, at crhoades@gu.org. You can also check out our November webinar recording and related documents to learn more about legal relationships and public benefits for kinship/grandfamilies.
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Upcoming Presentations About the Network | |
Leland Kiang, the program manager at USAging overseeing USAging’s role in the Network; Shalah Bottoms, the technical assistance specialist for the Network; and Ana Beltran, the director of the Network, will be presenting at the American Society on Aging conference in Atlanta next year. Their presentation is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 29, from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Please let us know if you’ll be there! | |
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What's New Around the Network? | |
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Generations United is Accepting Presentation Proposals for Upcoming Conference
Please save the date for Generations United’s in-person conference, which will take place July 26-28, 2023. The conference will convene intergenerational and kinship/grandfamilies professionals, educators, caregivers, advocates, and enthusiasts from around the world in Washington, DC to learn, connect, and share innovative practices and programs in the field.
Generations United is accepting presentation proposals! The Conference Planning Committee seeks proposals for educational sessions that will enhance the field’s capacity for developing practices, programs, and policies that benefit individuals of all ages, support kinship and grandfamilies, and build more cohesive and caring communities around the world. Download the session guidelines and instructions (a Word document) for more information, including a template of the online form. The submission deadline is January 30, 2023. All submissions must be completed online.
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State of American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Families Report
National Indian Child Welfare Association
The State of American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Families Report is a six-part series of data briefs that presents current data on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) child and family well-being. Each data brief covers an aspect of well-being data, including economic indicators, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), child welfare system involvement, mortality rates and causes, and behavioral health and substance use. These data briefs are followed by a set of proposed questions for future directions in policy, practice, and research. This report is funded by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.
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Gathering and Using Family Input to Improve Child Support and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Services: Approaches from the Human Services Field
Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation in the Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
This 16-page brief focuses on engaging families during the program improvement process. It includes key findings from a scan of related literature as well as findings and examples from discussions with practitioners who are already gathering and implementing suggestions from families in their state, local, and tribal agencies. In addition to offering insights into organizational processes, the brief considers trust-building with families.
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Profile of Older Americans
Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The Profile of Older Americans is an annual summary of critical statistics related to the older population in the United States. Relying primarily on data offered by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Profile illustrates the shifting demographics of Americans age 65 and older. It includes key topic areas such as income, living arrangements, education, and health. The latest Profile, labeled the 2021 Profile, includes a special section on family caregiving.
The “Profile Highlights” page notes that “[i]n 2020, about 1.1 million people aged 60+ were responsible for the basic needs of at least one grandchild under age 18 living with them.” On page 20, the Profile provides additional demographic data about these caregivers.
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National Guidelines for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The National Guidelines for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care offers best practices, implementation strategies, and practical guidance for the design and development of services that meet the needs of children, youth, and their families during a young person’s behavioral health crisis. Additional technical guidance is provided in a companion report produced by SAMHSA in conjunction with the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, "A Safe Place to Be: Crisis Stabilization Services and Other Supports for Children and Youth."
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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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