Hello Friends of Grandfamilies,
You are receiving this email because you are a GRAND Voice or because you are a Grandfamilies Advisory Group Member. If you have any concerns or something you would like included in the next alert please reach out to me at droznowski@gu.org.
Best,
Diane and the Grandfamilies Team
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The Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren is authorized by the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-196). The Advisory Council will support the and preparation of updates to the Initial Report to Congress that will be released every other year. The Advisory Council will also help update the sections of the National Family Caregiving Strategy pertaining to grandparents and older relative (kinship) caregiver support. The Advisory Council may also help inform the work of the newly established Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center.
ACL anticipates selecting up to 10 non-federal members to serve on the Advisory Council. These members will reflect the diversity of grandparents, older relative/kinship caregivers, and the professionals working on their behalf, with particular emphasis on individuals representing racially and ethnically diverse communities, tribal communities, and families impacted by the opioid crisis.
To be considered for selection, nominations – including all requested information and attachments – must be submitted electronically to: SGRG.mail@acl.hhs.gov by 11:59 PM ET on April 11, 2022
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Training Opportunity with Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration has a new opportunity for third-party organizations to participate in a training to help people start and/or complete applications. Generations United is working with SSA to set up a training. If you are interested in attending, please email Diane Roznowski at droznowski@gu.org.
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This webinar is designed to help professionals in the field and caregivers better understand the expanded Child Tax Credit and how to help families claim this critical benefit. You do NOT have to be a tax expert. We'll share ready-to-use resources to help you provide information to families and connect them to tax preparation assistance.
The webinar and accompanying multilingual resources are designed to help you easily integrate CTC outreach to families in your existing programs and communications. In the training, we'll address common immigration-related questions connected to claiming the CTC.
Join Generations United, the Coalition on Human Needs and the Partnership for America's Children for this training to learn more!
Please register even if you are not positive that you can attend in order to receive the slides and recording after the training.
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Adoptive & Foster Families of Maine, Inc. & The Kinship Program Annual Spring Conference – Strengthening and Growing Hope AFFM conferences provide training designed specifically for families looking for unique and advanced learning opportunities. It is also an opportunity to network with families and other providers from across the state. This year’s conference will be held virtually focusing on strengthening hope, future, and success. All presentations will be available for replay for 30 days after the event for those who register. Registration is free for all resource families.
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National Town Hall: Child Welfare Year in Review – Join Think of Us for a National Town Hall event to hear directly from Associate Commissioner Schomburg & special guests to look back on the Administration’s accomplishments from their first year and to hear more about strategic priorities for the coming year. This is a virtual event on Monday, March 28 at 5:30 pm ET. RSVP HERE
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Kinship Caregiving Options: Considerations for Caregivers Webinar –Please join us April 26 at 2 PM ET for a webinar to explore a new tool developed by the ABA Center on Children and the Law, Children’s Defense Fund, and Generations United to help kinship families and the professionals who assist them compare caregiving options. Kinship Caregiving Options: Considerations for Caregivers provides a broad, national overview about the choices and considerations to help caregivers both inside and outside the child welfare system make informed decisions about the pathways to pursue.
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Reimagining Black Families’ Cultural Assets Can Inform Policies and Practices That Enhance Their Well-being This brief is part of a larger effort by Child Trends researchers to expand knowledge about Black children and families. This effort will include continued work on Black family cultural assets and the development of a new multi-year applied research agenda on Black children and families. While these publications will sometimes prioritize adults within Black families and sometimes prioritize children, the goals of the publications and research agenda are consistent—to build a deeper understanding of the diversity of Black families, contextualize their experiences within systems and institutions, and produce evidence to inform policies and practices that promote their well-being in the twenty-first century.
For this work, we define a Black family as a group of at least one self-identified Black adult related by birth, marriage, adoption, or choice to one or more children (infancy through adolescence). The adult(s) may also be residing with or economically, socially, and emotionally responsible for the child(ren)’s well-being.
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Earlier this month, Congress passed and the President signed into law the 2022 appropriations package to continue funding the government. The bill includes $20 million for kinship navigator programs in 2022. Here is a link to the full bill. See page 1019 for the Kinship Navigator language.
We expect applications for states to apply for the funds will be similar to previous years and will elevate the opportunity when the Children’s Bureau releases the application.
Generations United continues to recognize the need for reliable multi-year funding for navigators, and we are advocating for it!
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Individuals with lived experience in the child welfare system (including foster care, adoption, kinship/relative care) who are age 18-26 are eligible to apply.
The Council is welcoming up to 8 new members in 2022. Members of the Council will serve as a representative group for young people who have personal experience in the foster care system. Learn more about the work of Council members below.
IMPORTANT DATES:
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Application Deadline: March 22, 2022 by Midnight
- Notification of Application Status: April 20, 2022
- Virtual Orientation & Convening: May 2022 (Dates TBD)
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CCAI INTERNSHIPS – CCAI (Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute) is accepting applications for our summer internship program with our policy, programs, and development/communications departments. CCAI interns have the opportunity to work on projects that positively affect children and families. Whether through researching legislation and policy, engaging Members of Congress and their staff, organizing fundraising efforts, planning advocacy events, or leading social media campaigns, our interns leave CCAI knowing they were able to make a difference in furthering CCAI’s mission of children belonging in safe and nurturing families. CCAI office internships are volunteer positions. To apply for summer 2022, submit the CCAI Internship Application Form and upload a (1) résumé, (2) cover letter, and (3) academic writing sample of two-to-three pages.
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