The Network Connection

Our November webinar, "Legal Relationships and Public Benefits for Kinship/Grandfamilies," will take place on Thursday, November 10, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Our presenters for this webinar are Ana Beltran, JD, the director of the Network, and Heidi Redlich Epstein, the director of Kinship Policy and State Projects at the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law.

Kinship Navigator Programs Around the Country

We have compiled a list of kinship navigator programs. The list includes entries for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Below the name of each kinship navigator program entry, there is information on locations served, a list of available services, eligibility criteria for families, and a link to the program website or other contact information. Two of the programs included in this list have been rated by the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse: Arizona Kinship Support Services and Ohio's Kinship Supports Intervention/ProtectOHIO.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Facts for Grandfamilies and Kinship Families

This fact sheet, produced in partnership with our subject matter experts at the Food Research & Action Center, Alexandra Ashbrook and Susan Beaudoin, contains three sections: Background Information, Frequently Asked Questions for Grandfamilies and Kinship Families, and Resources to Get Started. It is designed to serve as a resource that both providers and kinship/grandfamilies can use.

Supporting Kinship Families & Grandfamilies Affected by Substance Use Disorder

To mark the last the day of National Recovery Month and Kinship Care Awareness Month, the Administration for Community Living posted a Q&A featuring Ana Beltran, the director of the Network. The post includes Ana’s answers to five questions and links to resources.

2022 State of Grandfamilies Report Release Event

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

In-person at the National Press Club in Washington, DC;

Online via live-stream

Generations United will host an event to release its 2022 State of Grandfamilies Report, Together at the Table: Supporting the Nutrition, Health, and Well-Being of Grandfamilies. The event will feature key report findings, new data, and a conversation with grandfamily members. The event will be moderated by Michelle Singletary, a nationally syndicated personal finance columnist for The Washington Post. Her award-winning column, "The Color of Money," often refers to the sage advice and lessons from her grandmother, “Big Mama,” who helped raise her.

Registration is required for both in-person attendance and remote attendance.

2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers Released;

Open for Public Comments

The 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers was created to support family caregivers of all ages, from youth to grandparents, and regardless of where they live or what caregiving looks like for them and their loved ones.

The Strategy was developed jointly by the advisory councils created by the RAISE Family Caregiving Act and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, with extensive input from the public, including family caregivers and the people they support. It will be updated in response to public comments and will evolve with the caregiving landscape. Two Network subject matter experts, Gail Engel and Sarah Smalls, both of whom are grandmothers raising grandchildren, were members of the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Advisory Council.

LEGACY Funding Included in FY 2022 Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program Funding Opportunity

For the first time in over 15 years, funding is available through LEGACY (Living Equitably: Grandparents Aiding Children and Youth), the only federal law to specifically create affordable housing opportunities for grandfamilies. On September 21st, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for Section 202 Elderly Housing, which includes $15 million to support the development of intergenerational dwelling units for grandparents and relatives age 62 and older raising children. The application deadline is January 25, 2023. To learn more about LEGACY and its past funding, see Generations United’s 2019 State of Grandfamilies Report, A Place to Call Home. 

Webinar: Here Come the Holidays: What Do You Do?

Monday, November 14, 2022

10:00 a.m. CT

This is the first in a series of Zoom webinars designed to help families, communities, and human service workers, presented by the Illinois Family Resource Center. The Resource Center’s main focus is supporting families and communities addressing substance use, mental health, and gambling issues. The Resource Center is passionate about addressing and including grandfamilies and kinship families.

Establishing Cross-Sector Partnerships to Improve Family Caregiver Supports

This short resource, prepared by the Center for Health Care Strategies, offers examples and tips to help states establish cross-sector partnerships to strengthen supports and services for family caregivers. Although the document focuses on family caregivers who are responsible for older adults, the ideas and recommendations can be applied to supports and services for kinship/grandfamilies.

What is a grandfamily or kinship family?

Many people are unfamiliar with the terms “grandfamilies” and “kinship families.” Members of grandfamilies and kinship families often do not know that there are terms to describe their specific type of family.

Deborah Willett – a member of the Grandfamilies Advisory Group at Generations United and a program coordinator at GRANDFamily Connections of Chester County, PA and GRANDFamily Provider Network of Chester County – created a video with her son, Noah Willett, to explain the term “kinship family member.”

2023 USAging Annual Conference and Tradeshow: Call for Sessions Now Open

The 2023 USAging Annual Conference and Tradeshow will be held July 16-19 in Salt Lake City, UT. The Call for Sessions is now open, and USAging is accepting proposals in diverse topic areas. The submission deadline is Friday, December 9, 2022.