Volume 18 | Issue 7 | February 15, 2023 | |
News for Advocates of Children, Youth, and Older Adults from Generations United | | |
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Global Conference Updates - Accepting Nominations for 2023 Generations United Awards
Know a person, program, or organization doing innovative and outstanding work in the intergenerational and grandfamily fields? Nominate them for a Generations United Award, to be presented during the 22nd Global Intergenerational Conference in Washington D.C.! Interested individuals are encouraged to self-nominate. The deadline for nominations is March 6. Learn more.
Registration is open for Generations United's Global Intergenerational Conference, to be held July 26-28, 2023 in Washington, DC! Special savings are available to people who register by March 15. Register today!
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A Proposed Federal Rule Would Support Kinship/Grandfamilies Involved with the Foster Care System
Generations United is very pleased to share that yesterday the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposed that child welfare agencies around the country adopt licensing or approval standards for all kinship/relative foster family homes that are different from the licensing or approval standards used for non-kin foster family homes. Moreover, ACF encourages child welfare agencies to “strongly consider” developing standards for relative and kinship foster family homes that are limited to long-standing federal safety requirements and omit any additional standards required of non-kin foster family homes.
This proposal is a significant move forward for the thousands of children who are placed with relatives and kin in foster care and yet do not receive monthly foster care payments to meet their needs. All children placed with non-kin in foster care receive these monthly payments, and this proposed rule advances equity for children in kinship/relative foster care, who are disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and/or living in underserved rural areas.
Generations United is thrilled that we, along with trusted partners, are cited throughout the notice of proposed rule making. Yesterday’s notice builds on work we’ve been doing for well over a decade to promote equitable financial support for children in kinship/relative foster care.
To continue to help child welfare agencies promote equity and support all children in foster care, Generations United and a number of national partners – A Second Chance, American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, Children’s Rights, CWPolicy, New America’s Resource Family Working Group, and Think of Us – are creating model kinship/relative approval standards for child welfare agencies. For more information, click here.
The notice period for the proposed regulation is open until April 17, 2023 and we encourage all stakeholders, including kinship caregivers, youth raised in kinship care, and child welfare agencies, to submit comments.
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Generations United in the News
Danica Derriennic, Special Projects Coordinator at Generations United, is quoted in an article that centers Housing Opportunities & Maintenance for the Elderly (H.O.M.E.), a Chicago-based housing organization, recognized for its intergenerational housing initiatives. The article highlights H.O.M.E as a Generations United designated Program of Distinction. Read the full story here.
Last week, we shared our response to President Biden's State of the Union Address, which highlighted various topics that recognize the vital role children, youth, and older adults play in strengthening our communities. Read our response here.
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Generations United’s Public Policy Priorities for the 118th Congress
Children, youth, and older adults are interconnected parts of our lives and families, yet government policy and programing tend to treat them as separate groups. It’s time for all of us in the U.S. to recognize this interdependence, and to acknowledge that these connections make for stronger communities and a stronger nation. Generations United identifies, promotes, and advocates for a variety of legislative priorities for the 118th Congress to better enable young, old and those who care for them to prosper individually and as they support one another. Learn more.
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Webinar: The Unique Dynamics of Shared/Co-Parenting in Kinship Families
Our Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network is hosting a webinar with internationally renowned kinship trainer and consultant Dr. Joseph Crumbley!
Join us Tuesday, March 14 at 2 p.m. ET to learn shared/co-parenting strategies that provide well-being, safety, and stability for children in kinship families. Register now.
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Meet Generations United's Board Members
The Generations United Board of Directors recently elected new officers and three new board members. We are grateful for their service and look forward to introducing you to them over the next few weeks. Up next are…
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Learn more about our Board Officers and Board Members here. | |
Program Spotlight - LinkAGES Colorado | LinkAGES Colorado is a collaborative initiative with a vision of preventing and reducing social isolation through creating opportunities to develop meaningful relationships across ages. The Denver-based initiative, a Generations United Program of Distinction since 2019, brings together a network of organizations committed to offering intergenerational opportunities and building programmatic capacity. LinkAGES Colorado has facilitated several outstanding and impactful programs engaging older adults and youth of all ages, from toddlers that participated in intergenerational music therapy sessions to college freshman that shared stories and took photographs of seniors during a program centered around photography and memory. Their most recent offering, Tikkun Olam, saw older adults from the community join children in the Staenburg-Loup JCC Early Learning Program for games, stories, art, music, and more. Learn more about LinkAGES Colorado here. | |
Photo courtesy of LinkAGES Colorado | |
Each week, Generations United is spotlighting a recipient of our Intergenerational Program Certification. The certification is an annual recognition of outstanding programs bringing older and younger participants together and is based on rigorous standards of program effectiveness and sustainability. Learn more about the Intergenerational Program Certification here. | |
Check Out Our Newest Resources! | |
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Our partners at USAging conducted a topical poll of Area Agencies on Aging and Title VI Native American Aging Programs, and we worked together to produce a fact sheet that provides an overview of the results and a report that thoroughly shares the details. The fact sheet includes information on services provided to kinship/grandfamilies, referral partners, and challenges. The report covers additional topics and includes profiles of existing programs. Both resources are available in English and Spanish.
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Accepting Technical Assistance Requests | |
As always, the Network is accepting individual technical assistance (TA) requests from professionals who work in systems or organizations that serve kinship/grandfamilies. Fill out the TA request form to receive support from our team. Learn more and sign up to access our resources! | |
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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Thank You to Our Members and Supporters | Thank you to our members and supporters! Consider making a donation today to help unleash the potential of a society that values all generations. If you're an organization, join us! | | | |
Think Intergenerational - Funding Opportunities | |
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Oak Foundation's Learning Differences Programme (LDP) partners with nonprofit organizations that improve education for students with learning differences. Through the Advancing Educational Equity through Student Social Emotional Learning and Mental Health Request for Proposals (RFP), the LDP seeks proposals from U.S.-based nonprofits that aim to develop research, training, or student supports that improve mental health and well-being for students with learning differences. The goal of this RFP is to identify organizations working with students in K-12 education systems in the United States whose work centers on social-emotional learning or mental health and includes a focus on students with learning differences who are furthest from opportunity due to racism and poverty. Grants will range from $250,000 to $750,000 over two to three years. Deadline for application: February 27, 2023. Learn more.
The AARP Purpose Prize award honors extraordinary individuals who use their lived experiences to make a better future for all. Don’t miss a chance to earn $50,000 for your organization and a year of support to help broaden the scope of your work. Up to 10 fellows will each receive $10,000 for their organization and a year of technical support. The call for applications is open through February 28, 2023. Learn more.
Youth Service America (YSA) is searching for Heartwarming Young Heroes with creative ideas to foster meaningful connections, promote inclusion, and teach empathy. With support from Hershey's Heartwarming Project, YSA will award up to $50,000 in grants for youth-led service projects and community-building activities during Global Youth Service Day (April 28-30). All youth ages 5-25 in the United States (including U.S. territories and military bases & DoD schools) and Canada are eligible to apply. The application deadline is Sunday, March 5 at 11:59 p.m. your local time. Learn more.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking grant proposals for projects to support the development and/or enhancement of strategic multi-system and multi-level collaboration between child welfare, early care and education systems, and other relevant partners to effectively prevent child abuse and neglect and provide comprehensive supports to children and families with or at-risk of involvement with the child welfare system, including children of color and their families. Grant funding will support infrastructure and capacity-building through the development of policy, coordination mechanisms and procedures, quality practice, and other cross-system strategies. Applications are due March 13, 2023. Learn more.
Riley's Way Foundation's Call for Kindness empowers young leaders throughout the U.S. to use kindness and empathy to create meaningful connections and positive change. In 2023, Riley's Way will award up to $3,000 to as many as 36 youth-led projects rooted in the values of kindness, empathy, youth leadership, and inclusive community that tackle anything from equity and social justice issues to building meaningful connections in a school or community. At least ten of the selected projects will be specifically focused on environmental justice. Winners will also participate in a leadership development fellowship. Youth ages 13 to 22 that are living in the United States are eligible to apply. The deadline for submitting applications is April 2, 2023. Learn more.
Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is funding research on supportive family policies and programs that have strong potential to impact equitable access to nutritious food in communities, nutrition security, diet quality, and improved nutrition and health outcomes. Apply by April 5, 2023. Learn more.
If you have—or know of—any intergenerational funding opportunities, please send them to gu@gu.org.
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Think Intergenerational - Great Resources | |
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Journal of Intergenerational Relationships Call for Papers for Memorial Issue Honoring Founding Editor Dr. Sally Newman’s Contributions to the Intergenerational Field: Dr. Sally Newman was a guiding force for founding the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships in 2003, serving as its first editor until June 2014. Despite her death in 2022, Dr. Newman’s legacy lives on. In honor of Dr. Newman’s leadership in intergenerational program research, the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships invites scholarly contributions for a special issue focused on contemporary intergenerational research that builds on her foundational work, which can be seen today in different programmatic settings and countries. This special memorial issue will be published in 2024. Submissions must be received by May 31, 2023. Read the full special issue announcement here. Contact Shannon Jarrott with questions.
"Intergenerational Community Planning" Report: Generations United Senior Fellow Irv Katz and Generations United friend and Penn State professor Matt Kaplan, PhD, collaborated on a "guide" to intergenerational community planning published by the American Planning Association (APA). The intergenerational planning guide follows related APA reports on multigenerational planning and planning for all ages. The document suggests that the well-being of children, youth, and older adults--and how they relate with one another--should be integrated into regular city planning processes, such as the comprehensive planning that most cities and towns undertake. "Intergenerational Community Planning" is available for free to members of the American Planning Association and $25 for non-members.
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Generations United Resources | |
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2022 State of Grandfamilies Report, Together at the Table: Supporting the Nutrition, Health, and Well-Being of Grandfamilies, includes the latest findings on grandfamilies facing high rates of hunger and food insecurity, as well as policy recommendations to help feed grandfamilies. Read the report to explore the data and learn why we need to change current policies to ensure access to adequate nutritious food for grandfamilies.
Grandfamily Caregiver Tip Sheets on Self-Care and Youth Mental Health are now available in Spanish. These tip sheets were developed with support from our partner, Humana. Learn more.
Updated Intergenerational Evaluation Toolkit, which was created in 2019 by Dr. Shannon Jarrott with support from The Eisner Foundation, includes over 20 reliable and valid outcome measures that have been used in the evaluation of intergenerational programs. Learn more.
Racial Equity Toolkits are designed to give resources and tips to child welfare agencies, other government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, so they can better serve all grandfamilies. Generations United has produced a toolkit for American Indian and Alaska Native grandfamilies, African-American grandfamilies, and Latino grandfamilies. Learn more.
Racial Equity Tipsheets Now Available. With support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Generations United is pleased to share a new series of tip sheets to accompany our racial equity toolkits. These tools are designed to help professionals serving grandfamilies to provide culturally appropriate services. Learn more.
Sharing Our Space: A Toolkit for Developing and Enhancing Intergenerational Shared Sites is designed for individuals and organizations interested in creating an intergenerational shared site or enhancing services at their current site. Divided into 10 sections, the toolkit details every step of the development and operation process, from initial planning to sustaining long-term shared site programs. Learn more.
Making the Case for Intergenerational Programs provides rationale and facts to help make the case for intergenerational programs. It is based on a comprehensive review of the literature on intergenerational programs and highlights evidence-based findings on how intergenerational programs benefit everyone. There is also an accompanying fact sheet available in English and Spanish. Learn more.
Staying Healthy Across Generations: Vaccines are Essential for All Ages is an infographic that illustrates that vaccines aren't just for kids - they protect all generations, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staying up to date on vaccines for the flu, pneumonia, and whooping cough is important to protect both older adults and children. Learn more.
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"These folks are challenging all our assumptions about what retirement can look like. [They are] willing to fumble with new technology or struggle through Spanish 101 alongside 19-year-olds -- and love it."
Lindsey Beagley, director of lifelong university engagement at ASU.
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We want Generations This Week to be a resource for you. Please send us any national news on intergenerational issues in addition to upcoming conferences, funding opportunities, research, reports, and webinars. You can connect with other intergenerational enthusiasts through our Facebook group. Please also let us know how we can improve! Email us at gu@gu.org. We'd love to hear from you! | |
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Treat Yourself GRAND!
As a reader of Generations This Week, you are eligible to receive a complimentary subscription to GRAND - The Lifestyle Magazine for Awesome Grandparents.
That's a $26 value for 12 issues delivered right to your inbox. Get valuable offers and inspirational articles like our column on GRAND Families, and more.
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