Listen Up you many millions who are raising relative’s children AND especially kinship care service providers – there is so much happening in kinship care and related issues for securing children with beloved relatives. Here are just a few:
Note the early registration for the National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Symposium in Atlanta Georgia has been extended to February 27, 2009. Go to http://chhs.gsu.edu/nationalcenter/docs/symposium2009.pdf for the registration form and the full brochure of a very impressive line up. This two-day conference, March 10 - 11, offers credit for social service providers. Cost – about $300 for the two days. Alternate contact: Dr. Deborah Whitley, School of Social Work, GSU, (404) 413-1055
Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) National Conference for members is in Washington, DC, February 23-25. www.cwla.org Those attending can pick up a copy of the 2007 Guidelines for Mental Health in Child Welfare For more information about the Guidelines for Mental Health in Child Welfare and the associated Toolkit, contact Lisa Hunter Romanelli at lisa@thereachinstitute.org .
Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2009 Generations United Awards to be presented at the Awards Banquet during the Generations United 15th International Conference July 27 – July 31 at the Hyatt Regency Washington in Washington DC. Neither nominators nor nominees need to be GU Members in order to be considered for an award. The deadline for Award Nominations is March 31, 2009. For more information or to download the nomination form, please visit http://www.gu.org/AwardsNominations.asp.
Social Service Workers – this one is important:
Two new resources on the new Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. The resources include New Help for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives: Questions and Answers About the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and Top 10 List for Relative Caregivers to Implement Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.The resources were produced in partnership with Generations United, the Children`s Defense Fund (CDF), the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), and many others.
Applications are available from February 3 to March 31, 2009 online only at http://www.aarpfoundationwlc.org for The AARP Foundation Women's Scholarship Program. The scholarship is open to low-income women 40+. Priority is given to women who are in one of three categories: 1) women raising the children of another family member, 2) those in dead end jobs and 3) those who have been out of the paid workforce for an extended period. The scholarships, which ranged from $500 to $5,000, are to be used for tuition and books are paid directly to the educational institution. For more information contact AARP Foundation Women's Scholarships at 202-434-2110 or visit the website at http://www.aarpfoundationwlc.org.
A wonderful free concept in conferencing: This one is from Barb Schwartz, Social Work in Illinois (Barb.Schwartz@illinois.gov ). If you facilitate a support group for grandparents raising their grandchildren and/or parenting relatives, then please consider participating in our FREE upcoming e-seminar:Online Seminar and Conversation for Support Group Facilitators with Facilitators Barbara Kates and Bette Hoxie Wednesday February 25, 2009 12:00pm-4:00pm EST(11:00am - 3:00pm Central Time) Open to all interested support group leaders/ facilitators. This is a great opportunity to talk with seasoned group facilitators about the nuts and bolts of starting and maintaining a group as well as challenges that arise along the way. This is the first program in a series of e-seminars designed for support group leaders and facilitators who run groups for grandparents raising their grandchildren and/or parenting relatives. Please visit http://www.mainecenteronaging.org/moodle to create an online account and access the e-seminar you would like to join.Those who wish to participate will need a computer with internet access and a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, AOL, etc.). All seminar activities happen online in a message board format (no audio) with no other special equipment or computer programs needed! View the e-conversation series flyer at: http://www.umaine.edu/mainecenteronaging/documents/Facilitatore-seminarfeb2009.pdf
For more information or technical assistance, please contact:Melissa Adle UMaine Center on Aging 207-262-7931 or melissa.adle@umit.maine.edu This series has been made possible through a grant from the Brookdale Foundation.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
RFP for Grandparent Programs
Prepare for the funding –
It’s time, folks. Those of you who work in kinship care and especially at local and state resource centers – time to get all of your data and funding resources together so that you can make a plan for RFP’s (program proposals called Request for Funding) that will be coming your way. Whether it is funds from the Fostering Connections for Navigator programs or a collaborative piece of any stimulus money or foundation requests for funding, you will want to be ready.
Steps you may want to consider for funding requests:
1. Meet with kinship partners for a brain session to discuss a project need – it could be establishing a kinship care resource center or addressing a specific health need project for kinship providers such as caring for HIV babies.
2. Vision - Create a vision of the project in detail – is it a resource center where kinship caregivers can discuss their needs and get one-on-one help, regular meetings, with a library, or a program based on a core of current Best Practices such as Second Time Around curriculum (Linda Dannison, linda.dannison@wmich.edu ). Gather the data of those who will use your program to emphasize the need to funders. Note who will be partners in the project such as the health department, senior center, or ymca. Note the role each partner will play. Clearly plan who will do what including the lead agency and a director or leader of the project.
3. Money – work together to plan for costs of the project – personnel, transportation, supplies, the details you will need to make the project succeed. Have the budget reviewed by all partners. Don’t forget to include in-kind support (volunteers, non-financial agency support such site, printing, secretarial support). Always plan for diminished funding – how will the program expect to continue after this funding is gone?
4. Outcome – What are the expected results of this project and how will they be measured? Could the project have a research piece utilizing local university researchers?
5. Time – Be sure that designated writers of the dream project will be ready to adapt to the call for the RFP formula.
Don’t wait for the RFP call. Your kinship community of workers will want to be ready to respond when money becomes available. For more on establishing a kinship care resource center check the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents at www.chicagoroadpublishing.com .
Good luck,
Tita
It’s time, folks. Those of you who work in kinship care and especially at local and state resource centers – time to get all of your data and funding resources together so that you can make a plan for RFP’s (program proposals called Request for Funding) that will be coming your way. Whether it is funds from the Fostering Connections for Navigator programs or a collaborative piece of any stimulus money or foundation requests for funding, you will want to be ready.
Steps you may want to consider for funding requests:
1. Meet with kinship partners for a brain session to discuss a project need – it could be establishing a kinship care resource center or addressing a specific health need project for kinship providers such as caring for HIV babies.
2. Vision - Create a vision of the project in detail – is it a resource center where kinship caregivers can discuss their needs and get one-on-one help, regular meetings, with a library, or a program based on a core of current Best Practices such as Second Time Around curriculum (Linda Dannison, linda.dannison@wmich.edu ). Gather the data of those who will use your program to emphasize the need to funders. Note who will be partners in the project such as the health department, senior center, or ymca. Note the role each partner will play. Clearly plan who will do what including the lead agency and a director or leader of the project.
3. Money – work together to plan for costs of the project – personnel, transportation, supplies, the details you will need to make the project succeed. Have the budget reviewed by all partners. Don’t forget to include in-kind support (volunteers, non-financial agency support such site, printing, secretarial support). Always plan for diminished funding – how will the program expect to continue after this funding is gone?
4. Outcome – What are the expected results of this project and how will they be measured? Could the project have a research piece utilizing local university researchers?
5. Time – Be sure that designated writers of the dream project will be ready to adapt to the call for the RFP formula.
Don’t wait for the RFP call. Your kinship community of workers will want to be ready to respond when money becomes available. For more on establishing a kinship care resource center check the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents at www.chicagoroadpublishing.com .
Good luck,
Tita
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