The Advisory Council to Support 

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Meeting

November 16, 2021
Call to Order and Opening Remarks

Alison Barkoff 

Principal Deputy Administrator

Administration for Community Living

2
Roll Call

3
Agenda Overview and ACL Updates

Lori Stalbaum

Office of Supportive and Caregiver Services

Administration for Community Living

4
Agenda

1:20 – 2:00 Presentation of Council’s Initial Report to Congress

2:00 – 2:25 Overview of the New National Technical 

Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families 

2:25 – 2:50 National Strategy Development – Facilitated Discussion 

2:50 – 3:00 Wrap Up & Adjourn
https://acl.gov/SGRG/report
The Advisory Council to Support 

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren 

Initial Report to Congress

Jaia Peterson Lent, M.S.W

Ethlyn McQueen-Gibson, D.N.P, M.S.N, R.N.-B.C.

Advisory Council Co-chairs

November 16, 2021
Kinship and Grandfamilies Need Improved Supports 

and Recognition 

From the literature, we know that...

• There are 2.7 million American children being raised within the loving homes of kin and 

grandparent caregivers;

• Kin and grandparent caregivers’ lives are enhanced by raising grandchildren, godchildren, 

nieces, nephews, siblings, and dear family friends.

• Children may come into the full-time care of relatives unexpectedly with little time to plan, 

which has an impact on their finances; 

• Providing full-time care to children may decrease the ability of kin and grandparent caregivers 

to address their own physical and mental health needs and personal well-being; and

• Kin and grandparent caregivers benefit from better coordination and dissemination of 

information and resources available to support them in their caregiving responsibilities. 
Family is the single most important 

influence in a child’s life

• The children in kinship families and grandfamilies have usually experienced 

trauma, abuse, and/or neglect prior to coming into the relative’s care.

• The love and care that kin and grandparent caregivers provide mitigates the 

stress of these childhood experiences. It helps children learn to cope with 

stress, develop a healthy stress response, and build resiliency. 

• The unconditional love of a “parental figure” in the face of negative childhood 

experiences has been shown to have a protective effect on these children, 

building resiliency and helping them heal from the trauma that they may have 

experienced (Carroll, et al., 2013).

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The SGRG Act (P.L.115-196)

• The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG) Act was signed into law 

in July 2018;

• Established a council of federal and non-federal members to identify, coordinate and 

disseminate information and best practices to better support kinship families and 

grandfamilies;

• Develop and deliver to Congress a report that:

– Shares best practices, resources, and other useful information for grandparents and 

other older relatives raising children;

– Identifies gaps in services and supports; 

– Identifies the need for additional federal legislation; 

– Includes a focus on the needs of tribal members and those individuals impacted by 

the opioid crisis
The Council’s Guiding Principles

1. We recognize and define Kinship Families and Grandfamilies as 

families in which children reside with, and are being raised by, 

grandparents or other extended family members, or adults with 

whom they have a close family-like relationship.

2. Activities will promote greater adoption of person- and familycentered supports that place Kinship Families and Grandfamilies 

at the center of every support system, while also acknowledging 

the challenge of possible conflicting goals.

3. Efforts will aim to empower Kinship Families and Grandfamilies to 

advocate for themselves to meet the needs of the child and family 

members. With improved access to resources, they may engage 

and contribute meaningfully in their communities.

4. Recommendations should recognize and support Kinship Families 

and Grandfamilies in a fair and impartial manner considering the 

physical, cultural, emotional, and financial impacts.

5. The National Family Caregiving Strategy will include and amplify 

the voices of Kinship Families and Grandfamilies.
The Council’s Report to Congress

Kin and 

Grandparent 

Caregiver Voices

35 Direct quotations 

from the RFI

4 Council member 

statements

3 Statements from 

caregivers in tribal 

communities

Analysis and 

Discussion 

Unmet needs of 

kinship families and 

grandfamilies

Supporting family 

caregivers in tribal 

communities

Impact of substance 

use disorders on 

kinship families and 

grandfamilies

Overviews of

RFI results

Federal Inventory

Kin and grandparent 

caregivers focus 

group

Recommendations 

for Systemic 

Change

22 

Recommendations 

– all of which will 

inform and support 

the National Family 

Caregiving 

Strategy
5 Priority Areas

1. Awareness of/outreach to kin and grandparent caregivers;

2. Grandfamily and kinship caregiver engagement;

3. Services and supports for kinship families and 

grandfamilies;

4. Financial and workplace security for kin and grandparent 

caregivers; and

5. Research, data, and evidence-supported practices.
22 Recommendations

•Increase public awareness, improve outreach, and increase access

• Ensure recognition of kin and grandparents as part of the child’s “team”

•Improve the range of services and supports available for kinship and 

grandfamilies

• Promote and adopt policies that safeguard the financial, legal and 

workplace considerations of kin and grandparent caregivers

•Improve data collection, research and the development and 

dissemination of evidence-based/informed practices 

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TOWARD A NATIONAL FAMILY

CAREGIVING STRATEGY

• The recommendations of the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising 

Grandchildren will join those of the Family Caregiving Advisory Council to form the 

foundation of the National Family Caregiving Strategy. 

• The Strategy will:

– Be a living document that is updated regularly;

– Outline critical actions that can be taken by public and private sectors to better 

support kinship and family caregivers in ways that reflect their diverse needs;

– Serve as a roadmap for federal, state, and community action to better support 

kinship and family caregivers; and

– Be released in 2022.
DISCUSSION
Presentation: Overview of the New National Technical 

Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families

Donna Butts

Executive Director 

Generations United

17

Ana Beltran

Director, National Technical Assistance Center on 

Grandfamilies and Kinship Families

Generations United
National Technical Assistance 

Center on Grandfamilies and 

Kinship Families

November 16, 2021 

Donna Butts

Ana Beltran

Generations United
National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) 

on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families

• $10 million appropriated for five years - as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 

2021 to create the first ever National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) on 

Grandfamilies and Kinship Families

• The Administrative for Community Living (ACL) oversees the NTAC

• Through competitive process, Generations United was awarded the cooperative 

agreement

• NTAC will provide holistic technical assistance, training, and tools to the array of 

state and tribal agencies and organizations that serve kinship families

• Not designed to help the families directly – it will improve systems and create tools 

for the families
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

Legislative language is clear, and Generations United’s planned work aligns:

• Training, technical assistance, and resources for government programs, nonprofit organizations, 

and Tribes and Tribal and Indian organizations serving grandfamilies to support each family 

member’s health and well-being 

Activities of the NTAC on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families, as laid out in the Act:

1) engage experts to identify evidence-based, evidence-informed and exemplary practices and 

programs re: health, education, nutrition, housing, financial needs, legal issues, disabilities, 

caregiver support 

2) encourage the implementation of these practices and programs, and promote coordination of 

services across systems

3) facilitate learning across systems

4) help systems plan and coordinate responses during emergencies and disasters

5) assist systems in promoting equity and culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches
Conduct Six Virtual 

Regional Convenings

Identify and Elevate 

Evidence Based, 

Evidence Informed 

and Exemplary 

Practices or 

Programs

Facilitate Ongoing 

Peer Learning

Provide In-Depth 

Holistic TA 

and Individual TA

Create Website 

With Library of New 

Kinship Resources

Widely Disseminate 

Learning

ALL NTAC WORK: 

✓Engage and collaborate with subject matter experts, including 

those with lived experience, to provide technical assistance and 

resources

✓Promote equity, including racial equity, and culturally and 

linguistically appropriate approaches and 508 compliance

✓Help facilitate the coordination of services to kinship families 

during emergencies and disasters

✓Measure impact of all services and evaluate

✓Collaborate with ACL

National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families

Generations United, Partners and Subject Matter Experts

NTAC on 

Kinship and 

Grandfamilies
Primary Partners/Management Committee 

• Child Trends – expertise in evaluation, kinship-related data, and kinship 

navigator programs

• National Caucus and Center on Black Aging - expertise in serving African 

American older adults, senior housing, financial literacy, and emergency 

preparedness/disaster planning, and primary liaison to groups serving 

diverse populations including Diverse Elders Coalition 

• National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) – expertise on issues 

of cultural competence, Tribes, tribal organizations and urban Indian 

organizations and primary liaison to those groups

• USAging – expertise and primary liaison to Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), 

the aging services network and Title VI Native American Aging Programs

• Zero to Three – expertise on children’s mental health, trauma, child care, 

early childhood ed
Subject Matter Experts/Steering Committee

Alexandra Ashbrook, JD 

Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)

Terry Cross, DHL

National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA)

Joseph Crumbly, PhD

Angelique Day, PhD, MSW

University of WA

Curt Decker, JD 

National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)

GRAND Voice Gail Engel 

Jatrice Martel Gaiter, JD

Volunteers of America (VOA)

Marina Nitze

New America Foundation Fellow

Melinda Perez- Porter, JD

Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP)

Heidi Redlich Epstein, JD, MSW

American Bar Association (ABA)

GRAND Voice Sarah Smalls

Stefanie Sprow

Children’s Defense Fund (CDF)

Tyreasa Washington, PhD, LCSW

Child Trends 

Nancy Young, PhD

Children and Family Futures

Lisa Zetley, MD

American Academy of Pediatrics
First Six Months 

• Conduct outreach – www.gu.org/projects/ntac-on-grandfamilies-andkinship-families/

• Hire new staff

• Develop and launch NTAC on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families 

website

• Invite and create cross-system teams, interview teams, and plan for 

six virtual regional convenings in May and June 2022

• Through team interviews, start process of identifying new, evidencebased, evidence-informed, and exemplary practices or programs

• Establish a learning listserv

• Respond to individual time-limited TA requests
National Family Strategy Development –

Discussion and Brainstorming

25

Greg Link, Director

Office of Supportive and Caregiver Services

Administration for Community Living

Virginia Bell

Senior Research Analyst

Civility Management Solutions
Goals

1. Awareness of/outreach to kin and grandparent caregivers;

2. Grandfamily and kinship caregiver engagement;

3. Services and supports for kinship families and 

grandfamilies;

4. Financial and workplace security for kin and grandparent 

caregivers; and

5. Research, data, and evidence-supported practices.

26
Wrap Up & Adjourn

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THANK YOU