SGRG Full Council Meeting Summary

September 15, 2020

I. Welcome and Opening Remarks

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, opened up the 

meeting with a video message in which he commended the council members for the 

hard work they have done to date, to the grandparents and other older adults raising 

grandchildren for the stability, permanency and a sense of belonging they have 

provided for the children in their care. Secretary Azar expressed his belief that each 

member of the Council brings a unique and critical perspective to the work at hand

through the experiences and expertise members bring to the table both personally and 

professionally that will ensure that Congress' expectations for the Act are fulfilled and 

more importantly, improve the lives of grandparents and Kinship Families especially, the 

children they care for. He stated that he is looking forward to reviewing the report when 

it is completed, making sure that the voices of Kinship Families and Grandfamilies are 

properly and adequately amplified in a way that is clear and compelling before it is 

submitted to Congress. He thanked members of the public for staying engaged to 

ensure all viewpoints and suggestions are properly considered in chatting a path 

forward.

The Council Chair, ACL Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging, Lance 

Robertson, provided opening remarks and thanked members for their commitment, 

expertise, guidance, information and all the resources they bring to work of the council. 

He also thanked members of the public who tuned in to participate in the discussions

and expressed appreciation for their interest. He called the meeting to order and 

reminded members to check out a recent blog by the meeting co-moderator, Lori 

Stalbaum, titled “Led by Love: ACL Recognizes Grandfamilies on Grandparents Day

2020”, and calling out the incredible sacrifice and role grandparents play.

II. SGRG Request for Information (RFI) Analysis Findings

In presenting her analysis and findings based on the more than 307 submissions in 

response to the RFI, Wilma Brockington-Parker’s presentation separated the submitted 

responses by purpose and outcomes of the RFI, an overview of the responses; primary 

issues; respondent concerns and recommendations. She stated that there were a total 

of 307 respondents to the RFI who provided 1908 individual responses based on the 

nine specific items listed in the RFI for possible response.

Among the findings is the fact that some of the grandparents did not know nor were they 

prepared for the financial pressures/consequences they experienced. The data showed 

that some type of support or financial assistance was only available to the 60-plus 
population while it is well documented that many caregivers are in their 30s, 40s or 50s, 

and this in addition to other programs that may vary depending on the state where one 

resides, which can present undue barriers for kinship and grandparent caregivers. A

breakdown of responses to the question about whether or not additional legislation is 

needed to better serve and support grandparents and older relatives raising children

which received 77.8% positive responses.

She summarized by stating that the respondents overwhelmingly provided a number of 

recommended resources totaling 337. This includes 201 programs, 78 

publications/suggestions, 39 research articles, 13 books and six videos, which the 

council will be reviewing before disseminating the information. Members appreciated 

the format in which the information was provided, which was easy to understand and 

comprehend. Members were again reminded that the recommendations culled from the 

RFI and the broader one members have been working on, will serve as the council’s 

contribution to the National Family Caregiving Strategy. 

III. Report to Congress Recommendations Discussion

The Moderators led members through a discussion of recommendations that were 

proposed and reviewed in previous subcommittee meetings for the purpose of reaching 

consensus so that they can be incorporated into the draft Report to Congress. 

Members engaged in a focused deliberation of each recommendation, suggested 

rephrasing of certain language where they deemed necessary, and participated in 

wordsmithing where applicable. They introduced changes/modifications after

discussing each recommendation, gave verbal approval to adopt the recommendation 

as is or in some cases, suggested new recommendations after a careful step by step 

discussion of each recommendation.

Wrap-Up and Next Steps

The moderators explained that the next step would include cleaning up the 

recommendations document and sending it back out to the non-federal members with a 

doodle poll for them to indicate their agreement with the revised/reworded document. 

The other part of the follow-up will involve asking for non-federal members to volunteer

to work in one or two ad hoc style work groups. One workgroup will draft language for 

the rationale or background narrative for each of the priority areas and for the 

recommendations. The other work group will review the resources that were submitted 

in response to the RFI and provide feedback regarding what should be included in the 

Report to Congress or held onto for possible inclusion later in a database of model 

programs. The moderators reminded members to be on the lookout for the above 

information and activities that will be taking place in the months of October and 

November before adjourning the meeting.