Children and seniors at risk in Conrad-Gregg

Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) have introduced a bill in Congress to establish a commission made up of a group of people (mostly from Congress) that would produce a plan to reduce the federal deficit. Congress would then have to vote on the proposal with no opportunity for amendments. Effectively the commission would have the ability to alter all federal policy with limited democratic input. Proponents of the commission frequently say the establishment of the commission is necessary for the future of children in the United States. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The commission is a potentially dangerous vehicle to cut programs like Social Security and Medicaid that serve some of the most vulnerable young people in this country. Social Security, specifically targeted by Conrad-Gregg keeps 1.3 million children from falling into poverty. Additionally, six and half million children in the United States receive assistance from Social Security’s survivors benefits program. These are vulnerable children who have lost a parent and who might otherwise be at risk of slipping into poverty.

Contrary to their alarmist rhetoric, Social Security is not even contributing to the federal deficit. The program is still running a surplus (yes, a surplus). In fact, according to the last Social Security trustees’ report, Social Security will continue to run a surplus until 2023 and will build its reserves to $4.3 trillion. Social Security deserves the consideration of experts that understand the program and its history and know how to strengthen it for future generations – not a 16-member commission.

The 2010 Rachel Carson "Sense of Wonder" Contest

Happy Tuesday! We're excited to announce the 4th annual Rachel Carson "Sense of Wonder" contest with our friends at the EPA, the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and the Rachel Carson Council, Inc.

Carson is considered to be the founder of the contemporary environmental movement through her landmark book, Silent Spring. Its publication is credited with reversing the nation's pesticide policy.

The categories are poetry, photography, essays and dance. The contest seeks to instill a sense of wonder for the environment among all generations and spur environmental stewardship.

Entries must be from a team of two or more persons from both younger and older generations.

The deadline for team entries is June 16, 2010.

The winners will be announced in October 2010. The public will have the opportunity to vote among the finalists for the winners in each category. For more information, visit the contest Web site.

From the Publication Desk: GU's Top Ten of 2009

2010 promises to be an exciting year at Generations United, with new research, analysis and statistics brought to the forefront. We just released our 2009 GrandFacts report, which looks at a little-known subgroup of grandfamilies -- "skipped generation grandfamilies," families where neither parent of the child is present.

As we look back on 2009, here are the Top Ten Most Requested Resources at GU.org, gleaned from web statistics, member requests and staff input:

1. Multigenerational Households fact sheet
2. Subsidized Guardianship Programs fact sheet
3. Under One Roof guide
4. Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Housing Action Agenda
5. Meth and Child Welfare report
6. Play is Forever fact sheet
7. Shared Sites: Making the Case guide
8. Shared Sites: Troubleshooting guide
9. Generations United for Environmental Awareness and Action
10. IG Mentoring fact sheet

We also want to highlight the resource library at the GU Seniors4Kids Web site, www.seniors4kids.org -- S4K's Web site had many downloads and requests for information in 2009.

Generations United: 2009 Year in Review

Happy New Year to you and yours from Generations United! As we welcome 2010, we’re taking a look back at 2009. Here are some major moments in 2009 for GU. How was 2009 for you? Did you celebrate any major milestones? Challenges? Adventures? Share them in the comments below!

January – A Grandmother in the White House
We began the year with exciting news – a multigenerational family at America’s most famous address! Marian Robinson, mother of First Lady Michelle Obama, moved into 1600 Pennyslvania Avenue this month. Mrs. Robinson plays a vital role in raising the family’s two young daughters and is a wonderful role model for grandparents everywhere.

February – Intergenerational Solutions for National Needs
As the 111th session of Congress convened in Washington, we were finalizing GU’s public policy agenda. Our top priorities: giving priority to communities building facilities that serve both young and old; ensuring that grandfamilies benefit from the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which became law in 2008; and promoting intergenerational civic engagement and multigenerational activities.

March – Generations Band Together in Tough Economic Times
It was a tough month for the economy, as the Dow fell to its lowest point in a decade. The increased unemployment meant that families were increasingly reliant on each other for help. GU was a resource for an April 4 article by the Wall Street Journal about the unique stress on grandfamilies in the weakening economy.

April – Fostering Connections Act Takes Another Step
Former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was confirmed this month as the President’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. States waiting to fully implement the Fostering Connections Act – created to assist children being raised by grandparents and other relatives – could move forward in the journey from policy to reality.

May – Who Supports Early Childhood Education?
Active, engaged older adults who see the value of giving all children the benefit of a quality start! May was Older Americans Month, the perfect month for GU to spotlight our initiative Seniors4Kids – a civic engagement program that began in 2005, calling attention to the sometimes-overlooked fact that some of the most passionate advocates for pre-kindergarten education are 50+.

June – Up, Up And Away!
June saw the nation carried away by Up, the Pixar animated film about a 78-year-old man who ties balloons to his house and flies away – with an 8-year-old stowaway on board. This hit movie was critically acclaimed and highlighted how the young and the old can learn so much from one another. 2009 was a great year for stories in other media, as well, with GU’s resources, expertise and commentary featured in dozens of national and local newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Baltimore Sun, Ladies’ Home Journal and Philanthropy News Digest.

July – The Beat of an Intergenerational Drum
GU’s 15th International Conference brought together experts, educators, advocates and speakers who enlightened us all on the “Why,” the “What” and the “How” of intergenerational work. The conference kicked off with a fabulous intergenerational drum circle. Mark your calendar – our next conference will be July 25-29, 2011 in Washington DC. In July, GU also launched a Best Practices Designation for Intergenerational Programs.

August – Losing a Champion in Our Nation’s Capital
Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s passing meant the loss of one of America’s most passionate and effective advocates for children, seniors and families. Edward M. Kennedy might have lost his yearlong fight with brain cancer, but he will leave over five decades of victories for the most vulnerable members of our society. All generations, past, present, and future will benefit from his legislative legacy and owe him a debt of gratitude. Thank you, Senator Kennedy.

September – Honoring a Senator’s Memory With Service
In the spirit of Senator Kennedy’s strong support for service and the Serve America Act passed in April that honors his legacy, September 11 provided an opportunity for people of all generations to take part in the first National Day of Service and Remembrance. September also marked celebrations for National Grandparents Day and the 50th anniversary of the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program. Thanks to LEGACY Intergenerational Housing provisions that GU’s members helped make possible, some 202 funds are now being used to develop housing for grandfamilies.

October – Tweeting, Blogging and Facebooking
We strengthened our online presence this year by launching a Facebook page and joined the Tweetosphere later in the year with a Twitter feed. If you’re not our fan on Facebook (or follower on Twitter), start now – it’s a quick way to update you on all we’ve been doing (and find out what you’re up to as well). Donna’s blog saw more posts and more readers as well.

November – Giving Thanks
GU gave thanks this month for all of our diverse and valued members, who come together because they realize the value of a supportive, mutually beneficial agenda. We celebrated the amazing work happening at our 2009 MetLife/GU Intergenerational Shared Site Excellence awards winners, and solicited entries for the 2010 awards. Most of all, we were grateful for the children, youth, families and seniors who show us every day the benefits of viewing life through an intergenerational lens.

December – Grandparents In Our Nation’s Capital
On Christmas Eve, the United States Senate followed the House’s lead and passed its version of health care reform – extending care to millions of uninsured children, families, and older adults. And on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, GU’s year came full circle. Grandparents were once again highlighted in the White House, this time on the Christmas tree! Donna had the opportunity to attend a holiday reception hosted by the President and First Lady and was delighted to see the tree decorated with ornaments created by people around the country – including GU grandfamilies partners from Arizona and Maryland.

Happy Holidays From Our House to Yours!

Wishing you a joy-filled, peaceful, and intergenerational 2010! Your friends at Generations United

GU in the New York Times

Carol Scott here, the new Communications Coordinator at Generations United. I'm thrilled to be a part of the great work going on at GU and am excited about this chance to virtually interact with members, advocates and friends of GU! Please don't hesitate to contact me with story ideas, feedback or communications ideas.

As we dug ourselves out of the snow that blanketed the DC area this weekend, we unearthed great news: GU was featured on the New York Times Web site on Monday! The NYT's “New Old Age” blog featured a warm, witty story about a California grandfamily, including context and background from GU’s executive director Donna Butts on the benefit of intergenerational community.

They watch Dodgers games together and go shopping for clothes, and Marjorie Marsh welcomes Laura Marsh’s friends for birthday parties and other festivities.

Marjorie and Laura are two roommates -- and also grandmother and granddaughter. Later in the article, Donna adds GU's take on this mutually beneficial arrangement:

We know that millions of American children are being raised and nurtured by grandparents; we don’t know how often adult grandchildren return the favor. But Donna Butts, who heads the intergenerational advocacy group Generations United, told me, “We’ve become a lot more aware of it, particularly with the economy and the amount of time it takes young people to find a job after college.”

...

Such arrangements can help grandparents age in place, give young adults a sense of responsibility and allow elders to pass along family traditions. “We think it has a lot of value,” Ms. Butts said.

Read the entire story here.

Christmas at the White House

Monday I had the honor of attending a holiday reception hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama at the White House. It was beautiful. One tree in particular caught my attention. It was huge decorated with yellow ribbons and ornaments created by people around the country...including some of our very own grandfamilies partners from Arizona and Maryland! I'm sharing a picture of the tree and a link to a story and pictures of the ornaments that came from Arizona. Also joining me in the picture is GU board member Bob Blancato.

I've also included a photo of me with Valerie Jarrett, who heads up public engagement for the President, in front of the tree. I told her we were so delighted that grandparents could be represented on the tree.



And I couldn't resist sharing the photo below. It's a wonderful white chocolate model of the White House including a dark chocolate Bo the dog sitting in front near Mrs. Obama's garden.



Happy Holidays!

Three Things Robert Samuelson Missed in today’s column

Three Things Robert Samuelson Missed in today’s column

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Robert Samuelson would try and foment intergenerational conflict – I have blogged about his misguided views before. Samuelson continually tries to swim upstream by inventing imaginary cleavages between the generations. Samuelson recycles some of those arguments in today’s Washington Post and I could quarrel with most of what he writes, but I thought I would highlight three specific points that Samuelson misses:

1. Young people currently benefit from Social Security and Medicaid and will continue to enjoy its benefits when they get older. Samuelson mistakenly labels entitlement spending as a payout to today’s seniors. Social Security pays benefits to more children than any other federal program. Six and half million children receive assistance through Social Security from its survivors benefits program. Crucially, 98% of the children in the US are covered through the program if they were to lose a parent. The program provides vital financial security for our nation’s children. Additionally, the vast number of Medicaid recipients are children. Yes, the majority of Medicaid money goes toward paying the long-term care costs of our seniors, but it is still a critical program for our nation’s poorest children. Of course, it goes without saying (unless you are Robert Samuelson) that today’s children will eventually grow old and will continue to benefit from these programs.

2. The current insurance market is not working. Samuelson takes issue with the House and Senate bills because they limit the ability of insurance companies to charge different rates based on your age. Samuelson wants to defend the status quo on the health insurance market when it clearly isn’t working. Debt from medical care is the single biggest reason for bankruptcy in the US. The current market makes it very difficult and prohibitively expensive for older adults to purchase insurance in the individual market. Yes, younger Americans will be subsidizing older Americans to a degree, but that’s the only way to make sure everyone is covered. Not having health insurance is different from car insurance and homeowners insurance. The stakes are higher when it comes to your health. The country cannot continue to tolerate millions of uninsured citizens (young or old).

3. Young people are the most enthusiastic supporters of health insurance reform. Samuelson frequently cries out for young people to get mad at their grandparents’ generation for perceived political injustices. Once again, young people are ignoring his battle call; because they realize the need for reform – many of them witnessed their parents go without insurance. Millennials, like the grandparent's generation are drawn to the call to service and realize that our nation’s problems require shared sacrifices from everyone.

-Terence Kane

Gerson off Target

Michael Gerson has distinguished himself in the past as a protector of the vulnerable in society. However, he seems to have lost sight of his own ideals in his column today in the Washington Post. Instead of commending young people in this country for recognizing the importance of shared rights and responsibilities, Gerson tries to pit the young and old against each other.

One of the big goals of health care reform is to provide insurance to those that cannot afford coverage in the current market – this includes children and older adults under 65. In order to extend coverage to the uninsured, you have to spread the risk of becoming sick across society. Gerson also confuses mandating coverage for the young working population with providing supports to children. Children, like seniors often are priced out of the insurance market (they have trouble adding to their parents income). One of the best provisions of the House health care bill is to extend Medicaid eligibility to 150% of the federal poverty limit. The provision will help ensure children uninsured and those currently in CHIP are covered.

Budget and deficit hawks continually quack (or whatever sound a hawk makes), “Would someone please think of the grandchildren.” In reality, they rarely propose an actual increase in benefits for children and grandchildren. Their Maude Flanders-like-retort is often just a smoke screen for a trying to reduce public spending for everyone. They also routinely mistake entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicaid as simply a payout to senior voters, but they are much more. Over six million children receive a cash benefit from Social Security and Medicaid provides essential medical care to the poorest children in society.

In 1983, Bill Bradley called Social Security, “the best expression of community that we have in this country today.” If you want to provide supports for our country’s children and grandchildren, the best way to do so is to support programs that broadly spread risks and supports across society like health care reform.

-Terence Kane

The follies of age-segregation

Yesterday morning, the Today program featured a distressing story of a Florida community that is trying to evict Kimberly Broffman, a 6-year-old grandchild living with her grandparents in an age-segregated community. Like millions of other children across the country, Kimberly’s grandparents are caring for her, because her own birth parents are unable to do so. The grandparents have agreed to move out of the +55 community, but can’t sell their house in the collapsed Floridian housing market. The local neighborhood association is hoping a judge will order an eviction and the sheriff will remove Kimberly. The most likely result is that she would be placed in foster care.

The retirement community in Largo Florida needs to withdraw the eviction request and allow the family the chance to sell their home. It’s astonishing that the homeowners association could subvert what basic human decency demands in the name of upholding the homeowners association rules. More broadly, however, age-segregated communities across the country should use the recession as opportunity to reengage themselves as a resource for children and the community. Age-segregated housing keeps seniors, who are an invaluable resource to our children isolated and underutilized.

Fortunately, in contrast to the community in Largo there are already some innovative senior housing models for children whose parents can’t care for them. The neighborhood of Hope Meadows in Illinois is a converted decommissioned Air Force base where seniors get reduced rent in exchange for assisting foster or adoptive parents raising children by being mentors, tutors, and volunteer grandparents. Seniors and children benefit enormously from the community.

It’s easy to caricaturize this one incident and extrapolate it to the way all Floridians, or all seniors feel about children, but there are an abundance of instances where seniors come together in support of children. A few years ago, older adult voters over in Miami overwhelmingly approved a record billion-dollar education bond issue. Most of these older voters approved the bond issue despite the fact that their own grandchildren didn’t live in Miami.

America might have been able to afford a degree of age isolation in the past, but that now seems wasteful and improvident. Investments and resources are never as effectively used when they are aimed at a narrow age group than when they are leveraged between age cohorts and generations. The homeowners association in Largo are making a mistake trying to evict Kimberly Broffman, but there’s also missing an even larger opportunity to use their accumulated talents to serve as a resource for children.

Investing Over the Life Course

A new friend of GU's, Jack Rowe, recently shared a piece he wrote along with Lisa Berkman that appreared in the Huffington Post over the summer. I wanted to share it because it discusses the importance of investing across the life span verses pitting generations against each other.

Jack has an amazing history and is currently chairing the MacArthur Foundation's Aging Society Network. Using an intergenerational lens will strengthen the work that eventually results from the network's deliberations. Thanks Jack, all of us at GU look forward to doing all we can to contribute the intergenerational perspective to your efforts!

Happy 202 Anniversary!

Yesterday I joined our friends and colleagues at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program. To quote HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, "Today there are 8,000 Section 202 developments across the country providing quality, affordable living to over a quarter million elderly households."

It's a great program that has increased the quality of life for so many seniors. Now, because of LEGACY Intergenerational Housing provisions that many of you helped us get passed, some 202 funds are being used to develop housing for grandfamilies.

We're proud of our partnership with HUD and the opportunities we've had to education housing experts about these families and their unique situations. In particular I want to commend Willie Spearman, Aretha Williams, Claire Trivedi and Vyllora Evens for their hard work and commitment. Congratulations and we look forward to working with you over the next 50 years!

September 11th

Like everyone, GU is remembering the victims of 9/11 and all those touched by the tragic events of that day.

After September 11th, 2001 we wrote a piece on some suggested intergenerational responses to the tragedy. There is an important role that intergenerational approaches can play in helping our country heal while preparing for the future.

Click here for September 11th: the Intergenerational Response

A Question of National Character

President Obama called a joint session of Congress last night to renew his call for health care reform. I was pleased he took the opportunity to dispel the myth that our nation’s seniors will be subject to “death panels.” I also think he made the point effectively that the status quo in our health care system is unsustainable for the uninsured and underinsured. Critics of reform have made the point that we will be unduly burdening our grandchildren with debt if we expand health insurance, but there is greater danger that our grandchildren will never grow up to be healthy, productive adults if we don’t invest in them and their caregivers now. We’ve provided insurance for every older American over 65, it’s time to do the same children and their parents.

One last thought, what is it about South Carolina politicians lately playing out on the national media scene as philanderers and foul-mouthed? Our children and grandchildren deserve better examples of civility and self-control.

A Champion for Children and Seniors

This week the country lost one of its most passionate and effective advocates for children, seniors, and families. Edward M. Kennedy might have lost his yearlong fight with brain cancer, but he will leave over five decades of victories for the most vulnerable members of our society.

Despite being born into privilege, he possessed a deeply ingrained sense of justice. Whether it was Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or the recently signed Serve America Act that bears his name, he sought to build a country that values all generations. It was a commitment that he never gave up on; just this past year Senator Kennedy introduced the innovative Keeping PACE Act to connect schools and communities together.

All generations, past, present, and future will benefit from his legislative legacy and owe him a debt of gratitude. Thank you Senator Kennedy.

End of Summer

What a summer we've had at GU! In June I had the joy of chairing the program for a regional grantmakers forum hosted by Grantmakers in Aging (GIA). Juan Williams, a good friend of GU, keynoted. He's becoming a wonderful champion of intergenerational practices and very generous with his time and insights. I'm pictured here at the event with Juan and Carol Farquhar, the head of GIA and a terrific colleague.

Many of you were able to join us in July for our 15th international conference. What a warm learning community we created and celebrated! The awards dinner was among our most moving and the honorees were an amazing group of younger and older extrodinary people.

As August winds down we are beginning to wind up for an exciting fall. Team policy is focused on Fostering Connections implementation and supporting intergenerational shared site legislation that's been introduced. Our shared sites team is about to name five new recipients of our MetLife Foundation Technical Assistance grants and Seniors4Kids is gearing up for grassroots advocacy supporting early education opportunities for children as they head back to school. Life is never dull at GU! We all hope you've had a wonderful summer and we look forward to connecting with you this fall. You know why...because we are stronger together! Enjoy! Donna

Generational Fiction in Times Op-Ed

Richard Dooling, a successful novelist, tries his hand at health policy in a provocative, though ultimately misguided, op-ed today’s New York Times.

It’s the job of any novelist to make his narrative stimulating and interesting, but the picture Dooling paints of greedy seniors selfishly milking away the earnings of grandchildren while they receive unnecessary medical treatment is farcical. Dooling creates a false choice between funding unnecessary and expensive surgeries for terminal patients and funding preventive care for children:
[…] shouldn’t we instantly cut some of the money spent on exorbitant intensive-care medicine for dying, elderly people and redirect it to pediatricians and obstetricians offering preventive care for children and mothers?

The source of the rising cost doesn’t come from seniors’ desire to rip off their grandchildren, as Dooling suggests, it comes from a poorly structured Medicare reimbursement system that pays for procedures and not health outcomes. Healthcare reform is not about denying care for seniors, it’s about changing the incentives of Medicare payments so that seniors get better outcomes. The Mayo Clinic is able to bill Medicare significantly less than other hospital systems, yet delivers excellent care. Medicare needs to reward healthcare systems like the Mayo Clinic and pay for progress, not process.

Dooling is correct that healthcare reform is also about extending healthcare coverage to the 8 million uninsured and underinsured children in America, but grandchildren don’t want to get healthcare if it means taking away their grandparents’ arthritis medication (especially since about 4.5 million children are being raised by grandparents). Our country has provided healthcare to all seniors; it’s now time to extend that benefit to all children. Threatening generational warfare may not be a novel technique in public policy debates; it is, however, tired and worn. We are not a country of isolated self-interested generations, but of connected and interdependent families and communities.

-Terence Kane
Note: The following is published from The Hill's Pundits Blog.

Intergenerational Drumming Sessions Bangs the Conference to a Start

We had a great start to the morning today with an intergenerational drumming circle, which led to our opening plenary speech by author Marc Freidman. Marc, as always delivered a fantastic speech. Marc just released a new book, Encore: Finding Works that Matters in the Second Half of Life on the possibilities of service careers for the nation’s baby boomers.

You can order Marc’s book at www.amazon.com. Next up: the Janet Sainer Networking Lunch.

The Generations United Conference is Underway

The Generations United conference kicked off with two great pre-conferences on grandfamilies and intergenerational programming. It was so wonderful to see so many friendly faces, both first time conference attendees and veterans of the GU conference.

We began the day with a great presentation from Shirley Sagawa on successful non-profits. Later, we heard from Michael Marcus from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation about building support for your intergenerational program. I’d like to say a special thank you to all the speakers and presenters today for making the first day such a success.

Tomorrow, we are going to Capitol Hill to help spread the message about the value of intergenerational policies and practices. Visit http://www.gu.org/PolicyAgenda111.asp
to get our new Public Policy Agenda for the 111th Conference.

As a reminder, we’ll be providing updates all week on the GU blog and our new pages on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gensunited and Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/generations-united76354509988

GU Conference Countdown!

Generations United's 15th international conference is right around the corner and I hope you're planning to join us! I so looking forward to greeting our members and friends as we learn and celebrate together. Times are tough for us all and we really value the extra effort it has taken to travel to Washington, DC this year. But these are also the times that intergenerational approaches make even more sense. Communities, towns and states are all looking for ways to make limited resource reach further. A program or building the serves and engages all generations maximizes scarce dollars while building bridges between ages. Join us for or part of the conference events happening between July 27-31 and gather innovative ideas you can plant back home. For more info go to http://www.gu.org/. And until I begin to get photos from this year, here's one from 2007. Enjoy!

Secretary Sebelius Sworn in as HHS Secretary

UPDATED: Kathleen Sebelius has now officially been confirmed by the Senate and sworn into office. I had the opportunity see Secretary Sebelius in New Orleans for the jazz and heritage festival at the rock n bowl and so glad she came back in time to be confirmed.

Governor Sebelius' Confirmation for HHS Secretary

As many of you are aware, President Obama's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas remains unconfirmed, which is hampering the ability of the administration to act in a number of key areas. States are waiting for guidance from HHS to fully implement the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and assist children being raised by grandparents and other relatives.

I was pleased to read from Governor Sebelius' confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee that both the Finance Committee and the Governor view implementing the Fostering Connections Act as an important priority. Both Senators Baucus and Rockefeller choose to use some of their time to ask Governor Sebelius about the new law. Let's hope that she can get to work quickly.

I have attached some of the highlights for you:

Senator Baucus: Last year, Senator Grassley and I worked together, along with other members of this committee, to pass the ―Fostering Connections and Increasing Adoptions Act. Implementation of that bill will require your immediate attention. Are you prepared to begin the implementation of this landmark piece of legislation? How should we interpret the constant rate of entries into foster care? What policies can reduce entries into foster care?

Governor Sebelius: I applaud your leadership and vision in enacting the Fostering Connections and Increasing Adoptions Act. If I am confirmed, implementing this landmark legislation will be a high priority for me, and for my team at HHS. Consistent with the goals of safety, permanency, and well-being, it will be vital to invest in up-front services to strengthen families and avoid foster care placements where possible. These early services will need to link closely with family and other community-based supports for vulnerable families.

Senator Baucus: Do you see the need for the development of age-specific and culturally appropriate approaches to prevention of abuse and neglect and/or prevention of entry to foster care? What should HHS‘ role be in developing such approaches and/or tailoring existing programs to improve age-specific, developmentally, and culturally appropriate services? How do you see HHS‘ role in addressing parental "risk factors"? Are risk factors most appropriately addressed in child welfare policy or in other ways – for example, income security or via broader based mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence related services?

Governor Sebelius: If confirmed as Secretary of HHS, I intend to look closely at evidence-based approaches for preventing abuse and neglect and/or foster care placement. Parental ―risk factors should be addressed through both the broader-based approaches you mentioned and child welfare policy. It would seem very reasonable to examine tailored strategies that have proven effective in particular settings. HHS has an important role to play in promoting public health, including mental health, and in working with state, local, and tribal partners to provide direct services that support individual at-risk families.

Senator Rockefeller: Last fall, Congress passed a bipartisan bill that I was pleased to work on with Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley called the Fostering Connections and Increasing Adoptions Act. HHS will need to implement this historic legislation to increase adoptions and allow states the option to help grandparents raising their grandchildren by guardianship.

Adoption and child welfare don‘t dominate the news, but having a safe permanent home is essential for a child‘s healthy development and future. We hope to work with you on strong implementation. I would appreciate hearing you views on adoption and child welfare issues

Governor Sebelius: I applaud your steadfast leadership on the issue of child welfare reform and advocacy, and I appreciate your central role in passing the Fostering Connections and Increasing Adoptions Act. I recognize that the Department of Health and Human Services has a special responsibility to our most vulnerable people, and that children who suffer abuse and neglect deserve our attention even if their plight does not dominate the news. If confirmed, I look forward to working with you to identify other opportunities to improve outcomes for children served by the child welfare system, and to increase adoptions so that more children receive the benefit of a safe, loving, and permanent home.

GU Is New on Facebook

Generations United is increasing its presence on the web. We have launced our own fan page on facebook! You can become a fan of Generations United and stay in touch with all the developments from GU and connect with others in the intergenerational field. Look forward to seeing everyone there.

Here's our link:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Generations-United/76354509988

'Grandfamilies' Come Under Pressure (Wall Street Journal)

Saturday's Wall Street Journal included a very thoughtful story on the hardship grandfamilies are facing in the economic downturn. The article reports that older workers often have greater trouble in finding new employment after losing their jobs. Extended unemployment can present unique risks for grandfamilies. Additionally, as our own Ken Bryson points out in the article, the rate of grandfamilies continues to grow in the country.

Despite the difficulties grandfamilies may be facing, it's heartening to know that children being raised by grandparents and other relatives have a loving grandparent committed to their future. These grandparents have made great sacrifices to make sure our nation's children stay out of the foster care system (at great benefit for taxpayers) and deserve our support.

Generations United Conference Registration Now Open!

Team GU is hard at work with our terrific conference planning committee gearing up for our 15th Intergenerational Conference. How exciting! Registration is now open and available to you on line at register online . The conference will take place July 27 – 31, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC and promises to be one of our best yet. I saw Marc Freedman, GU board member and President of Civic Ventures, last week and he told me he is so looking forward to giving the keynote at the opening plenary session that when he recently lost his calendar, the first thing he added to his new datebook was the Generations United Conference. So, take the lead from one of the premier social entrepreneurs in the country and hurry up and register to join us this summer!

We’re planning to host over 400 innovators, leaders, experts, administrators, managers, academics, and advocates in a variety of youth and aging fields who will come together to explore intergenerational topics and issues. Over 75 workshops, roundtables, poster sessions and discussion groups are scheduled covering a wide-range of intergenerational practices, research and public policy initiatives.

We are also offering a tour of the outstanding new Easter Seals intergenerational shared site, preconference intensives on grandfamilies and intergenerational programs, along with our crowd-pleasing awards dinner and day on Capitol Hill. We only throw a party in WDC every other year so join us, you won’t be disappointed!

President Calls for a New Era of Innovation

In last night’s address to a joint-session of Congress, President Obama called for a new era of innovation to lead the country out of the recession. It was an unprecedented call for reform and comprehensive action across almost all sectors of economy and all segments of society. It’s been a long time since the nation has been asked to act this boldly.

Meeting this call to action will require engaging both young and old. For all three of the major policy initiatives identified by the President last night (education, healthcare, and energy) there are proven models that engage all generations in creative solutions.

In President Obama’s call for education reform, he indicated how important early childhood education is to the recovery and long-term growth of the country. One of the best ways to promote early childhood education is to engage our senior population to mentor our children in schools and Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Generations United is calling for Congress to incentivize the construction of intergenerational shared sites so children and seniors are more easily connected. Additionally, the success of Generations United’s Seniors4Kids initiative (seniors advocating for universal and high-quality Pre-K) in states like Florida, New York, and Kentucky proves early childhood education is an effective intergenerational cause.

President Obama also called for school reform so that we are providing innovative schools and motivated teachers for our students. The Intergenerational School in Cleveland, Ohio is a perfect example of an innovative charter school. The school, which has been one of the most high-performing schools in the Cleveland school district, utilizes senior mentors in the curriculum. The administration should also consider expanding successful teacher mentoring programs that pair retired teachers with current teachers.

The second major initiative President Obama addressed was health care reform. It was encouraging to hear the President say that he wants to pass comprehensive health care reform this year. Not enough children and families have health insurance and those that do have insurance pay too much for inefficient and incomplete coverage.

President Obama also called on for Energy reform and innovation. Leaving a healthy and thriving planet for future generations is an idea shared by the original Americans – Native Americans. "Seven Generations” refers to a core philosophical value of American Indians, which states that for the well being of future generations, the responsibility rests on every generation that comes before them. If we act and make decisions that have the best interest of the Seventh Generation, our unborn generation, we will ensure healthy future generations. In even as complex an issue as energy reform, intergenerational programs can play a helpful role. An example is one volunteer program in Florida has young people to help seniors make their homes more energy efficient.

Regardless of the policy initiative, intergenerational solutions have shown to be exactly the kind of innovation President Obama called for last night. Lastly, let me add that I was inspired to hear the President’s call to pass the Kennedy-Hatch Serve America Act. Some of the best examples of intergenerational service, such as Senior Corps and AmeriCorps, are strengthened by this bill. These programs are part of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is long-over due for reform that can match the capacity of this country’s desire to serve.

Applauding SCHIP and Staying Vigilant on Economic Recovery Act

Legislation is moving at a fast place on Capitol Hill and each day brings its own opportunities and challenges.

Yesterday, a vital expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program was signed into law by the President Obama. The new law will provide health insurance to four million uninsured and vulnerable children. This is a crucial victory for children and the country, particularly during this economic downturn. During the signing-ceremony President Obama said providing health care for children was the, “duty of any decent society.” I couldn’t agree more.

Today, the news was decidedly different. The Senate is debating the economic recovery plan to kick start the economy and provide for long-term investments that will grow our economy for years to come. While no bill is perfect, especially one that has almost a trillion dollars of spending in it, I believe that funding initiatives like Head Start and school construction are the epitome of what Congress should be trying to pass. These initiatives provide tremendous intergenerational opportunities that should be promoted rather than pared.

SCHIP SUCCESS

I’m thrilled to report that yesterday the Senate approved legislation for SCHIP, which will provide health insurance to 11 million low-income children.

With President Obama on board, more children will have a chance to get the health coverage they so deserve. Mr. Obama has promised to provide coverage to every American child.

As the President said in a statement, "Providing health care to more than ten million children through the Children's Health Insurance Program will serve as a down payment on my commitment to ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable health care."

In the current economy, that health care will be invaluable for every child to have an opportunity for the success they deserve.

To find out more about SCHIP and learn about the Policy’s work on the legislation, go to http://ipath.gu.org/SCHIP10271521.asp.

It's Official: White House to be Multi-Generational!

There is already some exciting news to share with you in the new year. The New York Times is reporting that Mrs. Obama's office has confirmed that Marian Robinson, mother of the incoming first lady will be living in the White House. Mrs. Robinson, as you can read below has been a big help in raising the Obama's two young daughters and is a wonderful role-model for grandparents everywhere.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from all of us, to all of you.

White House Grandma

The nation’s incoming first family sets a precedent in so many ways. I appreciate how the energy of young people helped Obama get to where he is today, but let’s not forget older adults have nurtured President-elect Barack Obama throughout his life as well. Obama’s late maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, whom he affectionately called "Toot," deeply impacted his life while helping to raise him in Hawaii. And now Marian Robinson, grandmother to Barack and Michelle Obama's children, may move into the White House with her daughter and son-in-law. The Washington Post reported this week that the Obamas are busy touring D.C. schools. I wouldn’t be surprised if Marian Robinson, who stepped in when her daughter and son-in-law were campaigning, driving her granddaughters to and from play dates, dance, and piano lessons, has some say in their important decision.

Multigenerational households happen for many reasons, some by choice, some by necessity. The Obamas serve as an example of choosing to live under one roof. Having cared for her grandchildren as her daughter and son-in-law’s schedules filled up, why, once the race was over, would she not want to remain deeply involved with the girls and join in the family’s D.C. move? As the latest Census reported, the number of parents under 65 in multigenerational households increased by 75%, while those 65 and older rose 62%. Additionally, the data shows a 40% increase in the number of other live-in relatives, such as the head of household's mother-in-law or father-in-law to 6.8 million. You can download GU’s multigenerational household fact sheet by clicking here.

National Adoption Day

Tomorrow – Saturday, November 15 – is National Adoption Day. National Adoption Day is a collective national effort to raise awareness of the 129,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families. When I hear about the thousands of children waiting for stability and a loving family as they wait in foster care, I’m again thankful for the passage of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. The Act will help thousands of children and youth by promoting permanent families for children in foster care through relative guardianship and adoption and helping with access to other supportive services for grandparent- and other relative- headed families. The bill will also do such things as extend federal support for youth to age 21 and help keep brothers and sisters together. To learn more about National Adoption Day, go to http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/2008/index.asp. To find out the latest on Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, go to GU’s special public policy web page at http://www.gu.org/Polic7231752.asp.

Hockey Star Heads Home to be with Grandfather

It’s not just politicians like Barack Obama that are taking some time out to visit with their ailing grandparents. Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitols, last year’s most valuable player in the National Hockey League left the team yesterday so that he could fly home to Moscow to be with his grandfather, Nikolay Kabayev. Ovechkin’s grandfather helped care for him when he was young and it’s touching to hear that he wants to be there beside him now that he is ill.

Ovechkin has played in a remarkable 203 straight games for the Capitols (something I can really appreciate as the spouse of a hockey enthusiast). So while Capitols missed Ovechkin on the ice at last night’s game, I’m sure everyone understood how important it was for him to be with his grandfather. At Generations United we send our sympathies to Ovechkin and his family during this difficult time

Response to Samuelson

In yesterday’s Washington Post Robert Samuelson addressed a memo to young voters and asked them to get angry because they are supposedly being duped by an alliance of senior voters and the two presidential campaigns in an effort to ignore them and their issues. Samuelson has long been banging the drum for entitlement and budget reform, and he often raises legitimate questions, but his solutions and tactics are misplaced and wrongheaded.

There’s a good reason why young voters aren’t angry with seniors (much to Samuelson’s dismay); after all, they care about their own parents and grandparents and they understand that they too will age. Further, he narrowly lays the blame of the budget deficit on older adults. He omits the cost of tax expenditures, bail outs, two wars, and the inefficiencies in our health system.

Older Americans do care about youth and how they will leave the country for them. It’s the reason we’ve seen such an up rise in senior civic engagement, especially with children and youth. GU’s Seniors4Kids is a perfect example of elders selflessly advocating for a brighter beginning for a younger generation. If you have a moment, please leave a comment on the Washington Post and remind Samuelson that we are all in this together, both young and old and the only way to solve our challenges, which are many, is to work together. Click here for the article and here to leave a comment.

In Honor of a Grandmother

Last night on Anderson Cooper there was one really poignant moment when Joe Madison, a radio host, was making a point about something else and he stopped in the middle of what he was saying and added:

“And I'd like to say about grandparents. I was reared by Betty Stone and Jim Stone, my grandparents. And Barack Obama has no choice; he has to go to his grandmother's side. I think it's a smart thing to do. If he didn't, he'd probably regret it the rest of his life.”

Indeed. Having just lost my father, I cherish the time this summer when I put my life on hold and went to be with him. I would not have missed the last days with my last parent for anything.

And we know how important Senator Obama’s grandmother is to him. When he accepted the nomination he said...”And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business or making her way in the world, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman.

She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight and that tonight is her night, as well.”

At Generations United we salute the Senator’s decision to take time away from his most important race to acknowledge what is truly most important...the love and sacrifice of a grandmother who was there when he needed her.

Updated: A touching piece from Time Magazine about Obama's relationship with his grandmother.

President Signs Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008

I am excited to hear that yesterday afternoon President Bush signed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. This is a wonderful accomplishment!

Passing legislation is never easy and this was no exception. A very special thank you to all the grandparent and other relative caregivers and children who shared their stories with lawmakers and staff. Also, thank you to our amazing policy team for their excellent work in particular, Jaia Peterson Lent and Terence Kane.

Please stay tuned to our website for more information about all the benefits of the new law and how you can help implement it in your state and community.

Landmark Bill for Grandfamilies Passes Congress

I am thrilled to share with you some exciting news. Yesterday, the United States Senate unanimously passed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. The bill now goes to the President for his signature. The Act will help thousands of children and youth by promoting permanent families for children in foster care through relative guardianship and adoption and helping with access to other supportive services for grandparent-and other relative-headed families.

The bill is the most significant federal recognition to date of the contribution grandparents and other relatives make in raising our nation’s children. The Senate and House deserve credit for taking this groundbreaking and bi-partisan action: one that dramatically increases the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of children and their families. You can click here for a full summary.

Thank you to everyone for all their hard work in making calls, writing letters, and visiting with their legislators to pass this bill through Congress. Your stories brought this issue to life for your Members of Congress and inspired them to act.

In addition to your hard work, there are a number of legislators who deserve our gratitude. Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Representatives Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Timothy Johnson (R-IL) were early and steadfast champions of legislation to support grandfamilies with the first introduction of the Kinship Caregiver Support Act over four years ago, many provisions of which were included in this final bill. Their consistent advocacy combined with the strong leadership of Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA), and Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee leaders Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Jerry Weller (R-IL) made this landmark legislation a reality.

This was truly a team effort from everyone and was many years in the making. I can't wait for the President to sign the bill into law and starting the celebrations.

Happy Step Up for Kids Day!

Yesterday we celebrated “Step Up for Kids Day” with its sponsor, Every Child Matters, and a number of other national organizations who advocate on behalf of America’s children. The Step Up for Kids campaign was launched at the National Press Club here in Washington, DC. Other Step Up for Kids events took place throughout the country, including in Kentucky and New York where our own Seniors4Kids advocates showed their support for policies that promote the wellbeing of our nation’s children.

There are many grim statistics on the rates of child abuse and neglect, the number of children who have no health insurance, live in poverty, and who don’t have access to quality education and child care programs that are so critical for healthy growth and development. Americans care about these issues, so the purpose of the Step Up for Kids campaign is to mobilize advocates, citizens, mothers, fathers, and grandparents to express their support for policies that recognize early investments in children lead to numerous benefits down the road, including stable families, economic productivity and security, and ongoing physical and emotional health. Next year, a new Administration and new Congress will have a real opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to our nation’s children by building on efforts already underway, such as the Improved Adoption Incentives Act, which will help children join permanent families.

As renowned pediatrician and children’s advocate Dr. T. Berry Brazelton said in his remarks at the National Press Club, we must urge lawmakers to make these early investments in America’s children and their families because “only then will we truly gain control of our nation’s destiny.”

Intergenerational Themes Championed at the Senate Finance Committee

Earlier today the Senate Finance Committee passed two historic bills out of committee, the Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship Support Act and the Elder Justice Act. The bills are a testament to the value of intergenerational cooperation and public policy.

Chairman Baucus began the markup by quoting Hubert Humphrey, “The moral test of government is how the government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life – the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.” By battling elder abuse and finding permanent homes for children, the Senate Finance Committee passed that intergenerational test with flying colors today.

The Improved Adoption Incentives Act contains many of the same provisions of the Kinship Caregiver Support Act, including authorizing subsidized guardianship to enable children in the care of grandparents and other relatives to exit foster care into permanency; establishing Kinship navigator programs to help link relative caregivers both inside and outside of the formal child welfare system to a broad range of services and supports that will help them meet the needs of the children in their care; requiring notice be given to adult relatives of a child if he or she is placed in foster care; and allowing states in a demonstration program the option to set separate licensing standards for relative foster parents and non-relative foster parents.

Chairman Baucus remarked that the Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship Support Act was the most far-reaching and important piece of child welfare legislation the committee had considered in a decade.

There are still several steps before these important bills become law, but I don’t want to let this day pass without congratulating Senators Clinton, Grassley, Lincoln, Rockefeller and Snowe, and many others for their hard work and leadership to move both pieces of legislation.

Lastly, let me echo Senator Grassley's request that this legislation get passed before the Adoption Incentive Program expires at the end of the month. Our children have waited too long for a permanent home for us to delay any longer.

Everything's Ducky at GU

I always say the key to GU's success rests with our terrific staff...smart, dedicated, hard working and committed to having fun while we pursue our mission. So it made sense that our quacker jack team should take a breather before we head into a busy fall and challenge ourselves to a ducky new adventure. Hence the debut of GU's Duck Pin Bowling League! Congratulation to Lindsay Moore who took home the fowl trophy after fighting off her closest competitors, Sheri Steinig and Terence Kane. It was a striking day and no one spared their best effort. Enjoy the photo of Team GU and have a wonderful Labor Day!

Show Your Support for Pre-K

The Wall Street Journal printed an op-ed “Protect Our Kids from Preschool” this past weekend. To read the op-ed, click here. Supporting strong pre-K is a bipartisan issue. To leave a comment in the opinion forum created for the op-ed, go here. Quality early care and education are essential to children's success in school and society, and this is the basis for Generation’s United’s Seniors4Kids (www.seniors4kids.org) work. Thanks everyone for helping to show your support!

A Good Grandmother Isn't Hard To Find

Good afternoon folks:

I want to alert you to a wonderful and heart-warming blog from an old friend of GU, author Michael Morris. Michael is author of the fantastic novel Slow Way Home, a heart-warming story about the strength a young boy drawls from the relationship with his grandparents.

He’s posted a real-life account of the role his grandmother played in his life on the cleverly-titled blog, “A Good Blog Is Hard to Find,” written by a group of southern authors. Here’s a quick excerpt (be sure to check out the whole blog):

For years, I thought the relationship I had with my grandmother was unique and something most people could not relate to or understand. And yet, through the years I have encountered others not like Senator Obama who have known special relationships with their grandparents – relationships that fostered life changes and often provided a detour to destructive journeys. The stories belong to young children and senior adults alike, who at the mere topic of their grandparents can be reduced to tears.

http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2008/08/hail-to-grandparents.html

Exciting News to Share!

I have some exciting news to share with you. Thanks to the efforts of so many of you, Chairman Baucus has scheduled a markup of the Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship Support Act for Friday morning. This bill contains many of the provisions of the Kinship Caregiver Support Act that will provide much needed supports to grandfamilies across the country.

This is an important step forward in our hopes to pass this legislation. There is however still significant work left to be done before it becomes law. The full Senate will still need to pass the legislation and work out the differences between the House version of their bill before a final bill can be sent to the President for his signature.

I am also pleased to announce that the Senate Finance Committee will also mark up the Elder Justice Act on Friday, which provides resources to prevent the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable older adults. This is an important piece of legislation that Generations United has supported.

Friday should be a great day for anyone who cares about both young and old. In his press release, Chairman Baucus highligted the intergenerational aspect of the legislation, “These proposals will benefit hundreds of thousands of America’s most vulnerable children and senior citizens.”

The Senator and his staff deserves enormous credit for working under such a tight deadline to get this legislation together.

You can read the full text of the press release (with all those good intergenerational themes) here: http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2008press/prb073008.pdf

Children Unnecessarily Wait for Placement in Kinship Families

I want to pass on an article in today's New York Times by Erik Eckholm about the alarming amount of time children are waiting to be placed with kinship families while interstate background checks are performed.

The potential damage done by not placing foster children expeditiously with available relatives is too great to allow the current status quo to continue. Eckholm writes, “Minimizing moves and placing children with a qualified parent or relative are bedrock principles of child welfare.” The safety of a home should always be checked before placement, but holding children in care unnecessarily long could prove to be more damaging than originally thought. As I talked about in this blog earlier a few weeks ago, A new study, published in the June issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine found substantial benefits for children placed in kinship care through increased stability and fewer behavioral problems. The research also revealed that these benefits diminished if the child waited substantial time before a placement with a relative. While states and the administration haggle over a fix they should not forget that their indecision places vulnerable children in additional jeopardy.

Triumphant Day for Children, Grandparents and Other Relative Caregivers

Today the House of Representatives unanimously passed the bipartisan Fostering Connections to Success Act (HR 6307). The bill includes many of the valuable provisions of the Kinship Caregiver Support Act that support children being raised by grandparents and other relatives. These provisions will help children across the country exit foster care to a permanent home with a relative.

Chairman Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Ranking Member Jerry Weller (R-IL) deserve praise for their bipartisan work to pass the legislation. Additionally, I want to extend a special thank you to Representative Danny Davis (D-IL) and Tim Johnson (R-IL) for their leadership on the Kinship Caregiver Support Act. Lastly, the bill would not have passed without the exhaustive efforts of countless advocates and congressional staff.

Comparable legislation still needs to be passed on the Senate side, and the President will still need to lend his signature, but today is a big step forward towards that goal.

Thank you again to everyone for their hard work and we look forward to a signing-ceremony (cross your fingers).

Fascinating IG story on NPR this morning

I want to alert everyone to a great story this morning on NPR about the Intergenerational School in Cleveland that utilizes volunteers of all ages to mentor children. The twist is that the school also has Alzheimer’s patients teach children to read. Despite losing their memory the older volunteers are still able to effectively teach children to read. The children at the school seem to cherish them, even if the volunteers don’t remember last week’s activity.

It turns out that it’s not just the children that benefit from the extra help around the classroom. The seniors with Alzheimer’s and dementia are able to stay active and have increased cognitive activity. Researchers are studying the volunteers to see if their participation in the programs has health benefits, like decreased instances of depression. I can’t wait to see the results of the study and hope others will follow Cleveland Intergenerational School’s lead.

Congratulations are in order to Nancy and Peter Whitelaw for their pioneering work in Ohio. Well done!

Link to the story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91402614

GU Honors Intergenerational Shared Sites

Hello from the Crescent City!

I’m in New Orleans at the moment for the Volunteers of America Conference, but I wanted the chance to blog about a fantastic GU event last week at the National Press Club. On Thursday morning GU had the opportunity to honor some of the real trailblazers in the intergenerational community and release the first national study on the cost savings of intergenerational shared sites.

The report identified significant cost savings for intergenerational shared sites in the area of personnel costs compared to similar facilities that only serve a single age group. The study should spur other facilities to consider becoming an intergenerational shared site considering much of their costs are tied up in personnel costs. In addition to the costs savings, there is research out there that children, youth, and seniors show cognitive and health benefits from intergenerational interactions.

After the event, the honored shared sites took their success stories to Capitol Hill and shared their story with congressional representatives.

Thank you to everyone who attended the event, especially our awardees and particularly Shannon Jarrott of Virginia Tech for her excellent job producing the report and Metlife Foundation for sponsoring the awards.

Here’s the full list of all our awardees. The following organizations have been selected as the first award winners:

The JEWEL Program - A Partnership between Mount Kisco Day Care Center and
My Second Home
Mount. Kisco, NY
Macklin Intergenerational Institute
Findlay, Ohio
Neighbors Growing Together: Virginia Tech Intergenerational Program
Blacksburg, VA
New Alternatives, Inc. - San Pasqual Academy Neighbors Program
Escondido, CA
United Retirement Center/Avera
Brookings, SD

GU is also pleased to recognize the following National Finalists from the competition:

· Grandma's House at Westminster Care
Orlando, FL
· Greene County Educational Service Center
Yellow Springs, OH
· Hesston Intergenerational Child Development Center
Hesston, KS
· St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care Milwaukee, WI · Under One Roof, Inc.

New Adoption Report

A new report on adoption and its interaction with race is out today. The report draws attention to the failing of this nation to find permanent homes for minority children in the foster care system. African American children represent an astounding 32% of all children in the child welfare system despite the fact they only represent 15% of children in the country.

This kind of wide-spread failure to place minority children in permanent homes means policy makers and advocates need to urgently seek out solutions that have proven results. The report identifies the success of Illinois in placing minority children in permanent homes with relatives through subsidized guardianship.

I applaud the report for recommending federal subsidized guardianship as an important avenue to permanency for these children.

Federal subsidized guardianship would allow children another option to exit foster care, while giving relatives the support they need to care for children.

Link to the Report:
http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/publications/MEPApaper20080527.pdf

GU’S THIRD NATIONAL GRANDRALLY A SUCCESS!

On Wednesday, hundreds of grandfamilies gathered at the U.S. Capital to highlight their important role in raising children and their need for help from family, friends, state and national organizations, and elected officials. The event was a wonderful celebration of all the fantastic work grandparents and other relatives are doing raising children. Close to a 1,000 people attend the sun-filled rally. There were a number of wonderful and heartfelt speeches from the speakers.

Kellie Pickler, former “American Idol”, sang and along with other caregivers and young people shared her story of being raised by grandparents and how it “made her the woman she was.”

GU co-sponsored the event with AARP, Child Welfare League of America, Children’s Defense Fund, GrandFamilies of America, and the National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights.

Following the rally, participants met with their legislators to urge supportive policies. Thanks to Jaia, Ken, and Terence for arranging such a heavily attended event!

Another Foster Care Tragedy

Yesterday’s New York Times story about Oklahoma’s foster care system was really sad. I think the story demonstrates how devastating foster care is for our children when it’s ill-funded and poorly structured. The story profiles Sasha Gray who went through an astonishing 42 placements during her 12 year stay in foster care. Many of these placements seem to be the result of poor management from the state child welfare office which included incredibly high case loads and a lack of qualified foster families. Multiple placements are traumatic for children and rob them of the sense of normalcy and stability that is so needed during childhood.

We have to make sure that children have all the possible options for permanency open to them if they are in foster care. Congress needs to pass legislation to enact federal subsidized guardianship to allow children to exit foster care into the safe, loving homes of grandparents and other relatives.