June, 2016: Message from the National Kinship Alliance for Children, the Child Welfare League of America, and the NYS Kinship Navigator.
Across the nation, approximately 2.7 million grandparents and 1.4 million other relatives are caring for children. This non-parent caregiving is called “kinship care”.
Kinship families are a national resource, providing homes for over 6 million children, saving over $4 billion annually in child welfare costs. Yet the public, the media, and our federal and state governments do little to acknowledge their service.
To date, New York, Virginia, South Dakota, Vermont, Georgia, Ohio, New Jersey, Arizona, and the U. S. Senate have issued resolutions declaring September as Kinship Care Month. We are asking you to help gain more support for all kinship families.
This June, we are asking you to help us persuade President Obama to issue a Presidential Proclamation Declaring September as Kinship Care Month.
What can you do to help?
Our goal is to have kinship caregivers and everyone who supports them (families, friends, professionals, etc.) email or call the White House on June 22, 23 or 24.
Please call or email, and please ask your family, friends, and networks to call or email. We will only be successful if do your part.
* Calls to White House comment line (may be put on hold for some time; they do not take names): 202-456-1111
* Emails to White House, web site will ask you to fill out your contact info, including your name; contact the President at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Here is sample message:
“I urge the President to proclaim September as Kinship Care Month. Grandparents and other relatives deserve national recognition and respect. A presidential proclamation will help us raise awareness and take action in our home communities.”
Thank you.
For more information: https://www.nysnavigator.org/?page_id=276