Relative kinship caregivers, approximately half of whom are seniors, face many challenges and have limited access to resources and services. Older adult kinship caregivers are tasked with caring for children at a stage in life when they may not have been prepared to become caregivers. Due to the nature of out-of-home placement of children in kinship care, many of the children older adult kinship caregivers are caring for have had life experiences that may present additional challenges to kinship caregivers, including health, behavioral health and/or educational challenges. Caring for any child, and particularly a child with special needs, is tremendously hard work. The ability for caregivers to access supports, for themselves and the children in their care, is a critical part of ensuring that kinship caregivers succeed in providing care while maintaining their own health and well-being.
A new funding opportunity is available from the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy (VSHSL) to provide supports to senior kinship caregivers who are 55 and older living in King County to help them be successful in their roles.
Funding for Kinship Care Supports
The Kinship Care Supports strategy seeks to provide supports through one or more of the following three primary services: kinship mentoring, flexible funding, and/or training to increase kinship caregivers’ ability to maintain good health and well-being while providing for the children in their care.
Due to the exceptional need for support in the early stages of a kinship care arrangement and because of the lack of support for informal kinship caregivers, programs that support kinship care for informal kinship caregivers who are in the early in the stages of the caregiving arrangement will be prioritized for this funding.
Application details
Available funding: Up to $948,348 in VSHSL funds
Investment period: October 1, 2020 – December 31, 2023 (subject to change)
Questions: Contact Nikki Nguyen at nnguyen@kingcounty.gov
Applications due: September 2, 2020 by 11:59 pm
Bidders Conference:
July 30, 2020 | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Join by Zoom Meeting ID: 956 5227 0862
Join by phone: 1-253-215-8782, 9-565-227-0862# US (Tacoma)
The Bidders Conference session will be recorded and posted at kingcounty.gov/VSHSL-Funding.
For more information and to apply visit: https://www.zoomgrants.com/zgf/KinshipCareSupportsRFP
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