Grandparents & Kin Raising Children Advisory Council

Mission: To improve the lives of grandparents/kin and the children they are raising by identifying, promoting, coordinating, and disseminating information, resources, and services in a culturally respectful manner to support their families’ individual needs.

Vision: Grandparents and kin raising children to feel seen, heard, understood, and supported by their community; and that through our community’s support, they feel and become prepared to meet the physical, mental health and educational needs of the children in their care, while also maintaining their own financial, physical, mental and emotional well-being.

Across Northern New Mexico and throughout the nation, grandparents and kin are taking on the life-changing responsibility of raising children, whose parents are unable to care for them for varying reasons. We see the need and acknowledge that in order for New Mexican children to reach their full potential and be school-ready, that we must support those that are in the position of raising them.

To help address the needs of grandparents and kin raising children, the LANL Foundation formed a Grandparents/Kin Raising Children Advisory Council composed of community members from local organizations [Add in link to the Advisory Committee Organizations in dropbox], who are already providing services and supports to grandparents raising children in Northern New Mexico, to guide this work.

In order to gain understanding into the unique needs of grandparents/kin raising children in Northern New Mexico, a needs assessment [Link to Needs Assessment in Dropbox] was conducted, distributed, and collected by the Advisory Council members. Their outreach allowed us to gain insight into both the strengths and needs of 80 Northern New Mexican grandparents/kin raising children households. The common areas of need amongst the surveys are the following:

Respite
Therapy/Counseling (for both)
Education Trainings
Stipends
Mentorship for Children
Access to Legal Aid Services

In the winter of 2021, the LANL Foundation, through a generous grant from the Brindle Foundation, provided 100 emergency stipends, each for $300, to Northern New Mexican grandparents/kin raising children in need of financial assistance. The LANL Foundation has also been providing virtual education trainings [Link to Education Initiative Page] on early childhood development, the role of trauma in child development, self-care for grandparents/kin, and more.

The collective work by the Advisory Council will continue to be driven by the insight and needs of the community.

For more information or questions, please contact Evelyn Juarez, Early Childhood Education Coordinator, at evelyn@lanlfoundation.org.

The Grandparent/Kin Raising Children Advisory Council is composed of members from the following organizations and programs. Click on the names to visit their website and learn more about the resources they provide.

Grandparents & Kin Raising Children Advisory Council Needs Assessment Results Download