MONDAY MEMO #5

Resilient Georgia
Oct 27, 2024
5 min read

As always, here is another weekly list of carefully curated resources and reminders, but first, here are some highlights from the RG Team:

RG Highlights

Coalition Peer-to-Peer Network: Our next Peer-to-Peer meeting will be next Tuesday November 5th at 2pm. This month’s peer call will offer a safe, unstructured space for mutual support, fostering connection, and discussing self-care and workplace wellness. We are aware it falls on Election Day, so we wanted to remind you that these calls are always optional. We're also sharing the Georgia My Voter Page for folks who might want more information on early voting (through Nov 1) and election day poll locations.

Lily Testifies in Court! A Book for Children in Criminal Court: We are excited to offer the book Lily Testifies in Court: What Children Should Know About the Criminal Court Process to our coalition partners working in juvenile justice, courts, District Attorneys' offices, or CASAs. This children’s book is designed to help children better understand the criminal court process and can be a valuable tool for those supporting youth through legal challenges. If you would like to order books for your partners, please reach out to Nikki Warner (nwarner@resilientga.org) and let her know how many you would like and where to send them.

Regional Coalition Spotlights

Resilient Coastal Georgia: Last month Vira Salzburn and Molly Lieberman were both awarded impact awards at the Night for Resilient A.C.T.S Fundraising event. Front Porch A.C.T.S. (Adolescents & Children Transforming Savannah) engages youth in play, improv, and theatrical skits to promote self-expression and conflict resolution using the Trauma Drama curriculum which Vira first introduced to the Front Porch Improv Team in 2020. Thank you, Vira and Molly, for being advocates of youth mental and emotional health in Savannah!

ARCHI Collaborative: ARCHI is hosting the State of Metro Atlanta Health Symposium on November 15th, from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM focused on addressing health disparities and finding solutions for marginalized communities. The event will feature insights from national and local leaders and attendees will explore the latest health data and collaborate on actionable strategies to promote health equity.

Cobb Collaborative: The Cobb Collaborative has received funding to assist Georgia veterans impacted by Hurricane Helene with emergency shelter. If you know of any veterans in need, or can share this information with others, please contact our Connecting Cobb Veterans program at 470-479-1551 or veteranhelp.ccv@cobbcollaborative.org.

Agriculture & Disaster Relief

Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Resources USDA Rural Development developed this guide as a resource for rural communities seeking disaster resiliency and recovery assistance. USDA RD offers programs and servicing options that can help rural residents, businesses, and communities impacted by disaster and support long-term planning and recovery efforts.

Ag News: Helene wreaks havoc on Georgia crops and timber: A newly released article from the Farm Bureau’s Ag News describes the impact of three named storms impacting Georgia’s agriculture infrastructure. Preliminary estimates put the cost of Hurricane Helene at an estimated $6.46 billion. The article includes information on Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper’s attempts to address the issue. Details on sector-specific impacts are included for timber, poultry, pecans, horticulture/plant nurseries, cotton, blueberries, beef cattle, vegetables, dairy, peanuts, and other products.

Foster Care

Include Kin When Designing Solutions for Children in Care: Kinship Policy Improvements Toward Child Welfare System Transformations, the final brief in the Family Ties series, summarizes how kinship policies have dramatically changed since 2007. As child welfare agencies increasingly prioritize kin when children must be removed from their homes, more states are exploring opportunities to reduce barriers to foster home licensure for kin, — notifying kin sooner, collecting data around kinship care and consulting with kin to inform decisions.

Preventive Legal Advocacy: Family-Focused Advocacy to Reduce Child Welfare Involvement This presentation from Emilie T. Cook of the Barton Child Law & Policy Center is designed to increase understanding of the tenants of preventive legal advocacy (PLA) and its ability to reduce the traumatic stress associated with CPS involvement and improve outcomes for vulnerable children and their families. PLAs are “services that support families and promote the social determinants of health by addressing upstream civil legal issues that, if left unresolved, can result in unnecessary child welfare system involvement.” The presentation includes overviews of 5 common models, typical legal issues addressed, and ways to organize efforts.

Funding Opportunities

Rigorous Evaluation of Community- and Societal-Level Primary Prevention Approaches to Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) : HHS and the CDC are seeking applications for grant funding to support research that rigorously evaluates existing primary prevention approaches. The intention is to expand the evidence base for ACEs prevention in one or more of the following areas identified in the CDC’s ACEs Prevention Resource for Action: Ensure A Strong Start for Children, Promote Social Norms That Protect Against Violence and Adversity, and Strengthen Economic Supports to Families. This funding announcement outlines the details, including eligibility requirements, for the application due via Grants.gov by December 2, 2024.

Applications for Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity (CLARE) Program: As a reminder, the Collective Impact Forum is launching the Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity (CLARE) Program in January 2025. This 10-month leadership accelerator is designed to invest in 20 individuals working to advance racial equity within their communities through collaborative, collective impact efforts. Participants will gain access to peer learning, coaching, and resources to strengthen their leadership in advancing racial equity. A webinar recording is available on the website and further questions can be directed to courtney.robertson@collectiveimpactforum.org.

Mental Health America Resources

Mental Health America's 2024 Supporting Young Minds Guides have been created to empower parents, caregivers, teachers, and others to provide support by fostering nonjudgmental environments where young people feel safe expressing themselves. In them, you will find information about facilitating conversations and validating feelings, creating safe spaces and supportive culture in the classroom, and ways to promote peer support. Guides and resources are available in English and Spanish.

Professional Development

GA Association for Infant Mental Health 2024 Conference: The theme of this year’s conference is Consilience in Action: Bridging Disciplines to Advance IECMH in Georgia. It will be a day of brave thinking, intentional conversation and meaningful connections. Register now to attend the conference on Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 8 AM – 5 PM at the Loudermilk Conference Center in Atlanta. Please note there is a fee for registration – regular registration is $50 and ends on October 31, late registration is $75 and ends on November 10.

Overcoming Barriers to Empowering Trafficked Survivors Summit: This daylong event hosted by CareSource and Rescuing Hope is designed to promote the voices of those impacted by human trafficking including those with lived experience, law enforcement, frontline workers and healthcare professionals. The event will take place November 14, 2024, from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM in Kennesaw, Ga. Registration is free.

2025 System of Care Academy Call for Workshop Proposals: The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Georgia Interagency Directors Team have announced a Call for Workshop Proposals for the 2025 Georgia System of Care Academy (SOCA). The 18th Annual Georgia SOCA conference is scheduled for June 25-27, 2025 in Stone Mountain, Georgia. They are seeking workshops for three tracks aligned with this year’s theme: Empower – Clinical Development Track; Engage – System Principles; and Elevate – Professional Development. Interested parties can see the details for submissions and submit proposals prior to October 31, 2024.