Advocacy
Resource Center
Executive Director Marla Spindel Testifies in Support of Shalonda Cawthon as First DC Ombudsperson for Children
Ms. Spindel discussed the critical need for the Office and how Ms. Cawthon has the expertise and skills to fulfill its important mission.
Read our Recommendations for Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden
These recommendations provide a fix to the Title IV-B funding stream to require the Title IV-E agency to contract with a community partner trusted by the kinship caregiver community to provide kinship navigation services and to ensure responsiveness and accountability to the caregivers they are supposed to serve.
Another Advocacy Win for DC KinCare as DC Council Names First Ombudsperson for Children–Shalonda Cawthon
Ms. Cawthon currently serves as a Regional Program Manager for the Children’s Bureau, where she provides leadership and strategic direction to the Bureau out of the Atlanta Regional Office. She has a long track record of collaborative, values-driven child welfare leadership with the federal government and in Georgia and Tennessee.
DC KinCare Alliance Signs On To Letter Supporting DC Domestic Workers Bill of Rights
A Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in Washington DC would include domestic workers in protections against employment discrimination and in DC’s local occupational health and safety law.
Another Expansion of the DC Caregiver Subsidies!
Our advocacy has worked for a third time. First, we were able to expand the grandparent subsidy to include other relatives. Then, we were able to eliminate the 6-month eligibility period. And now, we have expanded the subsidy to include godparents, some relatives who live out-of-state, and relatives who also live with a disabled parent.
DC KinCare Alliance Meets with Senator Wyden’s Staff to Discuss Federal Kinship Navigator Funding
DC KinCare Alliance attorneys and a representative from the Community Board met with Senator Wyden’s staff to discuss concerns about the use of federal funds for kinship navigator services in DC. See Community Board Position Statement regarding this issue.
DC KinCare Alliance Joins 31 Other Organizations to Submit Testimony in Support of Clean Hands Law Reform
The law that would reform the discriminatory and punitive practice under the “Clean Hands Law” of preventing District residents from getting or renewing their driver’s licenses.
What Caregivers Need to Know About the Child Tax Credit
Find out if you are eligible and how to obtain the tax credit.
DC KinCare Alliance Spearheads Petition to Fund Ombudsperson for Children
DC KinCare Alliance signs onto this Petition with more than 200 other signatories asking the DC Council to fund the Ombudsperson for Children.
DC KinCare Alliance Signs On To Letter With Other Advocates To Reform Rapid Re-Housing Program
The Letter asks the DC Council to stop Mayor Bowser from terminating DC residents from the rapid re-housing program for hitting an arbitrary time limit. This year, as many as 913 families are facing time limit terminations.
DC KinCare Alliance Submits Testimony on the DC Department of Human Services FY 2023 Budget
Among other things, Kincare highlights high barriers to access benefits for kinship caregivers, and the agency’s failure to reduce those barriers.