COVID-19 : Colorado P-EBT (Pandemic EBT)

By:  Gloria Sanchez, GRANDcares Site Coordinator, Adams County 

Putting food on the table during this pandemic may prove to be a difficult task for many American families.  Thankfully, many school districts have continued to provide grab-and-go meals to all children, school-age or not, from ages 1-18.  No paperwork is needed and there are no eligibility requirements to fulfill.  In some instances, additional produce boxes and adult meals are also being distributed.  The process is hassle-free, simply drive up, let them know how many children you have and get loaded up.  Despite the ease of it, not all families have benefited.  Unfortunately, those families that do not have access to transportation are unable to get the help.  

The loss of access to food due to COVID-19 school closures has greatly impacted many families.  It is because of this ongoing struggle that a new initiative to support families has been approved under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  The Colorado Department of Human Services and Department of Education are working together to issue Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) financial assistance to all eligible students who would have qualified for the free and reduced meals for the 2019-2020 school year.  The benefit is retroactive for the eligible days in which students would have been in school during the months of March, April and May.  The average benefit will be of $5.70/child per day or up to $279 per eligible student.  If a family is already participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and their child attends a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program, then the P-EBT benefits will be automatically loaded onto their Colorado EBT card and can be expected by mid-July.  Families that are not currently enrolled to receive SNAP benefits, but that have students in schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program will need to complete an application and get a Colorado EBT card to receive Pandemic-EBT.  These families will be receiving information directly from their school or school district on how to apply for the P-EBT. 

To access the P-EBT application visit:  https://www.colorado.gov/cdhs/p-ebt .  For more information visit Colorado Department of Human Services’ Frequently Asked Questions webpage. 

Making an Action Plan: You Have to Take Care to Give Care

By Raquel Daniels GRANDcares Site Coordinator, Larimer County

Many grandparents are taking care of grandchildren as they raise them in their home. However, there is one important piece that often gets put on the back burner—self-care. With all that grandparents do for their families including getting kids ready for school, working perhaps, and completing essential tasks, there hardly appears to be enough time to do something for themselves. Taking care of oneself is essential. In order to continue to care for others, it is important grandparents start with themselves.

How do I begin self-care?

Start with an action plan! An action plan is an agreement with yourself to help you do something you want to do during the week. The key is doing something you want to do. While it may be tempting to use this allotted time to go to the grocery store or tackle a load of laundry, that is not the purpose of an action plan. This is dedicated to hold you accountable to do something that you enjoy.

What are the parts of an action plan?

An action plan is first and foremost something you want to do. This can be any activity that brings you joy, makes you feel relaxed and helps you feel better in taking care of yourself.

An action plan is also reachable. Think of something you can easily complete during the week. If it is doable you can be successful.

Be behavior specific. Walking around the block, reading one chapter of a book, gardening once a week are all specific behaviors and the more specific the better.

Answer the following questions to turn your action plan into reality:

What? (what are you going to do?)

How much? (how much are you going to do?)

When? (when will you do this?) Example: in the morning, after school, before bed

How often? (days of the week)

Confidence level? (How confident on a scale of 1 to 10 are you that you will be able to accomplish your action plan?)

Taking time out from the day to do something for yourself is beneficial to you and in turn beneficial to the ones you care for. Not only is it giving yourself “me-time,” it is modeling to others in the family such as the grandchildren the value of taking time to rest and recharge.

Powerful Tools for Caregiver, adapted Grandfamilies version of 2016 PTC of Children with Special Health and Behavioral Needs, Class 1 Updated 07/20/2017

Supporting the Service Providers

By Raquel Daniels GRANDcares Site Coordinator, Larimer County

An important part of the GRANDcares Project along with providing the Powerful Tools for Caregivers- Grandfamilies program and GRANDcares Youth Club, is to provide educational content for service providers working with grandfamilies. Grandfamilies often face challenges navigating systems as caregivers including barriers to having access to resources or awareness of resources available to them in their communities.

Service providers who regularly interact with grandfamilies in providing resources and referrals also need support to continue to serve grandparents. Grandparents raising grandchildren are in unique family systems that present their own challenges. Service providers need education on navigating this unique family system. The more understanding and education service providers can gain by learning about the barriers grandparents may face will increase their awareness of grandfamilies' resilience and strengths. Service providers play an important role in helping grandparents navigate the infrastructure of services and assisting grandparents with referral, case management, parenting skills, and emotional support (Fruhauf, Pevney, & Bundy-Fazioli, 2012). The need for services geared specifically for grandparents is essential. The more service providers have knowledge of resources in the community and are able to direct grandparents to such resources that will be most beneficial to them, the more supported grandfamilies will be.

Please check out our webinars through the link below on strengths-based approaches for grandfamilies, trauma and resilience, evidence-based practices and more, to continue to equip service providers with more knowledge about this population they serve and continue to meet the needs of grandfamilies.

Webinars for service providers

Fruhauf, C. A., Peyney, B., & Bundy-Fazioli, K. (2015). The needs and use of programs by service providers working with grandparents raising grandchildren. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 34(2), 138-157.