📢 Unmasking Hidden Foster Care: The Truth About Kinship Support
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Dear Family, Last week, we laid our foundation down with our advocacy manifesto, detailing what it truly takes to demand systemic equity while honoring the sacred work happening inside our own homes. But once the manifesto is written, how do we dismantle the systemic illusion that stepping up to raise our kin means our families require zero support, and how do we build an ecosystem where our children's trauma is actually met with resources rather than absorbed in silence? The Raw Truth: Stepping Out of the Hidden System When CPS threatened to place my grandchildren into traditional foster care, I said yes out of pure love and necessity, instantly becoming part of an uncounted workforce. What nobody tells you in that moment of crisis is that the system treats your willingness as an administrative exit strategy. We are handed children carrying profound trauma—prenatal exposure, parental separation, systemic disruption—and expected to instantly operate as certified trauma experts while drawing down on our own retirement, savings, and emotional reserves. Breaking intergenerational trauma requires us to stop accepting the burden of family preservation without the backing of structural support; it requires us to step out of the shadows and claim our seat at the decision-making table. Inside the Project: Episode 130 This Week’s Guest: Dr. Ali Caliendo | Hidden Foster Care and the Myth of Prevention Dr. Ali Caliendo exposes how the child welfare system relies on diversion to celebrate falling foster care numbers while shifting the financial and emotional weight onto unsupported kinship families. She offers concrete frameworks for reframing non-parental care, tracking true parental separation, and demanding upstream investment for all children who cannot live with their biological parents. [🎧 LISTEN TO EPISODE #130: Dr. Ali Caliendo] The Reflection RoomThis week, Dr. Caliendo highlighted the concept of Separation vs. Removal—the reality that whether a child is formally removed into state custody or informally placed with relatives, the core traumatic event of parental separation remains identical and requires equal intervention.
The Toolbox: Tactical Moves
🌟 NEW! Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Online Support CircleA safe, confidential space designed for relative caregivers—guided by certified professionals so you never have to walk this journey alone.Raising your grandchildren brings unique joys, but it also carries challenges that very few people outside of kinship care truly understand. You shouldn't have to carry the weight alone. We are excited to officially announce the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Online Support Group! Hosted by our team every two weeks, this virtual circle is a safe space where you can share your victories, release caregiver burnout, and connect with fellow grandparents on the same path. Every session is overseen and guided by certified therapists, counselors, and specialized family coaches who bring deep expertise in kinship care, trauma-informed parenting, and family navigation—ensuring you receive grounded support while maintaining a peer-first environment free from judgment or unsolicited advice.
We strictly uphold core peer support principles: confidentiality, no fixing or unsolicited advice, and deep respect for every family's unique boundaries. Stay tuned for registration details coming soon in our upcoming newsletters, on social media, and on our website! You are an essential architect of family preservation, and your relentless advocacy is the blueprint for systemic equity. We are 2.7 million strong. Still nurturing, and still here. See you in the next boardroom, Laura Brazan Founder, The 2.7 Million Project/Host of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Nurturing Through Adversity |
Legacy Builder Newsletter
Weekly Podcast Spotlight. Recommended Reads. Inspiring Stories.
Legacy Builders Connecting Hearts, Nurturing the Future Vol. 1, No. 98 | September 8, 2026 Dear Family, Last week, we sat down with Jill Bryant to talk about navigating the heavy emotional realities of our journey. We talked about finding strength in the middle of chaos and what it takes to keep showing up for our grandchildren every single day. But what happens when showing up in our own homes isn't enough anymore? What happens when staying quiet and just surviving is no longer an option? In...
Legacy Builders Connecting Hearts, Nurturing the Future Vol. 1, No. 97 | September 1, 2026 Dear Family, Last week, we broke down the walls of the neurodiverse household with Dr. Jennifer Brunton, learning how to trade compliance for real environmental scaffolding. We talked about engineering micro-adjustments for our families' unique wiring. But what happens when the legal and social systems outside our front door refuse to acknowledge our reality? What do we do when our families are left...
Legacy Builders Connecting Hearts, Nurturing the Future Vol. 1, No. 96 | August 25, 2026 Dear Family, Last week, we leaned into the deep systemic work with our community update, refocusing our executive energy on what it means to build an intentional foundation for our second cradles. But what happens when the chaos inside that sanctuary gets too loud? What do we do when our own sensory limits are shattered by the daily reality of a highly complex, neurodiverse home? I recently sat down with...