September is National Kinship Care Month – a time to recognize, celebrate and support the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives (as well as non-relatives with a meaningful connection to the child or family) who care for children when they cannot safely remain with their parents.

It is critically important for these children to be able to live with someone they know, trust, and have a connection to, as these relationships provide a sense of security, community, cultural identity, and can reduce the trauma of being removed from their home. Unfortunately, not all children who are removed from their parents are provided the opportunity to live with kin.

National Kinship Care Month is a reminder that we must work together to find policy solutions to keep children connected to their kin. Additionally, we should thank those caregivers who are supporting abused or neglected children both inside and outside of the child welfare system.

Pennsylvania’s KinConnector program provides valuable resources to kin who are caring for children formally through the child welfare system, or informally. Every Wednesday in September, the program is hosting virtual information forums on a variety of topics of interest: financial assistance, legal rights, education and child care, and mental health, among others. Registration for these events is now open to the public.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson announced that the department is accepting loan and grant applications for projects that create jobs and economic growth in rural communities.

Funds are being made available under the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG) program. Through the REDLG program, USDA provides zero-interest loans and grants to Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Program and Telecom Program borrowers who will use the funds to help local businesses finance projects that will create and retain jobs. Projects must be located in rural areas or towns with a population of 50,000 or less.

Funds may be used to support:

• business startup costs;
• business expansion;
• business incubators;
• technical assistance feasibility studies;
• advanced telecommunications services and computer networks for medical, educational and job training services; and
• community facilities projects that spur economic development.

Eligible applicants include current, former and potential borrowers of Rural Development’s Electric Program and Telecommunications Program.

Applications are being accepted continuously with funding competition deadlines on Sept. 30, 2021; Dec. 31, 2021; March 31, 2022; and June 30, 2022.

Applications submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. local time on the deadline dates to the USDA Rural Development State Office where the project is located and will compete for the available REDLG funds in that quarter.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact their local USDA Rural Development State Office well in advance of the application deadline to ask questions about their project, the program or the application process.

Additional information is available on page 50015 of the Sept.7, 2021, Federal Register. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.

Every quarter the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIHub) releases Grants in Motion, a series highlighting some of the exceptional work our FORHP awardees achieve in their communities. This edition focuses on the new Vulnerable Rural Hospital Assistance Program (VRHAP). Administered by FORHP’s Hospital State Division, the program provides technical assistance to hospitals at-risk for closure.

The National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network (3RNET) designed this learning opportunity for recruiters, medical directors, and others seeking to employ health professionals in underserved areas.  A series of live webinars lasting up to 90 minutes each will take place between October 5 and December 14.  Attendees will get access to national experts on rural/underserved recruiting and retention. Find more information here.

This week, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced a reorganization of its bureaus and offices to accommodate changing needs in the agency’s mission to improve health care for people who are geographically isolated and/or medically underserved.   Among the changes, the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth has moved from its longtime home in the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to become an operational focal point for telehealth across all of HRSA’s programs.  Find more information here.