Generations United’s 2019 State of the Union Response

In his State of the Union Addres, the President said this is “the time to rekindle the bonds of love and loyalty and memory that links us together as citizens” and neighbors.

In response, Generations United calls on the Administration and Congress to support families impacted by immigration and the opioid crisis while supporting family leave, and infrastructure improvements that benefit all generations.

Immigration:

The President’s immigration reform policy did not acknowledge how increased enforcement impacts families.

Most grandfamilies (grandparents and other relatives raising children) face challenges in raising children they did not expect or plan to raise. Those families, who come together as a result of a parent’s detention or deportation, encounter additional hurdles that include restricted access to support and services to help meet the children’s needs, language barriers, and fear of government agencies.

Strong policy recognizes all Americans benefit when Congress and the Administration create policies and practices that value all generations in a family. Policies should not discourage relatives from stepping forward to care for children of parents who were detained or deported. Instead, they should ensure that parents who are under threat of being separated from their children have useful tools to give other family members the legal authority to care for their babies, toddler and youth. Generations United’s report, Love Without Borders: Grandfamilies and Immigration, highlights additional recommendations to help guide policymakers and advocates.

In rekindling the bonds of love that link us, it’s important to remember that — as citizens of a country built by immigrants — our demographic diversity, in both age and race, is our greatest asset.

The extension of working life means we benefit from the long expertise and experience of older workers at the same time that our younger generation forges ties to nearly every language and country in the world.

The success of these generations is intimately connected. Young people of color will drive the future growth in our workforce, and their ability to earn good livings will strengthen Social Security and the safety net on which our older generations depend — and younger generations in turn will depend one day. Generations United’s report, Out of Many, One: the Changing Faces of America, includes recommendations to capitalize on our growing demographic diversity.

Opioid Crisis:

The President acknowledged that opioid legislation is an example of a bipartisan effort.

The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act and the Family First Prevention Services Act are both examples of laws that help address families impacted by opioids and other substance use.

Strong policies encourage states to offer a continuum of tailored services and supports for children, parents, and caregivers in grandfamilies available through the Family First Prevention Services Act. They also ensure children in foster care are placed with families, prioritizing placement with relatives and giving them support to care for children with high-level needs. Generations United’s report, Raising the Children of the Opioid Epidemic: Solutions and Supports for Grandfamilies, highlights other recommendations.

Family Leave:

The President mentioned paid family leave. Generations United is calling on the Administration and Congress to support policies that promote time for parents and caregivers to care for young children, older family members and/or family members with disabilities and to find safe, quality child care without jeopardizing their ability to pay for basic necessities.

Infrastructure:

The President mentioned revitalizing our country’s infrastructure. Generations United believes that strong policies should address issues from an intergenerational, cross-sector perspective. A Communities for All Ages (CFAA) approach does that. CFAA’s goal is to improve the lives of children, youth, adults and elders by building the capacity of communities to address critical issues.

CFAA’s framework provides tangible strategies that can help communities leverage limited resources; build inclusive constituencies for neighborhood and community change; and build new alliances around convergent policy interests, such as access to care and social supports, lifelong quality education, and a physical infrastructure that is responsive to changing needs across the life course. Generations United’s Intergenerational Community Building: Resource Guide highlights additional recommendations.

Intergenerational shared sites are another way to help revitalize our country’s infrastructure. While far from a household name, shared site may well be a concept whose time is now. There’s a convergence of opportunity at hand, brought about by a variety of factors including the demand for quality children and youth services, the need for creative older adult programs and limited local, state and national resources for construction and rehabilitation of facilities. The use of space by multiple generations saves dollars while making sense.

Shared sites in every community should not be a dream but rather a real-world, everyday option that will create greater understanding between generations as the U.S. population grows more diversified in age, race and ethnicity. Generations United’s report with The Eisner Foundation, All In Together: Creating Places Where Young and Old Thrive, offers recommendations to further that goal.

The Women in White:

A display of love and loyalty during the President’s State of the Union Address came from the women leaders of the House of Representatives, who wore white to show their unity for gender equality and women’s rights.

A record number of women (102) are serving in the House. Rep. Lois Frankel, who chairs the House Democratic Women’s Working Group and who urged her colleagues to wear white, explained in a tweet ahead of the State of the Union Address: “We’ll honor all those who came before us & send a message of solidarity that we’re not going back on our hard-earned rights!”

Rep. Frankel’s comment echoed the sentiments of Robert Ball, former Social Security commissioner and found of NASI. He understood that bridging generations makes the state of our union stronger:

“…We all stand on the shoulders of generations that came before. …Because we owe so much to the past, we have the obligation to try to pass on a world to the next generation which is a little better than the one we inherited so that those who come after, standing on our shoulders, can see a little further and do a little better in turn.”