Our State of the Union
Our State of the Union
As we look at our State of the Union, Generations United supports a vision for a prosperous and inclusive society.
That vision includes safe and secure environments for people at all ages and stages of life to learn and grow together. It includes resources for diverse families and family structures including those impacted by opioids and other substance use, approaches that engage young and old together in addressing community challenges, and strategies to promote health across the ages such as vaccines.
Inclusivity
A prosperous and inclusive society embraces the changing racial and age demographics. That diversity is one of our country’s strongest asset. Our report, Out of Many, One: Uniting the Changes Faces of America, explores ways these demographic changes can catalyze opportunities for all generations. Learn more.
A prosperous and inclusive society supports diverse families such as grandparents and other relatives raising children, what we call grandfamilies. A society that’s prosperous and inclusive also extends its love beyond borders. Most grandfamilies face challenges in raising children they did not expect or plan to raise. Grandfamilies who come together as a result of a parent’s detention or deportation face additional hurdles.
Our report, Love Without Borders: Grandfamilies and Immigration, highlights those hurdles and contains concrete policy and program recommendations to help guide policymakers and advocates to support these important families. Learn more.
Infrastructure and Safe and Secure Environments
Generations United believes that a prosperous and inclusive society includes intergenerational solutions like communities for all ages and expanding intergenerational programs and spaces.
Intergenerational communities embrace solutions that serve, empower and engage residents of all ages. Learn how.
Intergenerational programs and spaces are another example of safe and secure environments where all ages can thrive together.
Intergenerational shared sites answer 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. Learn more.
Grandparents and the community also play a role in helping to revitalize our country’s educational system. Our Grand Partners in Education resource highlights ways to elevate grandparents as catalysts for family engagement in schools to improve children’s education. Learn more.
Battling the Opioid Crisis
As our country continues to grapple with the opioid epidemic, let’s not forget our youngest and oldest populations impacted by the crisis.
For decades, grandparents and other relatives have provided an essential haven for children whose parents have been unable to parent due to alcohol and other drug use — from crack cocaine to methamphetamines to opioids.
Grandfamilies affected by substance use disorders face a range of unique social, financial, physical and mental health challenges. Despite challenges, the growing reliance on grandfamilies is best for children whose parents cannot raise them.
Strong policies encourage states to offer a continuum of tailored services and supports for children, parents, and caregivers in grandfamilies including those 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, and our Grand Resource: Help for Grandfamilies Impacted by Opioids and Other Substance Use highlights other recommendations as well as tools and resources to help families.
Health
A prosperous and inclusive society is a healthy one that includes access to vaccines for all ages.
There are 2.5 million grandparents and other relatives who are full-time caregivers for children. Beyond family ties, older adults also interact with children in community settings such as schools, parks, places of worship, and through coordinated intergenerational programs.
With younger and older people frequently connecting across ages, vaccines across the lifespan are necessary to help stop the spread of the flu, pneumonia, and whooping cough — vaccine-preventable diseases more likely to spread between what we call “bookend generations.”
Childhood vaccinations help protect not only the immunized child and children, but also their grandparents and other older relatives, especially those with weakened immune systems.
Similarly, vaccinations keep older people healthy so that they’re able to provide care and less likely to pass on sickness to children and others. Learn more about the value of vaccines for young and old.
A prosperous and inclusive society takes work. The late Kofi Annan — former Ghanaian diplomat and the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations — said as much.
“No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy,” he explained. “Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime.” Our young, old, and those in between must be engaged in that process.
This is a snapshot of Generations United’s legislative priorities. Learn more from our Public Policy Priorities.
