March 23, 2020

YLC launches QPI resource series "COVID19: The New Normal"

We understand that the daily changes and constantly updated information on the COVID-19 crisis can be overwhelming. However panic cannot and should not drive our work off course. Children, foster parents and birth parents deal with incredibly challenging personal crises every day. They are the pros and know how to deal with challenges one day at a time. We need this knowledge more than ever. Quality Parenting Initiative sites have to hold onto our values so that all of our decisions continue to support excellent parenting everyday.

Over the next several weeks we will be sharing “Covid-19: The New Normal”, a set of QPI based resources created to support parents, birth resource foster and kin, youth and staff, connected to the child welfare system. These will include a weekly webcast and daily online resources distributed to our QPI community via email and social media. Tomorrow we will provide information about the first webcast, which features Dr. Ken Ginsburg, whom many of you remember from our conference in Philadelphia.

This series is particularly focused on meeting the needs of families, who are often hard to reach. We don’t want to add to your workload, but we would appreciate your sharing information about the series with families, birth foster and kin in whatever way you can. We will also be grateful for any ideas you have about how to reach this audience.

Below is a schedule of webinar topics as part of our QPI-based resource series, COVID-19: The New Normal. As the situation around COVID-19 continues to evolve, please know there is a possibility that the following topics may be subject to change.

  • Tuesday, March 31st: The Power of Connection: How Resource Families Can Support Adolescents Through COVID-19 Crisis—Register here
  • Week of April 5th (a two-part series!): Child development specialist on using media effectively with children and virtual visitation.
  • Week of April 12th: Keeping teens connected to friends and family using tech.
  • Week of April 19th: Ensuring youth who receive special education obtain services and maintain educational progress.
  • Week of April 26th: Keeping older youth on track for college including SAT, college applications, coursework issues.
  • Week of May 3rd: Coordinating with Qualified Legal Services Provider (QSLP) on employment issues and unemployment insurance.
  • Week of May 10th: Supporting young children and their families.
  • Week of May 17th: Maintaining relationships between children and families over distance