Utah Launches Initiative to Support Children Who Have Lost a Parent or Caregiver
Candalyn Winder Mettmann was just 27 years old when her husband, Isaac Winder, passed away from food poisoning and dehydration while they were living in Changchun, China. Their daughter Adair was only 2 years old at the time and struggled with separation anxiety and grief. Candalyn sought resources to help her daughter, but found it difficult to connect with support services.
Now, nearly a decade later, Utah is taking a significant step forward in assisting children who have lost a parent or caregiver. The state has announced an initiative called the Utah Children’s Collaborative, which will work to identify and support bereaved children. The initiative will be supported by a $1 million grant from the New York Life Foundation, bringing their total investment in bereaved children to over $70 million in the last 12 years.
Matching Birth Records with Death Records to Offer Resources
The Utah Children’s Collaborative will work with the University of Utah’s Gardner Policy Institute to match birth records with death records of those who have children under 18 years old. Once families are identified, the collaborative’s partner organizations will reach out to connect them with an array of supports, such as Social Security Death and Survivor Benefits, funeral reimbursements, public assistance nutrition benefits, grief camps, local support groups, therapeutic services, and mentoring.
Granite School District, one of the largest school districts in Utah, will also play a role in the initiative. Starting in the 2023-24 school year, the district will add an entry to its enrollment forms that allows families to voluntarily share that a caregiver or parent has passed away and to opt-in to being linked to resources. Granite District teachers and administrators will also participate in the New York Life’s Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative, which will help prepare them to help bereaved kids and families.
A Moral Imperative to Support Grieving Children
The Children’s Collaborative for Healing and Support, co-founded by John Bridgeland, initially focused on the 340,000 children nationwide who lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19, as part of the long-established COVID Collaborative. Now, the initiative is expanding to support all grieving children, no matter the cause of death.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox noted that 1 in 15 Utah children will experience the death of a parent before they reach 18 years old. “We can’t let these families suffer alone. We have the resources already available and we need to use them. Not only do children suffer the emotional pain of losing a caregiver, they often experience trauma and when not provided support, they have long-term consequences like low self-esteem, depression, and poor performance in school,” Cox said.
Candalyn Winder Mettmann, who has since remarried and earned her master’s degree in education leadership, expressed hope about the new initiative. “Every grieving child deserves to have what my daughter has, long-term financial stability, community support and professionals who understand them. They deserve to have loved ones with the time and resources to show up. They deserve a safe place to land. They deserve a chance to rebuild a beautiful life after their loss,” she said.
Jason Mettmann, Candalyn’s husband, also lost his father during childhood and understands the importance of support for grieving children. “I hope that I make her grandpa and their first daddy proud, right? We get to be a part of his (Isaac’s) family as well. His siblings have taken me in as one of their brothers and we all are still a family,” he said.
- Grief counseling services in Utah
- Utah bereavement support groups
- Financial assistance for Utah families after a parent’s death
- Utah estate planning resources
- Utah probate court information and resources
News Source : Marjorie Cortez
Source Link :Where can Utah families turn for support when mom or dad dies?/