Supporting Immigrant Families Project Resources
Resources
These resources could be helpful for all families with young children. We encourage you to explore this resource library to find supports that would support the young children and families in your care.
National resource database with information about financial assistance, mutual aid, legal resources, medical resources, food assistance, and more.
This resource, compiled by the Chicago Teachers Union, is an excellent, comprehensive list of services to help children and families find what they need during the pandemic.
The Illinois State Board of Education has posted free internet access opportunities from ATT&T, Spectrum, and Comcast at www.isbe.net/keeplearning under “Free internet access resources”.
Contact the CPS Command Center at 773.553.KIDS (5437) or email [email protected] for more information
If you are struggling to pay your gas and electric utilities, you should know there are some temporary protections that might help you! The Gas and Electric Utilities Mandate:
- prohibits disconnections of gas and electric utilities while the state of emergency is still in place
- requires utilities to suspend late fees, adopt flexible credit and collections practices
If you experience disconnections notices, submit a Consumer Complaint here: Illinois Consumer Complaint Form
Visit the ComEd assistance page for consumers who are struggling to pay their utility bills during the pandemic.
- Immigrants RHealth Care: Treatment and Coverage: An overview for mixed-status families when it comes to going to the doctor or enrolling in health insurance
- Immigrant Healthcare Resources and Rights in Response to Coronavirus (p. 1) / Recursos y Derechos de Atención Médico para Inmigrantes en Respuesta al Coronavirus (p. 2)
- Immigrant Rights related to health change regularly: Protecting Immigrant Families, regularly updates information on this topic, https://pifcoalition.org/
Legal services for individuals impacted by gender-based violence and child welfare system. Legal services include: DCFS cases, Child Custody Support, Divorce, Finances and Housing, Immigration, and Orders of Protection. https://www.ascendjustice.org/
Residents seeking urgent support for DV or human trafficking can contact the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 directly at 1-877-TO END DV (1-877-863-6338 voice or 1- 877-863-6339 TTY).
Tips for Parents: How to talk to and support young children in the wake of racialized violence
- 5 Phrases to help young children understand the protests for racial justice (3-5 years)
- Talking to young children about racial injustice (0-5 years): This resource contains tips and recommendations on how to support and talk to young children about racial injustice.
- Racism and Violence: Using your Power as a Parent to Support Children Aged Two to Five / Racismo y violencia: Su influencia como padres para apoyar a los niños de 2 a 5 años de edad (2-5 years)
- Racism & Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News / Racismo y violencia: cómo ayudar a los niños a sobrellevar las noticias: (3-5 years)
- Helping your Child Cope with Media Coverage of Community Racial Trauma: Tips for Parents (video)
- Podcast: I [STILL] can’t breathe: supporting kids of color amid racialized violence (60 minutes)
- Using Stories to Nurture Identity: This parenting resource provides tips and tools for how parents can help young children to construct a positive self-identity using stories
- Podcast: Talking Race With Young Children (20 minutes)
- Raising Antiracist Kids: Ibram X. Kendi with Derecka Purnell: A discussion about raising antiracist children with the author of the children’s book Antiracist Baby, Ibram Kendi.
We recommend looking to your local library to find any of the books featured below.
- Elmo and his dad Louie talk about racism and protesting (video)
- Talk and Walk: A Children’s Guide to Racial Justice: Out of Hand Theater created a series of interactive videos that can be used to guide conversations with children about racial justice.
- Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi (0-36 months) This book is for families raising children to be a force for anti-racist change in the world.
- A is for Activist by Innosante Nagara (0-36 months) This book is for families who want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmentalism, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and beyond. The book is available in English and Spanish.
- Missing Daddy by Mariame Kaba (3-6 years) This book shows how a father and daughter’s love cannot be broken even when they are separated by prison bars
- Sometimes People March by Tessa Allen (3-5 years): This book depicts that people are stronger when they march together and focuses on the human emotions that motivate people to engage in protest.
- Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Caleno (4-8 years): This story aims to answer children’s questions about traumatic events and racial injustice.
- 20 Picture Books for 2020: Readings to Embrace Race, Provide Solace, & Do Good
- Looking for Excellent “Diverse” Books for Children?: Use this resource for a consolidated list of tips in choosing picture books that feature Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC)
- Talking to Kids about Racism and Justice: a list for parents, caregivers, and educators organized by different age groups.
- CMI: Tips for calming anxiety during a difficult time / Conciencia plena durante la crisis del coronavirus
- Sesame Street Monster Meditation
- Additional Sesame Street Videos
- Recordings of Picture Books Read Aloud
- Tengo Miedo – las emociones de Gaston
- Cuando Tenemos Miedo / When We are Scared by Chandra Ghosh Ippen
- Una Vez Tuve Mucho Mucho Miedo / Once I was Very Very Scared by Chandra Gosh Ippen
- Cuando Estoy Triste un Cuento by Tracey Moroney
- 10 tips for teaching and talking to kids about race / 10 consejos para enseñar y hablar a los niños acerca de la raza
- Center for Racial Justice: Resources for talking to kids about race, racism, and racialized violence
- Recursos sobre el racism y anti-negro/anti-negritud en Latinoamericano
- Cyclista Zine Black Lives Matter Resources
- NCTSN: Helping Children with Traumatic Separation or Traumatic Grief Related to COVID-19: This tip sheet from for helps caregivers supporting children with traumatic separation or grief from COVID-19 (3-5 years)
- Zero to Three: Helping Your Toddler Cope with Grief and Death / Cómo ayudar a su niño pequeño a sobrellevar el dolor y la muerte: This article is available in English and Spanish, and provides recommendations on addressing toddler’s questions about death, helping toddlers cope with grief (0-36 months)
- Resources for Families Facing Deportation and Separation / Recursos para Familias Enfrentando la Deportación o Separación: this guide, available in English and Spanish provides information about family separation due to detention and deportation
- BMC Resources: Family Separation Plans : Boston Medical Center’s resources on family separation plans. In English / In Spanish
- ChildMind: Helping Children Cope with Grief / Guia sobre como ayudar a los ninos a enfrentar el duelo
- NCTSN: Coping after mass violence (all ages)
- CMI: Racism & Violence: How to help kids handle the news / Racismo y violencia: cómo ayudar a los niños a sobrellevar las noticias: (3-5 years)
- Common Sense Media: Explaining the news to our kids / Cómo hablar con tus hijos sobre la noticias (0-5 years, 6-12 years, and teens)
- PBS: Helping children with tragic events in the news (all ages)
- CMI: Tips for calming anxiety during a difficult time / Conciencia plena durante la crisis
- Sesame Street Monster Meditation
- Additional Sesame Street Videos
- Recordings of Picture Books Read Aloud
- Tengo Miedo – las emociones de Gaston
- Cuando Tenemos Miedo / When We are Scared by Chandra Ghosh Ippen
- Una Vez Tuve Mucho Mucho Miedo / Once I was Very Very Scared by Chandra Gosh Ippen
- Cuando Estoy Triste un Cuento by Tracey Moroney
- Child Mind Institute (CMI): Helping kids understand riots at the Capital / Cómo ayudar a los niños a entender los disturbios en el Capitolio (0-5 years and 6+ years)
- Common Sense Media: Talking to Kids about the Violence at the U.S. Capitol / Cómo hablar con los niños sobre la violencia en el Capitolio de los Estados Unidos (2-7 years, 8-12 years, and teens)
- Psychology Today: Supporting kids and teens following the riot in our capitol (0-5 years, 6-12 years, and teens)
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN): Supporting children after the u.s. capital attack (all ages)
- NPR: How to talk to kids about the riots at the U.S. Capitol (preschool and older)
- Harvard Gazette: How to talk to your kids about the Capital riots (all ages)
The following links are resources for how to talk to young children about COVID-19 including guides for caregivers, social stories, videos, and activities.
- Baby Talks: Parent Coronavirus Questions Answered / Respuestas a las preguntas de los padres sobre el coronavirus
- PBS Guide to How to talk to your kids about coronavirus / Como hablar con tus hijos sobre el Coronavirus: This resource provides recommendations on how to talk to young ones about COVID-19, how to keep germs away, and has a great list of tools to help young children learn healthy habits.
- Sesame Street: Talking to Your Children about COVID-19: This 1-pager gives recommendations on how to talk to young children about COVID-19 and offering comfort during challenging times. En Español
- Children’s Books & Social Stories explaining COVID-19 to young ones
- Fighting the Big Virus: Trinka, Sam, and Littletown Work Together / Luchando Contra el Gran Virus: Trinka, Juan, y Pueblito Trabajan Juntos
- The Germ that Wears a Crown: A Story about Coronavirus / El Microbio Que Lleva Una Corona: Un Cuento Sobre el Coronavirus
- Coronavirus Social Story: Visual Guide for Children on the Autism Spectrum
- COVIBook (English & Español)
- Coronavirus: ¿Que es?: Una narrativa social para niños
- Sesame Street: How to Wash Your Hands / Sesamo: ¡La-la lava, enjunga y canta con Elmo!
- Mantenerse saludable
- H is for Handwashing: Storybook
- Daniel Tigre – La Familia Está Enferma
- Needs & Wants during uncertain times
- Child Mind: Tips for calming anxiety during a difficult time / ChildMind: Conciencia plena durante la crisis del coronavirus
- Tengo Miedo – las emociones de Gaston
- Cuando Tenemos Miedo / When We are Scared by Chandra Ghosh Ippen
- Una Vez Tuve Mucho Mucho Miedo / Once I was Very Very Scared by Chandra Gosh Ippen
- Cuando Estoy Triste un Cuento by Tracey Moroney
- Sesame Street Monster Meditation #1: I-Sense with Cookie Monster
- Sesame Street Monster Meditation #2: Goodnight Body with Elmo
- Sesame Street Monster Meditation #3: Focus Rhyme with Gover
- Sesame Street Monster Meditation #4: Try Try Again with Two-Headed Monster
- Sesame Street: Feeling Worried (belly breaths)
- Sesame Street: Learn to Belly Breathe with Rosita
- Sesame Street: Coping with Sickness
- Zero to Three: Books for families facing tough times
- Zero to Three: Tips for Families Coronavirus
- Sesame Street: Caring for Each Other: Activities, resources, and tips for families during COVID-19
- Yale Child Center: Helping Children Cope with the COVID-19 Pandemic / Cómo Ayudar a los Niños a Lidiar con la Pandemia de COVID-19
- MC3: Support for Providers and Families during a Pandemic
- Child Mind Institute: Supporting Families during COVID-19 / Enfrentar el COVID-19: recursos para padres
- NCSTN: Supporting Children During COVID-19
- COVID-19: Helping My Child Cope: Things Parents and Caregivers Can Do and Say
Tips and recommendations on how to safely quarantine in the same place as somebody with COVID-19.
Below are resources geared towards caregivers and parents on coping with the stresses of parenting during COVID-19.
- Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope with the Coronavirus
- Understanding & Coping with Reactions in a Pandemic
- Coping in Hard Times: Fact Sheet for Parents
- Podcast for Parents: Tips for Parents
- Sheltering in Place: An Emotional Roller Coaster / Refugiados en un lugar: Una montana rusa emocional
- Parenting During a Pandemic: You Are Enough
- Coronavirus Resource Hub for the Immigrant Community
Help Improve the Wellbeing of Immigrant Families with Young Children
Connect with Supporting Immigrant Families to find the best training options for you and your staff.