Subsidized Guardianship and Kinship Care
Initiative Policy Goal
Provide subsidized legal guardianship and subsidized kinship care as options for permanence
Issue Definition
Placing youth and children with relatives can be a powerful means of achieving permanence and keeping them connected with their birth family, even if they cannot return home to their parents. Similarly there are many reasons why a relative or another caring adult would want to assume legal guardianship instead of adoption. For example, subsidized guardianship is often appropriate when a family member would like to take legal custody of a child but does not feel comfortable terminating the parental rights of the child's parent(s) - often out of love, respect, or hope that that person will experience change. Given the alarming increase in young people who age out of care each year without a permanent connection (from 19,000 in 1999 to almost 30,000 in 2008) , every means available to connect them with caring adults should be supported by law, policy, and practice.
Historically, states and the federal government have not provided guardianship subsidies, nor subsidies equal to foster care payments for relatives caring for a child or youth unless the family is licensed by the state as a foster parent. Kinship caregivers and adults who assume legal guardianship should receive the same financial resources, supports and services that non-family, licensed caregivers receive. Evidence from Illinois and Wisconsin shows that subsidizing legal guardianship and kinship care at similar rates to foster care assistance payments for non-relative placements, results in children and youth spending less time in foster care and a significant cost savings to the state. States should ensure that those cost savings are retained for needs in child welfare, such as prevention and community-based supports.
Similarly young people in kinship care or legal guardianship should have access to the same independent living services and supports as those in licensed foster care, or who have been adopted.
Status
The federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008 allows reimbursement under Title IV-E when states opt to provide assistance payments for relatives who assume legal guardianship. It also requires states to provide relatives with notice when a child is placed in foster care and permits flexibility in non-safety licensing requirements for relatives. Several states, including California, Michigan, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, have received approval for a state child welfare services plan amendment to support their Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (Kin-GAP).
Related Resources
Ten Steps Public Child Welfare Agencies Can Take to Support Children in Safe and Stable Kinship Families; Child Focus September, 2009 www.fosteringconnections.org
The Fostering Connections Resource Center includes information about states that implement the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (Kin-GAP). www.fosteringconnections.org
For research to improve children's lives; including a state child welfare policy database, Child Trends www.childtrends.org
Policy For Results promotes better results for kids and families through research-informed policy; funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, www.policyforresults.org
Subsidized Guardianship: Collaborating to Identify New Policy Opportunities. Report from a symposium held in 12.12.06. Annie E. Casey Foundation/Casey Family Services; Generations United; and Tufts University. www.caseyfamilyservices.org
Racial Equity and Subsidized Guardianship: Critical Issues in Child Welfare Policy. December 2006. Report from conference of national experts. Casey Family Services; Alliance for Racial Equity; Cornerstone Consulting Group; and Children's Defense Fund
