The Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Center compiles free and online legal resources in support of grandfamilies within and outside the child welfare system. If you would like to share a recommended resource not listed below, please
contact us.
Resource Topics:
ADOPTION RESOURCES:
North American Council on Adoptable Children
Find specific eligibility, benefit, funding, and other characteristics for each state’s adoption subsidy program. There is also a state comparison chart on adoption assistance programs.
CARE AND CUSTODY RESOURCES:
Guide to Future Care and Permanency Planning for Children with Recommendations for State Legislation
Details voluntary permanency planning including standby guardianships from the National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center at University of California at Berkeley (2005.)
Standby Guardianship: A Guide for Legislators, Lawyers, and Child Welfare Professionals
Compares and contrasts state standby guardianship laws enacted as of 2000 and provides guidance for states looking to enact similar laws from the American Bar Association (2000.)
Summary of Joint Guardianship Statutes by State
Compares joint guardianship laws in California and Connecticut from National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center at University of California at Berkeley (2000.)
Summary of Standby Guardianship Statutes by State
Summarizes state standby guardianship laws from National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center at University of California at Berkeley (2003).
EDUCATION RESOURCES:
Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children: Access to Education
Addresses how relatives can access educational enrollment, necessary immunizations, and special education services for children, in addition to “parental” activities from Generations United. (2005)
Legal Center for Foster Care and Education Website
The ABA's national technical assistance resource and information clearinghouse on legal and policy matters affecting the education of children in the foster care system.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE RESOURCES:
Benefits QuickLINK Website
Complete a confidential survey to find out if there is help available to pay for health, food, and energy bills.
Center for Budget and Policy Priorities Website
Outreach materials to help spread the word about the Earned Income Tax Credit and child tax credit.
The Earned Income Tax Credit: An Important Tool for Lifting Families Out of
Poverty
The first in a series of fact sheets emphasizing intergenerational aspects of the issues and proposals that can help eliminate child poverty from Generations United (2005).
Tax Benefits for Foster, Adoptive Parents and Kinship Caregivers
Summary of tax benefits for Foster, Adoptive Parents and Kinship Caregivers from National Foster Parent Association (2008).
TANF and Child Welfare Programs: Increased Data Sharing Could Improve Access to Benefits and Services
US Government Accountability Office (GAO) study, (2011).
Your Guide to Public Benefits
Additional information about Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), public benefit programs, and links to the relevant government agencies from AARP.
FOSTER CARE LICENSING RESOURCES:
Improving Foster Care Licensing Standards around the United States: Using Research Findings to Effect Change
Summary and analysis of foster care licensing standards in all states and the impact of such standards on relatives seeking licensure, from Generations United, ABA Center on Children and the Law, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation (2012).
The Continuing Evolution of State Kinship Care Policies
Presents the findings of a 2001 survey of state relative foster care policies, from Urban Institute (2002).
State Kinship Foster Care Licensing and Payment Policies
Compares foster care licensing and payment policies by state, from Urban Institute (2003).
Meth and Child Welfare: Promising Solutions for Children, Their Parents and Grandparents
Provides a comprehensive set of recommendations to improve the child welfare system’s ability to combat the impact of meth and many of the other serious issues facing children and their families, from Generations United (2006).
Time for Reform, Support Relatives in Providing Foster Care and Permanent Families for Children
Presents the latest findings on the impact of relative care for children in foster care, describes the role of relatives as permanent families for the children in their care, and offers cost-effective ways to support relatives as caregivers through federal policy, from Kids Are Waiting and Generations United (2007).
State Kinship Care Policies for Children that Come to the Attention of Child Welfare Agencies: Findings from the 2007 Casey Kinship Foster Care Policy Survey
Summarizes key findings from the most recent survey of states’ kinship care policies. This study looks at the implications of states increasing their use of relatives to care for abused and neglected children to avoid having to take children into custody, from Child Trends (2008).
TANF and Child Welfare Programs: Increased Data Sharing Could Improve Access to Benefits and Services
US Government Accountability Office (GAO) study, (2011).
FOSTERING CONNECTIONS RESOURCES:
Fostering Connections Toolkit
includes several resources designed to assist states that are still considering whether to apply for GAP funding and how to make the case for the investment.
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act
A detailed summary of the Fostering Connections Act.
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act
A short summary of the Fostering Connections Act.
Fostering Connections Law
Text of the Fostering Connections Law.
Frequently Asked Questions on the Provisions Designed to Impact Youth and Young Adults
ACYF Childrens Bureau Program Instruction on Fostering Connections
Issued July 9, 2010
Fostering Connections Resource Center
Provides resources and information related to the Fostering Connections and Increasing Adoptions Act.
The Fostering Connections Act Implementation Reports
Report from The National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA).
Kinship Provisions
Outlines kinship provisions in the Fostering Connections Act
Relative Foster Care Licensing Waivers in the States
Policies and possibilities in each state related to relative foster care licensing and waivers.
Top 10 Tips for Caregivers
Tips for Relative Caregivers to Implement Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.
Pursuing Permanence for Children in Foster Care: Issues and Options for Establishing a Federal Guardianship Assistance Program in New York State
Examines kinship care in New York and other states, as well as the history of subsidized guardianship and its fiscal impact from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (2010).
Sample memo of Fostering Connections compliance
A sample memo for the state of Indiana
Making it Work: Using the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) to Close the Permanency Gap for Children in Foster Care
Examines the benefits of Title IV-E GAP and best practices in states implementing GAP.
State Plans, Policies and Laws for States Implementing Federal GAP
Collected by the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections at the Hunter College School of Social Work
Family Connection Grantee Project Abstracts
KINSHIP NAVIGATOR RESOURCES:
Family Connection Grants: Child Welfare/TANF Collaboration in Kinship Navigation Programs
Funding opportunity for state, local, or tribal child welfare agencies, and private nonprofit organizations that have experience in working with foster children or children in kinship care arrangements. Applications are due July 16, 2012.
HOUSING RESOURCES:
2012 Advocates’ Guide to Housing & Community Development Policy
Contains a chapter on LEGACY, the nation's first affordable housing law for grandparents and other relatives raising children. The chapter also covers other housing issues faced by grandfamilies. See pages 114-117. (2012).
Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children: An Action Agenda to Create Affordable Housing Opportunities
Provides an overview of housing issues faced by grandfamilies, existing federal laws that can help, housing specifically for grandfamilies, and recommended action areas and projects for creating additional affordable housing opportunities developed during Generations United's first national expert housing symposium specifically for grandfamilies, from Generations United (2005).
Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children: Housing Needs and Challenges fact sheet
Describes the housing needs and challenges facing grandparents and other relatives raising children, from Generations United (2005).
Intergenerational Housing Needs and HUD Program Options Report to Congress
This report was mandated by LEGACY, the nation's first affordable housing law specifically for grandparents and other relatives raising children.
MEDICAL RESOURCES:
Healthy Ties: Ensuring Health Coverage for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives
Looks at Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment in the states, from Children’s Defense Fund (2001).
Healthy Ties: The Grandparent’s and Other Relative Caregiver’s Guide to Health Insurance for Children
Designed to help relatives access health insurance for the children in their care, from Children's Defense Fund (2001).
Healthy Foster Care America
Information about the health issues and needs most common for children and teens in foster care.
NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVERS SUPPORT PROGRAM RESOURCES:
Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children: Their Inclusion in the National Family Caregiver Support Program
Summarizes the legal provisions of the National Family Caregiver Support Program and provides a few program examples from Generations United (2007).
Click here for the Spanish version (2005).
Promising Practices in Encouraging and Supporting Grandparents and Relatives Raising Children
Examines the various Relatives As Parents Programs operated by Area Agencies on Aging across the country from The Brookdale Foundation Group and The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, (2007).
U.S. Administration on Aging
Information from the government agency that administers the National Family Caregiver Support Program.
NOTIFICATION OF RELATIVES RESOURCES:
Sample Letter for Notice to Relatives
Key Considerations for Implementing Notice to Relatives
Checklist for Identification of and Notice to Relatives
SUBSIDIZED GUARDIANSHIP RESOURCES:
All Children Deserve a Permanent Family:
Subsidized Guardianship as a Common Sense Solution for Relatives in Long Term Foster Care
Presents new data showing the foster care system’s significant reliance on relatives, and highlights the need for subsidized guardianships as another permanency option for children for whom reunification with parents or adoption is not viable. It also features new data on Latino children, from Generations United (2007).
Click here to read this report in Spanish.
California Subsidized Guardianship Overview
Summarizes California’s KinGAP program, Generations United (2005).
Connecticut Subsidized Guardianship Overview
Summarizes Connecticut’s subsidized guardianship program, from Generations United (2006).
Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau Guardianship Website
Expanding Permanency Options for Children: A Guide to Subsidized Guardianship Programs
Outlines concrete approaches for states to consider in establishing new subsidized guardianship programs and in improving existing ones to better ensure safety and permanency for children, from
Children's Defense Fund and Cornerstone Consulting Group (2003).
Family Ties: Supporting Permanence for Children in Safe and Stable Foster Care with Relatives and Other Caregivers
Focuses on how children in long-term foster care with relatives are prime candidates for permanence when supported through some form of subsidized guardianship, from Fostering Results (2004).
Fostering the Future: Safety, Permanence and Well-Being for Children in Foster Care
This final report of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care includes its recommendations concerning federally funding subsidized guardianships as another permanency option for children for whom reunification with parents or adoption is not viable (2004).
Grandfamilies: Subsidized Guardianship Programs
Provides an introduction to subsidized guardianship programs and reviews the various subsidized guardianship programs around the country from Generations United (2006).
Iowa Subsidized Guardianship Overview
Summarizes Iowa’s subsidized guardianship program from Generations United (2006).
Louisiana Subsidized Guardianship Overview
Summarizes Louisiana’s Kinship Care Subsidy Program from Generations United (2005).
New York Subsidized Guardianship Overview
Summarizes New York’s history with relative foster care and its attempts to enact a subsidized guardianship program from Generations United (2005).
Ohio Subsidized Guardianship Overview
Summarizes Ohio’s new Kinship Permanency Incentive Program from Generations United (2005).
Pursuing Permanence for Children in Foster Care: Issues and Options for Establishing a Federal Guardianship Assistance Program in New York State
Examines kinship care in New York and other states, as well as the history of subsidized guardianship and its fiscal impact from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (2010).
States & Subsidized Guardianship Laws at a Glance
Compares elements from all the subsidized guardianship programs around the country from Children's Defense Fund (2004).
State Plans, Policies and Laws for States Implementing Federal GAP
Using Subsidized Guardianship to Improve Outcomes for Children: Key Questions to Consider
Answers the question - what is subsidized guardianship - in addition to ten other key questions from the Children's Defense Fund and Cornerstone Consulting Group (2004).
ADDITIONAL LEGISLATIVE RESOURCES:
Search for federal legislation.
Search for state legislation.
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:
AARP
Grandparent Information Center
601 E. Street, NW
Washington, DC 20049
(202) 434-2296
American Bar Association
Center on Children and the Law
740 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
P: (202) 662-1720
F: (202) 662-1755
The Brookdale Foundation Group
Relatives As Parents Program
950 Third Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10022
(212) 308-7355
Casey Family Programs
1300 Dexter Avenue North, Floor 3
Seattle, WA 98109-3542
206.282.7300
Child Trends
4301 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 572-6000
Child Welfare League of America
440 First Street NW, Third Floor
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 638-2952
Children's Defense Fund
25 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 628-8787
Fostering Results Children & Family Research Center
150 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 21206
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 641-2505
The Future of Children
Generations United
1331 H Street, NW
Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005-4752
202-289-3979
Grandfamilies of America
6525 Fish Hatchery Road
Thurmont, MD 21788
(301) 898-8023 - Direct
Toll Free: (866) 203-8926, ext. 8103
Healthy Foster Care America
American Academy of Pediatrics
141 Northwest Point Boulevard
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
(847) 434-7119
Kids Are Waiting
1025 F Street, NW, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 2004-1409
National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights
School of Social Welfare
HSC, Level 2, Room 093
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-8231
Phone/Fax: (866) 624-9900
National Conference of State Legislators
Denver Office:
7700 East First Place
Denver, Colorado 80230
(303) 364-7700
Washington Office
444 North Capitol Street, NW
Suite 515
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 624-5400
The National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (NRCFCPPP)
Overview of kinship care, legislative policy, training, research on the impact of kinship care on children, tools and resources, and tools used by different states.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
2005 Market Street, Suite 1700
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7077
(215) 575-9050
Washington Office
1025 F Street, NW, Suite 900
(202) 207-2150
Washington, DC 2004-1409
The Urban Institute
2100 M Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
(202) 833-7200
GENERAL PUBLICATIONS:
Annotated Bibliography, Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children
Covers government publications, reports, books, websites, journal articles, and popular press concerning grandparents and other relatives raising children both inside and outside the child welfare system, from Generations United (2002).
Grand Voices for America’s Children
Summarizes research and provides recommendations on how to build an effective message to help garner public support for grandparents and other relatives raising children, from Generations United (2005).
Grandfamilies: Challenges of Caring for the Second Family
Summarizes the strengths and needs of these families, and provides U.S. Census Bureau data concerning them, from Generations United (2011).
The Grandparent’s and Other Relative Caregiver’s Guide to Child Care and Early Childhood Education Programs,
The Grandparent’s and other Relative Caregiver’s Guide to Food and Nutrition Programs for Children, and
The Grandparent’s and Other Relative Caregiver’s Guide to Raising Children with Disabilities
Guidebooks designed to help relatives’ access services for the children they are raising from Children's Defense Fund (2001).
Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children: The Second Intergenerational Action Agenda
Provides a comprehensive overview of the myriad of issues facing grandfamilies and shares recommendations from the second national expert symposium on grandparents and other relatives raising children from Generations United (2005).
Kinship Care Resource Kit for Community and Faith-Based Organizations
Provides practical, hands-on information to community and faith-based organizations about the issues facing the families and how to support them from Children's Defense Fund (2004).
State Fact Sheets
Contains specific state information related to grandfamilies, including a comprehensive list of grandfamilies’ resources and services, and information about key public benefit programs (2011).
U.S. Census Bureau Data
U.S. Census Bureau data on grandparent caregivers and children being raised by grandparents and other relatives.