Kinship Caregivers

A Kinship Caregiver is any relative, other than a parent, who is the primary caregiver for a child whose parent is unable or unwilling to provide care or is absent. A kinship care arrangement may be temporary or permanent, and may be established through an informal relationship, a legal custody or guardianship order, foster care placement, or adoption. Grandparents make up the largest group of kinship caregivers in the United States. According to the 2000 census, 2.4 million grandparent caregivers provide primary care for 6.7 million children. In Minnesota, 48,000 children live in households headed by grandparents. Kinship caregivers often lack or have limited authority to make important decisions concerning the children in their care. They often have limited knowledge about financial, health education, legal, and child welfare systems and receive little training or support for the work they do. The Consent Problem

Custody and Visitation
	A grandparent or other kinship caregiver can seek permanent custody of the child in his or her care or, in cases where a child's parent has remarried, reasonable visitation. Custody and Visitation

Legislation

Several states have implemented legislation which provides kinship caregivers with the authority they need for medical care decisions and school enrollment even when they do not have legal custody. Essentially this type of legislation provides a means for a caregiver to demonstrate that he or she is the individual responsible for the care of the child. The authority is always temporary, and some states it must be renewed annually. State and Federal Legislation

Resources and Links

State by State Consent Authorization Law Comparison   State by State Resources - Grandplace.org State laws and policies, kinship care initiatives, support for grandparents, contact information for kinship programs, foster care, and lots more.     Grandfamilies Law and Legislation Database  This site is a collaboration between Casey Family Programs, Generations United and the American Bar Association Center of Children and Law.  The site allows for state and topic specific searches and topics include adoption, medical care, financial assistance, custody and subsidized guardianship.  State by State Custody & Visitation Laws    Interactive spreadsheet allows user to link directly to specific state statutes regarding grandparent custody and visitation. Parenting Again article Index Parenting Again is a magazine published by the University of Illinois Extension for grandparents raising grandchildren and other non-traditional families.  ABA Kinship Care Legal Research Center American Bar Association site has fact sheets on many topics, including financial assistance for kinship caregivers, statutory preferences for relative placement, medical consent and education consent laws, and how to locate caregiver resources.    National Family Caregivers Association This site has information, support, and advocacy for family caregivers. Minnesota Specific Resources   Hennepin County District Court  approved a set of third-party custody forms which allow a person seeking third-party custody of a child to appear in court pro se.  These forms are available at the Hennepin County Self-Help center and county staff are available to help people complete the forms.   Legal Steps: A Kinship Caregiver Resource Manual is a manual intended to provide information about the public benefits, medical coverage, support groups and services available to kinship caregivers as well as how to go about securing these benefits and finding resources.  This publication is under revision and an updated edition should be available soon. Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota helps grandparents with custody issues in various ways, including assistancein completing paperwork, obtaining funding from the state to help defer the costs of raising grandschildren, as well as helping obtain legal representation. Relative Caregiver Consent Authorization Legislation in the United States and Proposed Legislation for Minnesota