Page 95 - Impact: Collected Essays on the Threat of Economic Inequality

Guardianship is often used to allow relatives to become long-term caregivers . Unlike adoption, guardianship does not require termination of parental rights and allows the birth parent to retain certain rights and responsibilities . The Adoptions and Safe Families Act, which made permanency the predominant child welfare goal, identified guardianship or placement with a fit and willing relative as acceptable permanency options .25 It, nonetheless, prioritized adoption over these options through procedural requirements and funding incentives . The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (“Fostering Connections”) helped to fix the misaligned incentives by providing funding to subsidize guardianships .26 Once a case results in guardianship, the court transfers custody from the state to the relative, and there is minimal further involvement by the state . Some caregivers choose to adopt their relative children . Because adoption is often the agencies’ preferred option, relatives may be encouraged to adopt over permanent guardianship .
Some states have subsidized guardianship programs so that relatives continue to receive a subsidy after the case closes . The Fostering Connections Act encourages the use of subsidized guardianships by allowing states the option to use Title IV-E for guardianship assistance programs . Prior to this, aside from limited Title IV-E waivers,27 federal child welfare funding was available only for foster care and adoption, creating strong disincentives for states to pursue guardianships . Although some states had subsidized guardianship programs prior to Fostering Connections, these were primarily funded through state and local funds, general public benefit programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (“TANF”) or Title XX block grants, or in select states through the Title IV-E waiver .28 The effect of having to cobble together funding is that these programs were often underfunded and underutilized . As of May 2014, thirty-two states, including New York, were approved to offer Fostering Connections guardianship assistance programs .29 Children in foster care—or who exit foster care—get other services and benefits such as Medicaid, priority for other types of disability benefits, and independent living benefits for children who “age out” of the foster care system .
The costs of using the child welfare system as the primary means to support relative care are high . There is no guarantee that children will be placed with relatives or that the family will get needed services . Rigid licensing and adoption standards rule out some family members who would be wonderful caregivers from a psychological perspective . In some cases, relatives are not eligible for financial assistance . Whether relatives get assistance or are selected for placement turns on the specifics of state rules, availability of services, or discretion of child welfare agencies . Even when children are placed with relatives, the focus on assigning fault and penalizing parents puts stress on the very familial relationships that are an invaluable support system for the child . Children remain bonded to their biological parents, even when it may be best for them to remain under the care of another relative . The trauma of separation and court involvement itself has psychological
25 42 U.S.C.A. § 675(5)(C), (E).
26 Public Law 110-351 (codified at 42 U.S.C.A § 675(1)(D)).
27 Title IV-E waivers allowed states to apply to the federal government to use Title IV-E money to fund innovative demonstration projects including subsidized guardianships, community-based supports for families, and post- adoption assistance to families, such as therapy and case management. u.s. hhs, acf, synThesis of findings: suBsidized guardianship child welfare waiver demonsTraTions (2011), available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/ default/files/cb/subsidized_0.pdf.
28 Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center, Judge’s Role in Implementing Fostering Connections: Relative Caregiver Provisions, 31 no. 6 child l. prac. 88 (June 2012).
29 National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections, nrcpfc, http://www.nrcpfc.org/fostering_ connections/state_gap.html (last visited April 9, 2015).
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