Care & Custody

Pew 2023 report incorporating a review of research, state-level policies, and available court data, and interviews with child guardianship scholars, practitioners, advocates, attorneys, and court personnel to analyze minor guardianship practices and make recommendations to court leaders and policymakers to better position courts to help families.

One of the most fundamental differences between kinship/grandfamilies and parent-headed families is the lack of an automatic legal relationship between the caregiver and child. Without such a relationship, access to services and supports for the child and their kinship/grandfamily can be challenging, if not impossible.

This webinar explores the various legal relationship options and the array of public benefits and tax credits that are available to these families. Presented by the Director of the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center, Ana Beltran, JD, and Network subject matter expert, Heidi Redlich Epstein, MSW, JD, Director of Kinship Policy and State Projects, American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law.

This brief written by Mike Hartman for the National Conference of State Legislatures explains the basics of what minor guardianship is and how many states have begun to reform their minor guardianship procedures, particularly in response to the increased need resulting from the opioid epidemic and the COIVD-19 Pandemic.

This toolkit was developed to support child and parent attorneys' advocacy for kinship placements for their clients/client’s children through trial and appellate advocacy, as well as outside of the court setting. This toolkit includes federal and state law and policy resources, and a comprehensive overview of social science articles and research studies on the benefits of kinship care.

This publication developed by ABA Center on Children and the Law, Children’s Defense Fund, and Generations United helps kinship families and the professionals who assist them compare caregiving options. It provides a broad, national overview about the choices and considerations to help caregivers make informed decisions about the pathways to pursue (2022). A webinar of this tool can be viewed here.