What does it mean to be a legal guardian? Where can I find information?
Legal guardianship is one of the options available to parents who are planning for the care of their child in their absence due to a variety of situations, such as illness or incarceration. It allows parents to name a caregiver and to give the caregiver certain legal rights regarding the care of the child. In most cases, the parents' legal rights are not terminated, and the parents still play a role in their child's life. Legal guardians have custody of the child and the authority to make decisions concerning the child's protection, education, care, discipline, etc. Legal guardianship is assigned by a court, such as a family court, according to state laws. The American Bar Association provides additional legal information on its website in the Find Legal Help section.
Additionally, guardianship can be a permanency option for a child who has been placed in out-of-home care as it creates a legal relationship between a child and caregiver without the necessity of terminating the parents' parental rights. The child can maintain family connections while gaining the stability of a permanent home with a relative caregiver who has demonstrated a commitment to caring for the child. Child Welfare Information Gateway, a service of the Children's Bureau, provides summaries of state laws in Kinship Guardianship as a Permanency Option .
Finally, standby guardianship differs from traditional guardianship in that the parent retains much of their authority over the child. Information Gateway offers summaries of state statutes in its publication Standby Guardianship .
Prospective guardians who meet the requirements to provide a suitable permanent home for a child may be eligible for a range of services and financial supports. Information about state guardianship policies is available in the Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State section of the Information Gateway website. More details about state-specific data and programs and public benefits, educational assistance, legal relationship options, and state laws are available in the state factsheets on the Grandfamilies.org website.