Jump to Navigation | Jump to Content
 American Bar Association - Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice ABA Logo
ABA Center for Children and the Law

KINSHIP CARE LEGAL RESEARCH CENTER

The ABA Center on Children and the Law is proud to make available this Kinship Care Legal Resource Center. Kinship care, commonly defined as the "full-time care, nurturing, and protection of children by relatives, members of their tribes or clans, or other adults who have a family relationship to a child," is a growing phenomenon across the United States. Today, more than six million children-approximately one in twelve-are growing up in households headed by grandparents (4.5 million children) or other relatives (1.5 million children). Here in our nation's capital, an astounding 14.5% of all children live in grandparent-headed households. This new Resource Center is intended to serve as a toolkit for attorneys, judges, and other child-serving practitioners working with kinship families and having difficulty navigating the complex existing and emerging legal issues. We hope you will visit us often for up-to-date, innovative

Note from the Center director: The content for this page was developed by Ms. Elana Viner, a student at American University's Washington College of Law and a 2006 Bergstrom Child Welfare Law Summer Fellow at the ABA Center on Children and the Law. We hope to update and expand the material on this page, and I welcome your feedback and suggestions for improving this at

Financial Assistance for Kinship Care Providers

More than 54% of children in kinship care live in families with incomes below 200% of the poverty line. Many times, a relative's reasons for not taking in a child are strictly financial. Several sources of financial assistance for kinship caregivers currently exist, including: foster care payments; adoption subsidies; child support payments; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) child-only grants; food stamps; social security benefits; disability benefits; tax credits; and subsidized guardianships.

• Subsidized Guardianship
• Low Income Help (AARP)
• Public Benefits Programs Can Help Grandparents (AARP)
• Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children
• The Social Security Debate
• The Stake of Children, Youth, and Families...- SPANISH
• The Earned Income Tax Credit

Statutory Preferences for Relative Placement

Federal law requires states to "consider giving preference to an adult relative over a non-related caregiver when determining placement for a child, provided that the relative caregiver meets all relevant State child protection standards." All states currently mandate that child welfare agencies give preference to a relative when determining placement for youth in out-of-home care. How does it play out in practice?

• Placement of Children with Relatives
• State Policies at a Glance
• Summary Memo
• Andreah Moyer Testimony

Medical Consent

Imagine a grandmother unable to take her ailing granddaughter to the doctor or an uncle unable to vaccinate his nephew prior to the start of the school year. The ability to consent to such everyday procedures and doctors' visits as well as to emergency care is an essential aspect of providing kinship care. Yet only 28 states and the District of Columbia currently have policies in place that enable relative caregivers to consent to their relative child's medical, dental, surgical, and psychological needs.

• A New Tool for Grandparents & Others Caring for Children
• Resources for Improving Mental Health Services...
• State Policies at a Glance
• Summary Memo
• Health Care Issues for Children in Kinship Care

Back to Top

Copyright American Bar Association. http://www.abanet.org