C hildren and F amily Research Center University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Social Work TM Mark Testa & Leslie Cohen January 2005 Family Ties: Supporting Permanence for Children in Safe and Stable Foster Care with Relatives and Other Caregivers

In U.S. Foster Care, 2002 In Care > 17 of 22 mos. In Relative Foster Care In Current Placement > 12 mos. Without a goal of reunification or adoption

Advantages of Guardianship Unlike adoption, guardianship does not recast kinship relations into the nuclear family mold of parent and child. –Guardians retain their extended family identities as grandparents, aunts, and uncles. It does not require the termination of parental rights, which legally estranges children not only from their birth parents but also from their unadopted siblings. Under guardianship, children may also retain rights of sibling visitation. Birth parents may still exercise a limited role in their children’s upbringing. –They hold on to certain residual rights and obligations, such the rights to visit and consent to adoption as well as the obligation for child support. If circumstances change, parents may petition the court to vacate the guardianship and return the children to their custody, unlike adoption that is consummated only after the birth parents’ rights to regain custody are permanently extinguished. Guardianship limits the financial liability of guardians for the upkeep of their wards, unlike adoption that reassigns these financial obligations fully to the adoptive parents.

Guardianship and other permanency initiatives in Illinois shortened length of care and diminished the backlog of children in long-term foster care

In July 2000, Illinois children in state assisted adoption & guardianship surpassed children in substitute care

Ingredients of Success Eligibility limited to children in foster care Equal subsidy levels Rule-out requirement Safety checks Strong attachment

SG Increases Legal Permanence } 7%

But No Differences in Stability  Proportion still living in the same home in which they resided at the time of original assignment in the three research sites was 67% in the cost neutrality group and 69% in the demonstration group.  The lack of an intervention effect suggests that the degree of placement stability may be determined by factors that are independent of the legal relationship between the child and caregiver, e.g. familiarity, norms of kinship.

Displacement is rare … As of March 30, 2002, 3.0% had experienced a displacement from permanence. Of displacements, one-half were due to guardian death or incapacitation Three-fourths of death and incapacitations involved reassignment of a new private guardian.

But Post-Permanency Services are Essential  To prevent displacement and dissolution of guardianship & adoption. – 34% of both private wards & adopted children identified with special needs. – 13% of adoptive parents and guardians over age 65.

Enter page title here! Conclusion Extrapolating from the Illinois experience suggests that kinship care is a vast and largely untapped resource for securing legally permanent homes for foster children. Making subsidized guardianship a provision of the Social Security Act in addition to subsidized adoption would greatly expand the options for ensuring permanence for all children.

Further Information CONTACT: Mark Testa or Leslie Cohen Children and Family Research Center 2 North LaSalle, Suite 1700 Chicago, Illinois Tel: