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You are here: Home > For Prospective and Adoptive Parents > For Prospective Parents > Types of Adoptive Families > Kinship/Relative
Kinship/Relative
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Resources for grandparents and other relatives raising children.
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AARP Grandparent Information Center
Information on being a good grandparent, visitation rights, and raising grandchildren.
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Court Jurisdiction and Venue for Adoption Petitions
Adoption is a legal process for making a child a permanent member of a family other than the child's birth family. This legal process falls under the jurisdiction of a court of law in the State where the adoption occurs. This resource, current through March 1, 2004, explains jurisdiction and venue. Examples of jurisdiction are also provided.
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First Steps: Getting Started Raising Relatives' Children
This guide, developed by the Minnesota Kinship Caregivers Association, provides resources and suggestions for grandparents raising grandchildren and other kinship caregivers.
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Firstgov Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Resources
A collection of resources for grandparents including information on benefits and assistance, health and safety, and State-specific information.
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Generations United's National Center on Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children
Using an intergenerational framework, this organization educates policy makers at the national, State and local levels; raises awareness among professionals in the public and private sectors; and provides education and training to service practitioners.
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Keeping the Family Tree Intact Through Kinship Care
Informal and formal kinship care arrangements help to ensure stability and protection for children within their extended family. This fact sheet describes the benefits of kinship care as a child protection alternative and examines the agency's responsibility for the placement. Barriers to kinship placements, the placement decision-making process, and subsidized guardianship options are discussed. The briefing also reviews the efforts of New York City and the state of Illinois to improve their kinship care practices. A summary of state stepparent adoption laws is included.
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Kinship Care/Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
This resource listing provides the contact information of selected organizations that offer information on kinship care. Each entry includes a brief description of the function of the organization, mailing address, telephone and fax number, e-mail address, and web address.
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Permanency Planning: Best Interests of the Child
Whenever a court must make a determination as to the custody and/or placement of a child, or must decide on a petition for termination of parental rights, the court must weigh whether that decision will be in the best interests of the child. All States and Territories require that the child's best interests be considered whenever such decisions regarding a child's placement are made. This resource contains the text of the "best interests of the child" statutes for 47 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia. The print version is current through September 2003.
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Permanency Planning: Concurrent Planning
The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-89) mandated shortened timelines for achieving permanency. To meet these timelines, most states have come to rely on concurrent planning, a type of permanency planning in which reunification services are provided to the family of a child in out-of-home care, but at the same time an alternative permanency plan is made for the child should reunification efforts fail. This report, current through September 2003, summarizes laws regarding concurrent planning for 37 states and territories and the District of Columbia.
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Reasonable Efforts to Reunify Families
Reasonable efforts refers to efforts made by State social services agencies to provide the assistance and services needed to preserve and reunify families. Nearly all of the States have enacted statutes requiring the provision of services that will assist families in remedying the conditions that brought the child and family into the child welfare system. This report, current through September 2003, summarizes these statutes, providing information for each State on how they define "reasonable efforts," when reasonable efforts are required, and when they are not required.
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Stepparent Adoption
Although state laws differ in the procedures used to approve stepparent adoptions, most jurisdictions require the consent of the non-custodial parent as well as the stepparent's spouse. This information sheet advises stepparents to consult with an adoption attorney to determine the relevant legal requirements. The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse and state legislative web sites also provide summaries and full text copies of state adoption laws. Other steps in the adoption process include: identify the requirements of the county court that supervises adoptions, submit relevant forms, attend court hearings, and apply for an amended birth certificate.
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A Service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
For more information, contact:
National Adoption Information Clearinghouse
330 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20447
Phone: (703) 352-3488 or (888) 251-0075
Fax: (703) 385-3206
E-mail: naic@caliber.com
Updated on September 22, 2004 by webmaster_naic@caliber.com.
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