[TBearsAunt]

I am presently taking foster parenting classes in order to be allowed to be a foster parent to my newborn nephew while his mother deals with her drug addiction. Recently it was suggested to her that she simply sign over guardianship to me and get Child Protective Services off of her back. Does anyone know the difference between being a foster parent and becomming a guardian? I am very new to this.

[gregorysparents]

TBearsAunt,

I checked the following website and here is what I found:

http://www.grandsplace.com/gp8/in.html


Kinship Care and Indiana’s Foster Care System


Sometimes children in the care of the states are placed in foster care with grandparents or other relatives. In Indiana, the Family and Social Services Administration reports:

Number of children in kinship foster placements: As of June 2000, there were 11,305 children in out-of-home placements. Of these children, 1,345 children (13%) were placed with kin.

Preference for kinship placements: State policy requires that kin be considered first when an out-of-home placement is sought for a child under the Administration’s care.

Licensing for kinship foster parents: There is no separate licensing program for kinship foster parents. Kin have to meet the same licensing standards and receive the same foster care payment rate as non-kin foster parents.

Assisted Guardianship: In addition to foster care payments and other benefits available to kin raising children in the foster care system, some states also have subsidized guardianship programs. Indiana has an Assisted Guardianship Program for children under the Administration’s supervision who have been placed with a relative who assumes legal guardianship of the child. The program is generally available to eligible children over the age of 13. The relative seeking legal guardianship must also meet certain requirements (including the ability to provide for all the child’s needs except for the financial and medical subsidy). (Ind. Admin. Code Title 470 r.3-10-5). Contact: Stephanie Beasley-Fehrman, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, at (317) 232-4622 or sbeasley-fehrman@fssa.state.in.us.

State foster care contact: Questions about kinship foster placements should be directed to Stephanie Beasley-Fehrman, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, at (317) 232-4622 or sbeasley-fehrman@fssa.state.in.us.

Training and support for kinship foster parents: Support services for kinship foster parents are offered by the Indiana Foster and Adoption Association. Contact: Christina Morrison at (800) 468-4228 or (317) 920-2505. The Web site is http://www.ifcaa.org.

Other Supports for Indiana Kinship Care Families

Children raised by kinship caregivers are often eligible for a range of state and federal programs. In most cases, kinship caregivers may apply for these programs on a child’s behalf even though they are not the child’s parents or legal guardians. Some examples of these programs include:

Cash assistance: Cash assistance may be available to children and their grandparents and other relative caregivers through Indiana’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Kinship care families may also be eligible for food stamps to help meet their children’s food and nutrition needs. For more information about these programs, call (317) 232-4919 or log on to http://www.in.gov/fssa/families/tanf/index.html.

Health insurance: Grandparents and other relative caregivers may apply for free or low-cost health insurance on behalf of the children they are raising through Indiana’s Hoosier Healthwise program. In some cases, caregivers may also be eligible for free coverage under Medicaid. For more information about how to apply for these programs, call 1-800-889-9949 or log on to http://www.in.gov/fssa/healthcare/.

State Laws and Policies

Sometimes kinship caregivers find it difficult to obtain services their children need, such as medical care or education. In addition to the state’s child guardianship and custody laws, the following laws may be helpful to kinship caregivers1:

Educational Consent (Ind. Code § 20-8.1-6.1-1): This law states that a caregiver may enroll a child in school without being the child’s legal guardian. The caregiver must provide proof that the child is supported by, cared for by, and living with the caregiver. The caregiver also must sign a “Custodial Agreement Form” indicating that he or she is responsible for the child.

Medical Consent (Ind. Code § 16-36-1-5): This law states that a person acting in place of a parent may consent to health care on behalf of a child if no guardian has been appointed for health care purposes or the guardian is unavailable, refuses to act, or is unknown to the health care provider. “De Facto” Custody (Ind. Code § 31-9-2-35.5 et seq.): This law applies to a grandparent or other relative who has been the primary caregiver of a child for six months (if the child is under three years old) or 12 months (if the child is over three years old). Grandparents and other relatives raising children who meet these criteria shall be entitled to apply for custody and may be awarded custody if a judge deems that to be in the best interest of the child.


I hope this helps. You can pm me if you want and I will help you as much as I can. Good luck to you.

Christina

[TBearsAunt]

Thank you so much for your quick answer. As I said, I am new to this--foster parenting was one of those things I though I'd do if I was still reasonably healthy once I retired--so I imagine I will have a ton of questions as I proceed.