Child Welfare Information Gateway
Skip to main content
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • Administration for Children & Families
  • Children's Bureau
Child Welfare Information Gateway
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   

Home Topics Publications Library State Resources More Tools & Resources News & Events
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Free Subscriptions
  • Resources in Spanish
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Resources in Spanish
  • Shopping Cart
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Family-Centered Practice
      • Philosophy and Key Elements of Family-Centered Practice
      • Family-Centered Practice Across the Service Continuum
      • Engaging Families
      • Family-Centered Casework Practice
      • Family Group Decision-Making
      • Engaging Communities to Support Families
      • Creating a Family-Centered Agency Culture
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Definitions of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Identification of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Risk Factors That Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect
      • People Who Engage in Child Abuse or Neglect
      • Impact of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Child Abuse & Neglect Fatalities
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
      • Overview: Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Promoting Child & Family Well-Being
      • Public Awareness & Creating Supportive Communities
      • Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Programs
      • Developing & Sustaining Prevention Programs
      • Evidence-Based Practice for Child Abuse Prevention
      • Evaluating Prevention Programs
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Introduction to Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect
      • Assessment in Child Protection
      • Differential Response in Child Protective Services
      • Child Protection Casework Practice
      • Responding to Child Maltreatment Near Fatalities and Fatalities
      • Trauma-Informed Practice in Child Welfare
      • Collaborative Responses to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
      • Supporting Families With Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
      • Introduction to Family Support and Preservation
      • In-Home Services Involved With Child Protection
      • Family Support Services
      • Resources for Managers of Family Support and Preservation Services
      • Family Preservation Services
    • Out-of-Home Care
      • National Foster Care Month
      • Overview: Out-of-Home Care
      • Foster Care
      • Group and Residential Care
      • Kinship Care
      • Casework Practice in Out-of-Home Care
      • Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living
      • Placement Decisions
      • Resources for Foster Families
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Overview: Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Reunifying Families
      • Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
      • Permanency With Relatives and Kin
      • Guardianship
      • Permanency for Specific Youth Populations
      • Legal and Court Issues in Permanency
      • Interjurisdictional Placements
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families After Permanency
      • Resources for Administrators and Managers About Permanency
      • Resources for Families About Permanency
    • Adoption
      • National Adoption Month
      • All-In Foster Adoption Challenge
      • Children's Bureau Adoption Call to Action
      • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
      • Introduction to Adoption
      • Ethical Issues in Adoption
      • For Adopted People
      • For Adoption Program Managers & Administrators
      • For Expectant Parents Considering Adoption and Birth Parents
      • How to Adopt
      • Laws Related to Adoption
      • Parenting After Adoption
      • Preplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Postplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Search & Reunion in Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
      • Administering & Managing Child Welfare Agencies & Programs
      • Child Welfare Practice Improvement
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Ethical Practice & Client Rights
      • Evaluating Program and Practice Effectiveness
      • Funding
      • Information Systems & Data
      • Supervising Child Welfare Services
      • System Reform
      • Training
      • Workforce
    • Systemwide
      • Assessment
      • Behavioral Health & Wellness
      • Courts
      • Cultural Responsiveness
      • Diverse Populations and Communities
      • Domestic Violence
      • Human Trafficking
      • Laws & Policies
      • Service Array
      • Statistics
      • Well-Being
      • Youth
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Topic
    • Browse by Title
    • índice de Títulos en Español (Spanish Title Index)
  • Library
    • Library Services
    • Library Search Help
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals Search
    • State-Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Resources From the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants
      • The Story of the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Video Series
    • Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast Series
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Webinars
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • News & Events
    • Free Subscriptions
    • Adoption Triad
    • Children's Bureau Express (CBX)
    • The Grantee Connection
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • Home
  • Topics
  • Out-of-Home Care
  • Kinship Care
  • Resources for Relative and Kinship Caregivers
  • Resources for Relative and Kinship Caregivers: Legal and Financial Information

Resources for Relative and Kinship Caregivers: Legal and Financial Information

Kinship caregivers often face legal and financial challenges when a child is placed in their care. By recognizing these challenges, States and localities have grown to adjust services and supports to better meet the unique needs of kinship caregivers in hopes of more effectively supporting families. The following section provides resources for caregivers on the legal rights and responsibilities of kinship care and on financial assistance for caregivers, including child care and housing assistance, food vouchers, and guardianship assistance programs that may be available to help.

  • Legal information
  • Legal information: State and local examples
  • Financial assistance
  • Financial assistance: State and local examples

Legal information

Grandfamilies.org
Provides access to a searchable database of laws and legislation affecting grandfamilies inside and outside the foster care system for all 50 States and Washington, DC. The site also lists resources, including free online legal resources in support of grandfamilies, and publications relating to the topic.

Guardianship Information by State
Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services (2018)
Includes a searchable directory with basic information about guardianship procedures in each State. The directory includes information from clerks of courts, legal aid attorneys, refugee resettlement staff, court websites, and publications for relative caregivers.

Supporting Kinship Caregivers 
Williams-Mbengue (2020)
National Conference of State Legislatures 
Explores support for relative caregivers of children in the areas of medical consent and school enrollment, relative notification, and subsidized guardianship. The resource also lists State legislative enactments from 2012 to 2016 supporting relatives, kinship care providers, and grandparents.

(Back to Top)

Legal information: State and local examples

Duties of a Guardian
Judicial Council of California (2019)
Outlines the rights and responsibilities of a legal guardian in California and includes answers to frequently asked questions about guardianship to help readers decide if they are ready to take on legal responsibility for a child.

Kinship Care Resources
The People's Law Library of Maryland (2019)
Describes formal and informal kinship care in Maryland and provides access to laws and regulations related to kinship caregiving. The site also lists resources to learn about the legal benefits of care and links to other useful documents.

(Back to Top)

Financial assistance

Benefits.gov: Your Path to Government Benefits
Allows kinship caregivers to browse for government benefits they may be eligible for. The site includes benefits broken down by State and government agency.

Financial Assistance
Grandfamilies.org (2021)
Describes potential sources of financial assistance for relatives raising children. The site also lists additional resources.

Financial Support for Kinship Care
California Evidenced-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (2021)
Lists various resources for kinship caregivers to receive assistance and supplemental income.

Kinship Guardian Assistance Program (KinGAP) (PDF - 287 KB) 
Virginia Poverty Law Center and Voices for Virginia's Children (2018) 
Discusses the KinGAP program in Virginia and the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and how it gives States flexibility to amend their title IV-E plans to allow Federal funds to be used to support kinship caregivers. 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
Offers nutrition assistance to eligible families, including family caregivers. The site includes information on how to apply, eligibility requirements, and more. 

Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau (2018)
Explains the title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program, a grant that provides guardianship assistance payments for the care of children by relatives who have assumed legal guardianship of children. The program is authorized by the Social Security Act.

(Back to Top)

Financial assistance: State and local examples

Kinship Care Fact Sheet (PDF - 797 KB)
Maryland Department of Human Services (2017)
Explains benefits kinship caregivers can receive in Maryland, including food stamps, assistance with child care, assistance with health care, education assistance, Social Security benefits, and more.

Kinship Care Information
Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association (2021)
Provides information on financial assistance available to kinship caregivers in Florida, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the State of Florida Relative Caregiver Program, and food stamps.

Kinship Care Portal
Georgia Department of Human Services
Lists financial resources available to relative caregivers in Georgia, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, earned income tax credit, subsidy payments, care subsidies, Medicaid, and child support.

Kinship Indiana Support Services Financial Resources
Indiana Department of Child Services (2019)
Provides information on financial assistance for relative caregivers, including a brochure, resource guide, and legal policy. The site also lists other sites that offer additional information and support for relative/kinship caregivers.

(Back to Top)

Spotlight On

Standby Guardianship
Child Welfare Information Gateway
(2018)

Related Content

Funding Kinship Care Services

Children's Bureau - An office of the Administration for Children and Families

Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the

  • Children’s Bureau
  • Administration for Children and Families
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
↑ Back to top
  • HOME
  • TOPICS
    • Family-Centered Practice
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
    • Out-of-Home Care
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
    • Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
    • Systemwide
  • National Initiatives
    • National Adoption Month
    • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
    • National Foster Care Month
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Title
    • Browse by Topic
    • Índice de Títulos en Español
  • Library
    • Search the Library
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals
    • State Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Children's Bureau Resources
    • Information Gateway Podcast
    • Multimedia
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • NEWS AND EVENTS
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • ABOUT US
    • How to Report Child Abuse or Neglect
    • Find Help With a Personal Situation
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Glossary
    • Search A to Z
  • Contact Us
    • 1-800-394-3366
    • info@childwelfare.gov
    • Subscribe to Free Updates
    • Chat With Us
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on YouTube
  • POLICIES & HELPFUL LINKS
    • Disclaimer and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility
    • FOIA requests
    • No FEAR Act data
    • Office of the Inspector General
    • Performance reports
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
    • USA.gov
    • Download Acrobat Reader
  • ↑ Back to top