	Guardianship Services for Minors

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-GSM 3: Child and Youth Permanency

When reunification with birth parents has been ruled out, the agency and the family explore all permanency options to determine if guardianship is the best permanency option for the child, birth parent, and prospective guardian.

Interpretation: Consideration of all permanency options can be demonstrated through the development of a mediated agreement signed by all parties invested in the child’s future. Child welfare mediation is conducted with a neutral third-party to improve communication, maximize family participation in decision making, and expedite permanency. Another way to demonstrate consideration of permanency options is through the use of permanency charts that compare and contrast permanency options according to their legal and financial distinctions, and the roles and responsibilities of caregiver and parent.

PA-GSM 3.01

The agency clearly explains the differences between adoption, guardianship, and long-term foster care to the birth parent; the prospective guardian; and the child, as appropriate to their age, cultural needs, and developmental level, including:

the legal implications of each option;
available support services; and
financial assistance.

Research Note: The literature suggests that misunderstanding the legal and financial differences between guardianship and adoption contributes to confusion about which option is in the best interests of the child, and in some cases, poor permanency decision making.

PA-GSM 3.02

The child is encouraged to discuss his or her interest in and understanding of guardianship, as appropriate to his or her age, cultural needs, and developmental level.

Interpretation: Children must consent to the guardianship placement consistent with state and tribal regulations.

PA-GSM 3.03

The agency takes into account, whenever feasible and appropriate, birth parents’ expressed desires regarding the child’s placement, and when this consideration can delay placement, the agency:

acts in accordance with applicable law, including the Indian Child Welfare Act as appropriate;
tries to resolve the conflict in the best interest of an expeditious and permanent placement; and
promptly seeks legal counsel regarding resolution of such differences.

Interpretation: Child welfare mediation with a neutral third-party can be used to resolve conflict among involved parties and expedite permanency.

Interpretation: In cases where the birth parent may be unable to participate in the process, such as incarceration or illness, the agency works with the individual to write down their expressed desires regarding the child’s placement for consideration by the court.

Research Note: The Indian Child Welfare Act requires that preference be given to placements in the following order: (1) a member of the child’s extended family; (2) other members of the child’s tribe; and (3) other Indian families. As evidence of compliance with these placement preferences, a record of each placement must be maintained by the state in which the placement was made. These records are made available upon request of the United States Secretary of Interior or the Indian child’s tribe.

PA-GSM 3.04

The permanency decision is based on what is in the best interests of the child and reasons for the decision are documented in the case record.

Interpretation: If guardianship is found to be an inappropriate permanency option for the child, the agency works with the family to determine a more viable permanency option. Other viable permanency options can include adoption or guardianship with another caregiver. Continued stays in foster care should only be considered if no other permanency options are available.

Interpretation: The agency documents why the goal is in the best interest of the child and why other permanency options were not appropriate in the case record. If siblings are not placed together, the agency documents the reason in the case record.

Research Note: Federal law permits Indian families to move forward with a customary adoption, without terminating parental rights. Customary adoptions are arranged through custom and tradition and allow for the transfer of custody while preserving parental rights.

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	PURPOSE: Guardianship Services for Minors support the establishment of a court-appointed, long-term, living arrangement with a committed caregiver that ensures safety and increases stability and child well-being.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	CAREGIVER The provider of physical, emotional, and social needs to another person, often dependent and unable to provide for his or her own needs. Caregiver is the generic term used for the direct service providers in Community Care and Support Services (CCS).


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	INDIAN CHILD As defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), "Any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe." For purposes of compliance with ICWA, the definition provided in the Act shall apply. For purposes of access to services and resources, other more inclusive definitions may apply (e.g. Indian Education Act, tribal definitions, etc.).


	CUSTODY The care, control, and maintenance of a child. The court legally can award custody to an agency in abuse and neglect cases or to parents in divorce, separation, or adoption proceedings. Child welfare departments retain legal custody and control of major decisions for a child in foster care; foster parents do not have legal custody of the children for which they provide care.