NJ Kinship Legal Guardianship Resource Clearing House
An Information Center for Kinship Care Families
Today’s society is recognizing the experiences and needs of transgender people as never before. This trend is most evident in our nation’s schools, where an increasing number of transgender and gender-expansive students live openly as their authentic selves. At the same time, parents, students, educators, administrators and other stakeholders are working together to determine the best ways to support these
students.
Senate Passes the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act
Due to the opioid crisis, a new law was passed that now protects “grandfamilies.”
7.8 million. That’s the number of children being raised by family members who are not their birth parents.
2.6 million. That’s the number of grandparents who report that they are raising their grandchildren in a brand-new form of family structure. Because it’s so prevalent, this form of kinship care has its own name now. It’s called the grandfamily, a newly minted moniker born of necessity and created by a tragic crisis in this country—substance abuse and opioid addiction.
https://adoption.com/senate-passes-supporting-grandparents-raising-grandchildren-act
In New Jersey and across the country, many grandparents
and relatives are providing care to children who are unable to
live with their birth parents. Parenting can be challenging as
a lot may have changed since you raised your own
child. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Many agencies
and organizations can offer you assistance in dealing with
problems all caregivers have. Below are just a few links to
resources that may be able to assist.
In addition, DCF provides publications about parenting and other topics of interest to
families. All literature is provided at no cost and may be ordered in reasonable
quantities. Click on the publications link to the right to download or order materials.
Definition and Incidence
Kinship care is a living arrangement in which a relative or
another person who is emotionally close to a child takes
on primary responsibility for raising that child (Leos-
Urbel, Bess, & Geen, 1999). According to the 2000 U.S.
Census, nationally, there are 4.5 million children under
the age of 18 living in grandparent-maintained
households, and another 1.5 million children under 18
living in other relative-maintained households (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2002 as Cited in Generations United,
2003). Several types of kinship care arrangements exist:
formal kinship care, informal
As the number of children in kinship care increase child welfare agencies are seeking policies,
programs and practice guidance to help develop and implement effective kinship care policies
and programs. Child welfare agencies are taking a new look at the nature of kinship care, the role
of kinship care as a child welfare service, and the relationship among kinship care family
preservation and out-of-home care. Many agencies are beginning to address a number of policy
and practice issues.
The kinship legal guardian is one who has made a commitment to and has the ability to raise the child to adulthood,
evidenced by the fact that the child has been in their home for a least one year. He/she can be a close family friend or
have a legal or biological relationship to the child. The kinship legal guardian assumes the same rights,
responsibilities and authority relating to the child as that of the parents, including the obligation to support the child.
