Subsidized Permanent Guardianship

Have you been caring for a relative child in your approved kin foster home for at least six months? Is the child unable to be reunified with his or her parents?

If so, subsidized guardianship may give you an opportunity to become the legal guardian for the child in your care, replacing the state in that role and eliminating oversight. 

Being granted guardianship is done after a court reviews the appropriateness and determines what is in the "best interest" of the child.  

Considerations

• Subsidized guardianship can keep the link between children and their families and ethnic and cultural traditions.  
• The program may help families and staff remain sensitive to family issues and concerns that may keep a child from being adopted, i.e.  older children who want to maintain ties to their birth parents, children who can collect their parent's military or disability benefits or share in an estate. 
• Allows for siblings to be placed together, or for reasonable efforts to be made to maintain frequent sibling visitation, or other ongoing interactions unless that would be contrary to safety or wellbeing. 

Guardianship Assistance

The program offers:

• Assistance with non-recurring costs of establishing guardianship
• Ongoing financial assistance not to exceed current foster care payment amounts
• Medicaid eligibility

Learn More

You can read the Subsidy Manual for Adoption Assistance And Subsidized Permanent Guardianship  or call DCS at 877-DCS-KIDS.