Standby Guardianship Project
The AIA Resource Center provides training and
technical assistance regarding the development of legislation
and the implementation of future care and custody planning
tools, particularly standby guardianship. Extensive information
regarding standby guardianship and other future care and custody
planning tools is available through this web site.
In addition to the information provided through this web
site, the Resource Center:
- Provides consultation regarding the legal and psycho-social
aspects of standby guardianship.
- Contracts with nationally recognized experts for local
consultation and training.
- Facilitates conferences and workshops.
- Provides assistance with research and analysis of local
issues and concerns.
- Develops informational and educational resources.
Services are available, at no cost, to social service organizations,
legal service providers, and developers of public policy.
Future Care and Custody Planning
Future care and custody planning allows parents to make
care and custody plans for their children now, that will become
effective at some future date. Many states have developed
legislation and policies to address the issue of future care
and custody planning, particularly through standby guardianship,
short-term guardianship, co-guardianship, and standby-adoption:
- The purpose of standby guardianship, a relatively new
planning tool, is to allow a parent to make care and custody
plans for her or his children now that will become effective
at some future date. A standby guardian is chosen by a parent
to become the legal guardian of the parent’s minor
children, in the event the parent becomes unable to care
for the children. In general, the standby guardian becomes
the active caretaker of the children after either the death
of the parent, the mental or physical incapacitation of
the parent, or upon the request of the parent. Standby guardianship
legislation has been enacted in 17 states (Arkansas, Colorado,
Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) and
the District of Columbia. Although they do not have specific
standby guardianship laws, a few other states (Iowa, Ohio,
Texas, and Wyoming) have legislation that incorporates important
elements of this tool.
- Short-term custody/guardianship entails completing, in
writing, an agreement between a parent and the caregiver
for the transfer of care and custody of the children for
a limited amount of time. Variations on short-term guardianship
are currently available in California, Delaware, Illinois,
Louisiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, and the District of
Columbia.
- California and Connecticut have enacted joint guardianship
legislation specifically as a future care and custody planning
tool. These statutes allow the court to appoint both the
parent and another adult as joint guardians of the parent’s
minor children.
- Standby adoption is a unique and relatively new future
care and custody planning option, which currently exists
only in Illinois. Standby adoption allows a parent to identify
and the court to appoint future adoptive parents for the
children. After a triggering event, the standby adoptive
parents go to court and complete the adoption process. In
the context of standby adoption, the triggering event is
usually the death of the parent, although if a parent wanted
the adoption to be completed during her or his lifetime
that would also be possible.
In addition, programs have been developed, with the assistance
of federal and state funding, to help these families address
the social, emotional, and legal issues involved in making
a future care and custody plan. For example, the US Department
of Health and Human Services provides funding for voluntary
permanency planning projects for families affected by HIV
through both the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act and Title
IV of the Ryan White CARE Act.
Additional Information:
- Guide to Future Care and Custody Planning
for Children. with Recommendations for State [PDF]
- Standby Guardianship Fact Sheet [PDF]
- Standby Guardianship Laws by State [PDF]
- Joint Guardianship Laws by State [PDF]
- Subsidized Guardianship Fact Sheet [PDF]
- Future Care and Custody Planning Experts Database [HTML]
- Bibliography [HTML]
Links
If you would like additional information or to request training
and technical assistance, please contact:
John Krall, MSW
Senior Policy Analyst
510-643-8832
jkrall@berkeley.edu |
