May 14, 2025
One of the greatest challenges for kinship families is that they often lack full legal rights and responsibilities for the children in their care. Legal services can be costly, inaccessible, and unknown by kin caregivers. Without legal assistance and guidance, many kin caregivers cannot access the services and supports they need to meet a child’s basic needs.
Fortunately, there are a number of legal models that are being used successfully by organizations around the country to provide critical legal services to kinship/grandfamilies. The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network’s Subject Matter Experts from the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law helped identify legal models and strategies that are being used to successfully help kinship families across the country. They shared what they learned and were joined by several organizations that are helping these families overcome their challenges with accessing legal services and obtaining guardianship, power of attorney, or other legal relationships to children in their care.
Learn replicable ideas and strategies to provide supportive legal assistance to kinship families in your community through legal education and resources, brief legal services, and legal representation.
Network Subject Matter Experts, Noah Duncan and Jack Tait of Foster Insights, will provide practical strategies for using data to ensure that your agency is engaging kinship caregivers wherever possible.
Join Network Subject Matter Network Marina Nitze for a panel discussion with private agencies that have successfully navigated the shift to kin-specific licensing.
Join experts from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) for a four-part series of “office hours” style webinars where you can learn about federal nutrition programs, ask questions, and share experiences from your community.
