Juvenile Court Guardianship

Juvenile Court Guardianship

North Carolina Legal Options for Kinship Caregivers

When Child Welfare IS Involved

Guardianship is one of the options available to the Department of Social Services (DSS) when they decide that the child will not be able to go home to their parents. It does not require termination of the child’s parents’ rights (TPR), which is a legal process that means that the birth parents no longer have the right to make decisions for their child. This type of guardianship is filed in Juvenile Court. The child has to be in the custody of DSS (in foster care). As the guardian, you have legal and physical control and the rights and responsibilities to make decisions about the child. At the same time, the child’s parents often retain some visitation or other rights. Unlike guardianship in civil court, the child’s parents are not required to be dead.

Any family who exits foster care through reunification, guardianship, custody, kinship care or adoption is eligible to participate in the NC DHHS Success Coach program. These services are voluntary and intended to provide ongoing support as families navigate building or rebuilding their relationships after foster care or post-adoption.  A Success Coach is a specialized social worker who works alongside families to assist them in identifying their most pressing needs, developing a tailored success plan, and connecting them to additional community-based resources. Services are ultimately decided on by the family and can include parenting support, crisis prevention, case management, respite, help navigating the behavioral health system, and assistance with basic needs such as employment, food security, housing, education and building a reliable support system.

If I Have a Juvenile Court Guardianship. . .

What Decisions Can I Make for the Child?

Yes, with a Juvenile Court Guardianship you have the authority to make medical decisions for the child.

Juvenile Court guardianship orders can address visitation. Unless the court finds it is not in the child’s best interest, it will usually specify the minimum frequency and length of visits and whether they are supervised. DSS decides other details about visitation unless the court chooses to be more specific in the order. For example, an order might state, “Supervised visits, once a week for 2 hours.”

§ 7B‑905.1. Visitation

Yes, with a Juvenile Court Guardianship you have the authority to enroll your child in school and make other educational decisions for them.

No. The court will make this decision, but you can make a recommendation of a person for the court to consider.

Tipsheet: Planning for the What-Ifs

What Financial Supports Are Available?

*Once you become the child’s guardian, you assume legal and financial responsibility for the child’s care, education, and support. This means that the child cannot receive a public assistance grant based solely on the child’s income and resources. Instead, public benefits will be determined based on the family’s income and resources.

No. There are no formal post-guardianship financial assistance unless the child qualifies for KinGap. Find Know Your Options in the Additional Resources.

Your family may qualify for public benefits through the Department of Social Services (DSS), such as food or energy assistance and Work First (TANF) payments.

NC DHHS Assistance

No, the child welfare agency does not pay for childcare. However, childcare may be available as a public benefit in your county. Check with your county DSS office.

Find Your County’s DHHS Office

Yes, if the child qualifies to receive the benefit.

Programs for Grandfamilies & Kinship Families

Yes, if your family qualifies. Adding a child or children to the family may change your eligibility for public benefits.

NC DHHS Assistance Programs

The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, known as Work First in NC, is designed to provide financial assistance to low-income families while also helping them become self-sufficient.

Once you are the child’s guardian, you can apply for a child-only Work First grant.

There are two types of grants under TANF:

Child-only TANF (Work First) Grants

Child-only TANF (Work First) Grants are designed to consider the needs and income of only the children.

Since most children do not have an income, nearly all children cared for by a relative are eligible for child-only grants. Child-only TANF payments are considerably less than foster care monthly subsidies or adoption and guardianship assistance. Also, they only increase a small amount for each additional child.

Family Grants

The State considers the kinship caregiver’s income for family TANF (Work First) grants.

Since these grants are designed to address the needs of the children and their caregivers, these payments are generally larger than child-only grants. Note that people raising a child but not biologically related to the child (such as godparent, neighbor, friend, etc.) are not eligible to include the child when applying for family Work First payments.

Receiving TANF (Work First)

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) federal policy requires caregivers to assign their right to child support to the state, tribe, or territory to receive TANF grants.

This means kinship caregivers must cooperate with the state to seek child support from the parents. If you have a good reason not to want the child’s parent to pay child support, ask the TANF/Work First agency about the “good cause” exemption for this requirement.

Apply at your local DHHS Office

Social Security may pay benefits to grandchildren when the grandparent retires, becomes disabled, or dies if certain conditions are met.

To receive this benefit, your grandchild must have begun living with you before age 18 and received at least one-half of their support from you for a year before the grandparent becomes entitled to benefits. Check out the social security website link, ssa.gov for more details.

These benefits are not available for other kinship relationships, such as when an aunt is caring for a nephew.

Find Out More At ssa.gov

SSI provides monthly cash payments to help meet the basic needs of children who have a physical or mental disability or who are blind. If you care for a child or teenager with a disability and have limited income and savings or other resources, your child may be eligible for SSI.

Children under age 18 can get a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cash payment if they meet Social Security’s definition of disability for children and there are limited income and resources in the household.

If the child receives SSI payments, you can contact the Social Service Administration and ask for the check to be mailed to your address once the child has moved in with you.

Find Out More At ssa.gov

Are There Any Additional Services Available?

Once you become the legal guardian, social services no longer has legal custody of the child and will not be involved in the family’s life unless you reach out to them for help.

(for example, daycare, transportation assistance to appointments, scheduling appointments, etc.)

No

Many children raised by kin are eligible for health insurance through Medicaid.

Often the child can remain on their parent’s health insurance policy. However, if you have private health insurance, you will need to check with the insurer to determine whether you can add the child to your policy.

Medicaid provides coverage for many healthcare expenses for low-income children and adults, including visits to the doctor, checkups, screenings, prescriptions, and hospitalization.

You can apply for Medicaid on behalf of the children living with you. Medicaid does not have open enrollment periods, so you can apply at any time of the year.

There are several programs available for youth who left foster care by going into a guardianship home. These service include tuition, books, and room and board for college or post-secondary education, living expenses, childcare, etc. For support understanding FAFSA, visit gksnetwork.org.

NC Reach Financial aid for undergraduates in NC public universities or community colleges:

  • Available to youth who have aged out of foster care at age 18
  • Available to youth who were adopted from foster care on or after their 12th birthday
  • Available to youth who exited foster care to a guardianship home through the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KinGAP)

Education and Training Voucher Program (ETV) Provides funding for school-related expenses for youth:

  • Who were in foster care on or after their 17th birthday
  • Who were adopted from foster care after their 16th birthday
  • Who entered into a guardianship placement from foster care on or after their 16th birthday

John H. Chafee Program Provides funding to assist youth in foster care and young adults formerly in foster care with services and financial assistance to promote their transition to adulthood.

  • Available to youth in foster care and young adults who aged out of foster care.
  • Available to youth who, after age 16, left foster care for kinship guardianship or adoption.
  • Available to youth who experienced foster care after age 14.

SaySo A statewide association of youth aged 14-24 who are, or have been, in the out-of-home care system in North Carolina.

This program offers extensive information for youth and family on services available for transitioning into adulthood.

PDF: Know Your Options

Typically for children aged 17 and younger, you can claim the child as a dependent on your state and federal taxes if you have been caring for the child for more than half the tax year. However, you may need to have a conversation with the child’s parents to make sure that they are not claiming this credit.

Determine if you are eligible for the Federal or State Tax Credit:

Support for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Grandfamilies and the Child Tax Credit (CTC)

Advantages vs. Disadvantages of a Juvenile Court Guardianship

Advantages

  • Guardianship does not require the court to terminate the parent’s parental rights (TPR). TPR is a legal process in which the court takes away the parent’s rights to make decisions for their child and changes the child’s last name. TPR is required for adoption, but not guardianship, making guardianship a good option when it is in the child’s and the family’s best interests not to terminate parental rights. 
  • Guardianship is more secure than custody because to take the child away from the guardian, the child’s parents must go to court to prove that the guardian is unfit. 

Disadvantages

  • Currently, no formal post-guardianship services are available to kinship caregivers, such as those available for post-adoption. (However, the youth may be eligible for financial support under KinGAP.)
  • Because parental rights have not been terminated, it can be costly to pursue adoption later. If you think you ultimately want to adopt the child, you should do it now because the Department of Social Services (DSS) will be responsible for the cost of terminating parental rights, thus, saving you time and money. DSS ultimately decides whether to pursue adoption or guardianship, but you can tell them your preference.
  • The child will not inherit from you if you die without a will.

Tips

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NC Legal Options for Kinship Caregivers

Legal Options Quiz

Child Welfare Not Involved

Child Welfare Is Involved

Making the Decision

Finding an Attorney

Kinship Advisory Committee

Additional Resources

*Not Intended as Legal Advice