Not long ago a school counselor contacted the Texas Homeless Education Office (THEO) for information about kinship care options. She had recently been visited by the grandmother of three children who were enrolled at the counselor’s school. The woman—who we’ll call Grandma X—had unexpectedly found herself raising five grandchildren because their parents could not or would not.  Her informal custody and care of the children left her with all the responsibilities of parenthood but with few rights and no compensation. Because she had a limited income to begin with, the unexpected expense of feeding and clothing the children wreaked havoc on her tight budget, and now she was in financial trouble. Faced with imminent eviction, the woman was in desperate need of help, and—not knowing where else to turn—she approached the school. Without a solution, the family was not only in danger of losing their home, the children’s health, social development, and educational future were also in jeopardy.

Situations like this one are becoming increasingly common in Texas and across the nation. According to the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, approximately “one in 10 grandparents raises a grandchild for at least six months or longer at some point in their lives.”1 Studies cite various social causes for the increasing incidence of grandparents parenting their children’s children: soaring divorce rates, unemployment and economical hardships, single parents struggling with multiple responsibilities, and the sharp rise in violent crime, alcohol and drug addiction, and child abuse. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 5.6 million children—or 8 percent of all children in the United States—live with a grandparent.2

When the arrangement is informally agreed to by family members, as in the case of Grandma X, the caregiver must often assume all responsibility for the children’s’ physical and emotional health, clothe and feed them, provide them a nurturing and safe environment, take responsibility for their education, and so on—parenting duties they are not always able to perform. Fortunately, grandparent caregivers can often secure legal and monetary assistance for themselves and the children to offset the sudden and unanticipated expenses associated with raising a child. In Texas, grandparents of orphaned, abandoned, or otherwise unparented children can obtain varying degrees of legal and financial support through informal kinship care, foster parenting, adoption, managing conservatorship, or legal custody. Each option carries with it specific rights, responsibilities, and requirements.

Informal Kinship Care
Informal kinship care refers to situations such as that of Grandma X in which children live with a grandparent or other relative based on an understanding or agreement among family members. Financial support, visitation rights, and domestic activities are determined by the family. Because Grandma X had entered into such an arrangement, it fell to her alone to support her five grandchildren. Unless children in these situations come to the attention of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ Child Protective Services (CPS), they and their caregivers are not subject to state protection or state guidelines. The lack of access to services and programs often force the caregiver to seek a legal relationship to the child, despite their reluctance to do so. However, the caretaker can file for such benefits as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, or food stamps to offset some of the unforeseen expense of raising someone else’s child. If eligible, Grandma X could receive a monthly TANF allotment and, depending on the circumstances, a one-time award of $1000.3

Foster Care
Children who have been removed from the parent or guardian by CPS are sometimes placed in the home of a grandparent or other relative. Were this the case with Grandma X, she would be eligible to become a licensed foster parent if she met the requirements established by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and agreed to follow specific rules. To become a foster parent, a grandparent of other relative must be married for at least two years or be single, complete 30 hours of training and a home study program, and allow their home to be inspected for fire, health, and safety hazards. In Texas, the procedure for licensing an individual for foster parenting involves first attending an information meeting to discuss the scope and requirements of being a foster parent. Grandparents or other relatives who meet the requirements are then assessed by DFPS staff to decide if formal kinship care is a viable option. Next come training classes that provide straightforward information about the challenges of foster parenting and prepare the foster caretaker to meet them. The training program consists of 10 three-hour sessions on topics related to attachment and loss, discipline, effects of abuse and neglect, and how foster parenting impacts family dynamics. Annual in-service training is also required. In addition, foster parents must meet with a caseworker to discuss the caregiver’s personal history, family interests and lifestyle, childcare experiences, and ability to meet the children’s needs. 4

Once the process is completed, the state continues to maintain custody of the children and provides support services and supervision during the placement period; the grandparent or other relative who assumes the role of foster parent must raise and care for the child according to guidelines established and monitored by DFPS—even if they disagree with some of them. Compliance requires that foster caregivers supervise children at all times, make certain that all medicines and chemicals are locked up, advocate for children in their schools and communities, provide individual bedrooms for children of a certain age, ensure that bedrooms do not have pass-through access, furnish each child with his or her own bed, and honor other restrictions. If these rules are dutifully followed, the caregiver will receive a small monthly stipend (about $500) per month per child; for children with special needs, the amount is slightly higher. To qualify and retain their certification, foster grandparents must follow every DFPS rule, even those they feel are too strict or intrusive. However, the caretaker can petition DFPS to have certain rules modified so that older teens can have time alone at home, can keep and administer their own medication, can take drivers education classes and obtain a license, can own a cell phone, and so on.

Adoption
Unlike informal kinship care, which confers no legal rights to the grandparent caregiver, and foster care, which provides some rights and recompense to the caregiver but not autonomous custody, adoption enables the adopting relative to become, in the eyes of the law, the child’s legal parent. The grandparent or relative begins the adoption process by filing an adoption petition with the court. DFPS must file supporting documents, including an investigation report on the child and the adoptive caregiver. One drawback to kinship adoption is the potential for legal and emotional strife among family members. If the grandparent cannot obtain a document signed by children’s biological parents that relinquishes their legal rights as parents, the parents must be proven unfit in a court of law. This can be a difficult and heartbreaking ordeal for the grandparent, the child’s birth parents, and the child.

For grandparents and other relatives who are already housing and caring for the children, the process of adopting a child is virtually the same as that for becoming a foster parent. However, after the grandparent has endured the hearing, passed the inspections, met all the requirements, finished the home study, and completed the training classes, another six months must pass before the adoption is finalized. This requirement helps ensure that DPFS conditions are being met and that the domestic situation is stable. If so, the court issues a final adoption order. A new birth certificate is issued, and the grandparent is granted full legal rights and responsibilities for the child. The child’s natural parents can no longer assert any legal right to the child, cannot make decisions for the child or dictate his or her upbringing, and cannot take the child away.5

According to Marsha Stone, CPS Program Administrator at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, “adoption is like giving birth to the child in terms of benefits outside the adoption assistance program.” In other words, the caretaker must absorb all expense associated with raising the child. In some cases, adoption assistance is available “if the child is older, a member of a sibling group being placed together, and/or has documented disabilities (either emotional or physical). The amount is negotiated,” says Stone, “depending on the child’s needs and the resources of the adoptive family.”

Managing Conservatorship
In Texas, legal guardianship of a child is known as Managing Conservatorship (MC). According to DFPS, the court can appoint a grandparent to be legally responsible for (the managing conservator of) her grandchild. If Grandma X were appointed as MC, she would be entitled to physical possession of the child and wide-ranging legal rights. Not only could she establish the child’s primary residence and make decisions regarding his or her education, she would be responsible for the child’s moral, physical, and medical well-being. She could freely access his or her medical records, receive any support payments due the child, and make “decisions of substantial legal significance” on the child’s behalf. The court ultimately determines the extent of the birth parents’ rights. If the court strips the birth parents of their legal rights and responsibilities toward the child, the MC can apply for TANF, Medicaid, and food stamps. Once a Managing Conservator is named, DFPS relinquishes custody and oversight of the child.6

Legal Custody
Legal custody, which is similar to Managing Conservatorship, is usually granted by a family court and provides fewer services and rights. With a custody order, Grandma X would be responsible for the child’s day-to-day care, which includes seeking medical treatment for the child and enrolling the child in school. Under this arrangement, a grandparent has the right to make decisions for the child’s educational development, religious training, discipline, and non-emergency medical care.7 Legal custody would also enable Grandma X to apply for benefits such as Medicaid, Social Security payments, and food stamps.8 Parents can continue to have a legal relationship with the child, are required to pay child support, and may be eligible for visitation rights. They can also petition the court for custody in the future.9

The incidence of grandparents raising their grandchildren is increasing in Texas and across the country. This unfortunate byproduct of increasing economic and social hardships presents the kinship caretaker varying degrees of physical, emotional, and financial responsibility as well as the possibility of familial discord. Grandma X, and any relative who elects to take in the children of their next of kin, would be wise to contact the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services or an attorney for a complete review of available legal options that suit their circumstance and afford the most rights and compensation. While such caretaking arrangements can lead to strife and alienation among family members, the child’s short- and long-term need for nurturing, protection, socialization, and education should always be the family’s first priority.