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Standby Guardianship
Standby guardianship involves the appointment of a future legal guardian for children whose parents may soon be unable to care for them due to illness or other life-threatening events. The following resources discuss situations for which standby guardianship may be appropriate, including State and local examples.
Guide to Future Care and Custody Planning for Children With Recommendations for State Legislation (PDF - 1659 KB)
National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center (2005)
Variety of approaches to voluntary permanency planning, including the use of standby guardianship to assist parents facing illness or other events that alter family stability in making choices about their children's future care.
Guardianship Planning Among HIV-Infected Parents in the United States: Results From a Nationally Representative Sample
Cowgill, Beckett, Corona, Elliott, Parra, Zhou et al.
Pediatrics,119(2), 2007
Evaluates the rates and predictors of guardianship planning and preferred guardians among HIV-infected parents.
HIV, Families and Permanency Planning: Addressing New Realities [Webinar]
National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center (2008)
Features a panel of experts including attorneys, social workers, and persons with HIV/AIDS who have information, experiences, and insights to share about future care and custody planning for children whose parents have HIV/AIDS.
Standby Guardianship | |
Series Title: | State Statutes |
Author(s): | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
Availability: | View Download (PDF - 354KB) |
Year Published: | 2011 - 43 pages |
Examines State standby guardianship laws in which a parent may transfer guardianship of his or her child to a specific person under certain conditions. Many States developed these laws specifically to address the needs of parents living with HIV/AIDS, other disabling conditions, or terminal illnesses who want to plan a legally secure future for their children. A standby guardianship differs from traditional guardianships in that the parent retains much of his or her authority over the child. This publication covers the establishment of standby guardianship, the noncustodial parents, parental authority, and withdrawal of guardianship. |
Standby Guardianship (PDF - 730 KB)
National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center (2009)
Explains that the purpose of standby guardianship is to allow parents to make care and custody plans for their children that will become effective at some future date.
State and local examples
Family Options Project: A Comprehensive Permanency Planning Project for HIV-Affected Families
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (2004)
View Abstract and Document
Discusses the activities and outcomes of the Family Options Project, a Chicago program designed to demonstrate that families with HIV can make and carry out their own permanency plans, including reunification, standby guardianship, and adoption with the assistance of an interdisciplinary collaboration of social work and legal services.
Family Ties Project: Life Planning Services for Families Affected by HIV/AIDS: Final Report 2000-2004 (PDF - 2028 KB)
Family Ties Project (2005)
Describes activities and accomplishments during the second Federal grant period of the Family Ties Project. The Washington, DC, program assists parents affected by HIV/AIDS in making legal arrangements for the future care of their children in the event of the parents' incapacity or death.
Standby Guardianship Self Study Guide: A Teaching Tool for Professionals Interested in Learning about Washington D.C.'s Newest Permanency Planning Option (PDF - 522 KB)
Family Ties Project (2004)
Aids in the education and training of professionals who are assisting clients in making decisions surrounding the need for permanency planning and, specifically, standby guardianship.