Kinship Care Legal Rights

Understanding legal rights & CPS challenges is often the single most critical step for grandparents and family members who step in to rescue a child in crisis. In Episode 128 of the Kinship Care Podcast, host Laura Brazan sits down with Dr. Jill Bryant—a counselor with 30 years of experience, a professor of counseling at Walden University, and a grandmother raising her adopted grandson. Together, they pull back the curtain on the unseen legal battles, CPS overreach, and systemic failures that kinship families endure.

                  SYSTEMIC ISSUES IN KINSHIP CARE
                   
       ┌─────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────┐
       │                         │                         │
  CPS Overreach             Lack of Financial         Social Stigma
  & Lack of Oversight       Support & Resources      & Guilt
       │                         │                         │
       └─────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────┘
                                 │
                         NEED FOR REFORM

The Unexpected Reality of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

When grandparents step up to care for a grandchild, they are usually responding to a family crisis—such as severe child abuse, substance use disorders, parental incarceration, homelessness, or sudden loss. However, few relative caregivers are prepared for the institutional roadblocks that follow.

Dr. Bryant points out that while many caregivers expect the emotional challenge of helping a traumatized child heal, they are entirely blindsided by the legal and administrative warfare required to secure custody.

"I found a much more disappointing and even in some cases illegal experience [with CPS] if it weren't for a good attorney explaining things to us as we went along. I don't think I would have gotten that part right on my own ever." — Dr. Jill Bryant

Common Systemic Failures in the Legal Infrastructure

Relative caregivers frequently face alarming barriers when negotiating custody and protection for their grandchildren:

• CPS Power Imbalances: Child Protective Services agencies often make critical, life-altering custody decisions behind closed doors without community board oversight.

• Withholding Information: In many instances, relative family members are not notified when a child is removed from the biological parents' care, violating relative notification requirements.

• Financial Penalties for Relatives: Caregivers are often pressured by agencies to take custody immediately as informal placements, bypassing official foster certification and stripping the family of crucial monthly financial stipends.

• Aging and Financial Constraints: Older caregivers face unique hurdles, such as an inability to co-sign for federal student loans or secure long-term housing guarantees later in life.