Grandparent adoption of a grandchild is a common practice when a birth parent is unable to care for her child. In the year 2000, 186,000 grandparents in the state of Ohio were raising their grandchildren, with increasing numbers of people seeking help from the court system to obtain permanent custody of grandchildren.
Kinship Adoption
Kinship adoption refers to the practice of a relative taking legal custody to raise and care for a child. A grandparent who wishes to raise her grandchild can legally adopt the child only after parental rights have been terminated. In 1997, the U.S. Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which promotes policies to seek out placement with a relative first for a child in need of adoption.
Reasons
A parent can find herself unable to care for her child for many reasons. A teen pregnancy may leave a young parent unprepared for caring for a baby. Substance abuse or incarceration by a parent, or situations in which the parent as been abusive, neglectful or has abandoned a child, make it impossible for the child to remain in the custody of the parent, and where the parent is not able to care for a child, many grandparents step in as adoptive parents.
Guardianship
In situations where a birthparent abandons or neglects her child, the grandparents may step in as guardians in hopes that the child's parent will recover and return to the situation. Legal guardianship, which may or may not be permanent, may be granted to grandparents in situations where a parent is unable to care for a child. In Ohio, a grandparent who is a guardian of a child must file for power of attorney to have the right to make medical or educational decisions for the child when her parent is unable to do so.
Legal Custody
Most circumstances in Ohio involve grandparents becoming a child's legal guardian after protective services have removed a child from the custody of his parents. Legal custody for grandparents is granted by the court system, and is considered permanent until the child is no longer a minor. The grandparent assumes all care and support for the child.
Benefits
The kinship permanency incentive program, or KIP, is available for some grandparents in Ohio who have obtained legal custody of a grandchild. According to the Adoption and Child Welfare Law website, the program gives financial incentives to support some of the costs associated with raising a child. Eligible applicants may receive a one-time grant of $1,000, with an option up to $3,500, for one child. The money helps some grandparents who may not be financially prepared to care for a child.
