Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
Print > Feature Article > 11 or Fewer Issues per Year > Upper Midwest

Title of entry: 
Shadow Foster Care: Children and caregivers in a 'hidden' system miss out on benefits and support

Issue or Publication date:
August 1, 2023

Publication name: 
ABA Journal

Publishing/parent company: 
American Bar Association

View Website home page:
abajournal.com

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

Included in our Children & the Law series, this feature delves into another little-known realm in children’s law—“hidden” or “shadow” foster care. In this system, child welfare agencies separate children from their parents by suggesting parents transfer physical custody to a kinship caregiver, such as a grandparent. They do not file a petition alleging neglect or abuse, involve the family court or report these children’s removal to the federal government. According to lawyers familiar with the system, this allows agencies to skirt their legal obligations and avoid helping parents reunify with their children or provide kinship caregivers with financial support or services. We explore all of these issues and possible solutions through the perspectives of parents, kinship caregivers and attorneys who have significant experience in this area of the law.

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