Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned from States' Experiences with Assisted Guardianship

In reviewing the issues explored in this paper, several important lessons emerge that serve as useful guidelines to other States studying assisted guardianship as a permanency option:

Caseworker buy-in and support are essential to the successful implementation of assisted guardianship programs. For example, Delaware's final evaluation report noted that more guardianships were awarded when program managers actively promoted guardianship and caseworkers consistently discussed the guardianship option with eligible caregivers.
Child welfare staff need adequate training to understand policies and procedures regarding assisted guardianship. Thorough training on guardianship that is institutionalized as a standard part of caseworkers' professional preparation may increase utilization of this permanency option. Illinois noted in its final evaluation report that workers who received training in subsidized guardianship were more likely to complete subsidized guardianship cases (71 percent) than workers who did not receive the training (51 percent). Useful training topics include procedures for assessing eligibility and preparing case files for court hearings.
Many caregivers considering guardianship cannot or will not absorb a loss of financial resources. States will make guardianship a more attractive option if they offer financial support at a level that is equal or similar to that available through long-term foster care or adoption.
Caregivers and children in guardianship need services and supports similar to those available to children who are adopted. The physical, intellectual, and behavioral needs of the child should be considered in determining whether guardianship is the most appropriate permanency option.
Close and early collaboration with the courts is essential to the development of streamlined procedures that promote the speedy and efficient establishment of guardianships.
States and local governments should explore the implementation of specific placement review procedures to ensure that guardianship receives reasonable consideration as a permanency option (for example, Delaware's establishment of a Permanency Committee).
Evaluations of guardianship waivers will be strengthened by more detailed tracking of offers and acceptance of guardianship. States that implemented random assignment designs operated on an "intent to treat" principle, with the assumption being that most families that received a subsidized guardianship offer would accept it. Because States may have expected more workers and families to pursue guardianship, they gave little initial consideration to collecting basic information regarding the number of children eligible for guardianship, the number of guardianships offered, the number of caregivers who accepted guardianship, the reasons for accepting or declining guardianship, and the number of guardianships eventually established. Future evaluations that track these statistics will help answer fundamental questions regarding the implementation of guardianship demonstrations, such as why more eligible children do not end up in guardianship, and what barriers, such as caseworker or court opposition, impede the establishment of guardianships.
States should explore the potential impact of assisted guardianship on a family's eligibility for other public benefit programs, such as food stamps and child care. To mitigate potentially harmful effects from a loss of these benefits on families with children in guardianship, States must resolve any outstanding eligibility issues when considering implementation of new or expansion of existing guardianship waiver demonstrations.

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Next Steps

Final evaluation reports are still forthcoming from New Mexico and Montana in December 2005 and March 2007, respectively. Their studies will include more data on the implementation of assisted guardianships; worker, child, and caregiver attitudes toward guardianship; and child and caregiver functioning and well-being. Both North Carolina and Oregon have recently received five-year extensions of their waiver demonstrations into 2009 that will include assessments of the permanency and safety outcomes of children in guardianship arrangements. In addition, Illinois is currently in the process of implementing a second phase of its guardianship program to evaluate innovative strategies for pursuing permanency for older wards. Building on its original assisted guardianship waiver, Illinois will test the efficacy of an enhanced guardianship option that offers post-permanency transition services to children who exit to guardianship or adoption after age 14. Fewer older youth than expected exited to guardianship during the first five years of Illinois' demonstration. One possible explanation supported by anecdotal evidence is that some older youth and their families choose foster care rather than opting for guardianship because exiting to guardianship would cause them to lose eligibility for independent living and transitional supports available to youth who "age out" of foster care. The "enhanced guardianship" component of Illinois' waiver will test whether offering these services to older wards who exit to adoption or guardianship improves overall permanency outcomes, as well as whether the enhanced intervention improves measures of self-sufficiency and well-being for these youth.

In addition to the continuation of these existing demonstrations, two States - Minnesota and Wisconsin - have recently received approval to implement new waiver demonstrations involving assisted guardianship. Through Wisconsin's Guardianship Permanency Initiative, licensed relative and non-relative foster care providers will receive a guardianship payment based on the foster care payment in effect for the child at the time he or she enters guardianship. Support services during and after transition to guardianship will parallel those offered to adoptive families. Other demonstration components include training for case managers, court staff, and attorneys to promote understanding of guardianship, educational outreach to families regarding guardianship, and increased licensing activities. Wisconsin plans to implement its guardianship demonstration no later than February 2006, pending legislative changes to the State's guardianship statutes and necessary budget approvals.

Minnesota's demonstration, scheduled to begin in October 2005, will allow for expanded eligibility and services within the State's title IV-E foster care program to support a continuous set of benefits for foster families who adopt or accept permanent legal custody (i.e., assume guardianship) of children in their care. Foster caregivers who adopt or accept a transfer of legal custody of a child will be offered a monthly payment that is equal to the child's existing monthly foster care maintenance payment (currently such payments are substantially lower). Minnesota's demonstration will place particular emphasis on American Indian children in long-term foster care and children with special needs (e.g., older children, children who are part of a sibling group, or children with intense psychological, physical, and behavioral problems).

Results from these future and ongoing evaluations will add to the knowledge base on assisted guardianship and will shed further light on the issues presented in this paper.

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