• Implemented 7/1/96.
• Guardianship payment equal to the foster care payment.
• Family and child were eligible to receive case management, child health care, mental health care, and “post-adoption” services.

Title IV-E eligible children: (1) for whom reunification and adoption are ruled out; (2) who live in an approved out-of-home placement for at least one year; (3) who have a strong attachment to potential guardian.

Statewide implementation.

• Final evaluation report received 3/27/02.
• Pre-post test design.
• Small sample size: 10 children per year. As of 3/02, 28 IV-E eligible children were enrolled in the Waiver project.
• Average time for a guardianship to be awarded by the court was 9 months.
• 81% of children were more than 12 years old and African American at time of approval.
• Low initial enrollment attributed to caseworkers not discussing assisted guardianship with potentially eligible families.
• New policies and procedures implemented to address low enrollment: (1) Permanency Committee to review each case that entered and remained in care for more than nine months; (2) meetings among program managers, caseworkers, and foster parents to explain the program and answer questions; (3) training sessions on assisted guardianship for foster parents and agency staff.

Original Waiver

• Implemented 5/1/97.
• Legal guardianship offered to eligible relative caretakers and licensed foster parents for children in their care.
• Monthly subsidy payments were equal to the State's adoption assistance payments.
• Support services offered: home study; preliminary screenings and counseling; payment of one-time court costs and legal fees; and periodic casework assistance, emergency stabilization, and special services (e.g., physical therapy).

Five-Year Extension

• Approved January 2004.
• In June 2005, Illinois will implement a Phase II guardianship demonstration targeted at older wards to test the impact of the offer of post-permanency transition services to youth who are adopted or enter subsidized guardianship.

Title IV-E eligible and non-IV-E eligible children ages 0-18: (1) for whom reunification and adoption are ruled out; (2) in legal custody of the State for at least one year; and (3) who have resided with prospective guardian for at least one year. Children 12 or over in non-relative licensed foster homes may also participate.

Implemented statewide.

• Final evaluation report received 2/03.
• Random assignment design. Evaluation limited to three sites: Cook Central Region, East St. Louis, and Peoria County.
• 3,630 children in experimental group and 3,834 in control group.
• Between 5/1/97 and 3/31/02 local courts transferred 6,822 children from State custody to private guardianship throughout the State.
• Lack of training for caseworkers was a major implementation barrier.
• Worker training focused on integrating guardianship into casework practice as a permanency option.
• As of 3/02 the combined permanency rate (reunification, adoption, and guardianship) was 77.9% in the experimental group and 71.8% in the control group. Availability of guardianship boosted net permanence by 6.1%, a statistically significant difference.
• Children in the experimental group did not experience higher rates of abuse or neglect than children in the control group.
• State reported that the waiver demonstration was cost-neutral.
• Interim evaluation report expected in December 2007.
• Random assignment design limited to three sites: Cook Central Region, East St. Louis, and Peoria County. Sampling plan for Phase II is currently being drafted. The State expects to assign 500 children to both the control and experimental groups over the course of the five-year demonstration.

• Implemented 3/1/98.
• Offered kinship caregivers and relative foster parents the option of becoming legal guardians.
• Participating guardians continued to receive financial assistance and support services.
• $300 subsidy for kinship caregivers and relative foster parents.
• Discontinuation of $188 TANF payment for kinship caregivers and $600 payment for relative foster parents.
• Guardians given priority for receiving services, including individual and family counseling, parent training, medical support, and mental health assessments.

Title IV-E eligible and non-IV-E eligible children: (1) for whom family reunification and adoption were not viable permanency options; and (2) who had been living in the stable home of a relative or kinship caregiver for at least 6 months.

Implemented in Baltimore City.

• Final evaluation report received 10/03.
• Random assignment design. § 1,021 children in experimental group and 737 children in control group.
• Payment differential between kinship care and relative out-of-home care discouraged relative foster parents from choosing guardianship.
• Subsidized guardianship embraced by service providers as a good permanency option.
• Children in the experimental group exited from care faster than those in the control group.
• No statistically significant differences between control and experimental group on measures of child well-being and safety.
• No statistically significant differences between experimental and control groups in permanency outcomes (exits to guardianship, adoption, or reunification). 42% of the children in the experimental group achieved permanency compared to 43% of the children in the control group.

• Implementation planned for 10/1/05.
• Establishes a single benefit payment system for children who are in foster care, adopted, or placed in subsidized guardianship.
• Foster caregivers who adopt or accept a transfer of legal custody of a child assigned to the experimental group are offered a monthly payment equal to the child’s existing monthly foster care maintenance payment.
• Places particular emphasis on American Indian children in long-term foster care and children with special needs.
• Caregivers must meet all State foster care licensing requirements.

Title IV-E eligible children ages 0-18 for whom reunification with the biological parent has been ruled out.

Child must have resided in the same family foster home for at least 6 months.

Both kin and non-kin caregivers may participate in the demonstration.

• Estimated due date for interim evaluation report is May 2008.
• Two-part research design: 1) an experimental design with random assignment to experimental and control groups in the Metro-area Counties of Hennepin and Ramsey; and 2) a quasi-experimental matched case comparison design in the non-metro Counties of Cass, Carlton, Dakota, and Mille Lacs.
• No outcome findings available to date pending project implementation

• Implemented 6/21/01.
• Allows caretakers to assume guardianship of child while retaining the child’s IV-E eligibility.
• Guardianship subsidy amount may not exceed the out-of-home care payment amount.
• Guardianship families in the demonstration may access social and mental health services typically available to adoptive families.

IV-E eligible children:(1) in State or Tribal custody; (2) designated as a "child with special needs"; (3) placed with the prospective guardian for at least 6 months.

Initially restricted to children > age 12. Waiver agreement amended 9/02 to include siblings of any age. Age requirements eliminated completely in year three.

Implemented statewide and with 7 Tribes.

• Final evaluation report expected in March 2007.
• Random assignment of children to experimental or control groups at a 3:1 ratio for both State and Tribal populations.
• 133 children assigned to experimental group and 26 to control group as of 9/30/04.
• Guardianships established for 52 children in experimental group.
• Advantages of guardianship identified by families and caseworkers: (1) guardian's increased ability to make decisions regarding health care, family visits, and education; (2) increased self-esteem of children who exited out-of-home care; (3) provision of a permanent and stable home environment; and (4) decreased government intervention.
• Major challenges of guardianship demonstration identified by caseworkers: (1) amount of time, effort, and paperwork; (2) loss of funding, services, and supports when child turns 18; and (3) inadequate training and education about guardianship.
• To date, no statistically significant differences have emerged between experimental control groups in perceptions of stability and well-being, school performance, safety, engagement in risky behaviors, access to and satisfaction with services and supports, and overall quality of life.
• State has proposed extending the guardianship subsidy through the end of high school even if a youth turns 18 prior to graduation. .

• Implemented 7/1/00.
• Two components: (1) Tribal-assisted guardianship; and (2) State-assisted guardianship.
• Assisted guardianship payments are similar to, but do not exceed, adoption assistance payments.

Tribal guardianship program targets Native American youth in Tribal custody. Implemented with Tribes that have a Waiver (Zuni Pueblo) or Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with the State. State guardianship program targets Native and non-Native youth in State custody.

State guardianship program targets title IV-E eligible Native and non-Native children of any age in State custody.

Implemented statewide.

• Interim evaluation report received 2/03. Final evaluation report expected in 12/05.

Tribal Assisted Guardianship

• Comparison group design. Native American youth in Tribal custody compared to Native American youth in State custody.
• As of 9/30/04, 36 youth in Tribal custody had entered guardianship. To date, only one guardianship has been disrupted.
• No outcome findings available to date.

State Assisted Guardianship

• Random assignment to experimental and control groups.
• As of 9/39/04, 5,192 children had been randomly assigned to the experimental group and 5,069 had been assigned to the control group.
• Limited outcome findings to date. No data on statistical significance of findings is available:
• Net permanence – defined as exits to reunification, adoption, or guardianship – was somewhat higher in the experimental group than in the control group, 58.2 percent versus 54.3 percent.
• On average, experimental group children spend less time in out-of-home placement than children in the control group (651 days versus 624 days).

Original Waiver

• Implemented 7/1/97.
• Experimental counties participating in the State’s capped IV-E allocation demonstration (see p. 6 below) had the option to provide assisted guardianship to eligible families.
• Initial assisted guardianship payment was $250 per month. Payment increased in October 2002 to equal the out-of-home care maintenance payment.

Five-Year Extension

• Approved June 2004
• Implemented 1/1/2005.
• State will continue to offer assisted guardianship to caregivers of children in foster care residing in experimental group counties.

Title IV-E eligible and non-IV-E eligible children: (1) in State custody for more than 12 months; (2) who have lived continuously for at least 6 months with a relative or approved caregiver; (3) in a stable, nurturing relationship with the caregiver; and (4) for whom continued placement is recommended.

Original waiver implemented in 19 counties. Five-year extension will be Implemented in a total of 38 counties.

• Final evaluation report received 11/02.
• Descriptive analysis of assisted guardianship program.
• 38 assisted guardianships established statewide during the original five-year demonstration.
• Most counties did not use the assisted guardianship option. Only 8 of 19 experimental counties established assisted guardianships.
• Barriers to use of assisted guardianship cited by non-participating counties: (1) financial risk of continuing guardianship payments after the demonstration has ended; (2) caseworkers’ beliefs about the appropriateness of guardianship arrangements; and (3) confusion over assisted guardianship rules and regulations.
• Assisted guardianship met the needs of some African-American adolescents who resisted termination of parental rights.
• Most caseworkers came to view guardianship as a viable permanency option.
• Interim evaluation report for five-year extension expected in June 2007.

Original Waiver

• Implemented 7/1/97.
• Both kin caregivers and other foster parents received a subsidy payment that did not exceed the regular out-of-home care payment.

Five-Year Extension

• Approved 3/04.
• Implemented 4/1/04.
• State will continue to offer assisted guardianship as under original waiver.

Children 4-17 years old in out-of-home care for more than 12 months who have lived with prospective guardian at least 6 months. At least 12 years old if the prospective guardian is not a relative.

Implemented statewide.

• Final evaluation report received 3/03.
• Descriptive analysis of assisted guardianship program.
• Guardianships implemented in 24 of 42 Oregon child welfare service branches.
• 133 subsidized guardianships opened between 7/1/99 and 12/31/01, more than double the goal of 60 guardianships.
• Approximately 70% of guardianships were with relatives of the children.
• Many guardianship families lacked necessary information to access resources and services to meet specific needs of their child.
• Nearly all placements remained stable one year after agreements were established.



• Interim evaluation report expected October 2006.
• State will place a minimum of 20 children in guardianship each year.
• State will measure changes in permanency rates, placement duration, and maltreatment recurrence over time.
• No outcome findings available to date.

• Implementation planned no later than March 2006.
• A guardianship subsidy payment program will be operated in a manner similar to the State’s current adoption assistance program.
• Guardianship payment will be based on the foster care payment amount in effect for the child at the time permanency is achieved.
• 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.

Title IV-E and non-IV-E eligible children ages 0-18 currently in or who enter a licensed relative or non-relative foster care placement.

Limited to children in placement for a minimum of one year. Exceptions made for children for whom reunification has been ruled out as a permanency option, and for siblings of children already in subsidized guardianship.

Implementation planned in Milwaukee County, WI. May be expanded to other counties in Wisconsin, as well as to American Indian Tribes for ICWA cases.

• Estimated interim evaluation report due date is October 2008.
• Experimental design with random assignment to experimental and control groups.
• Children entering foster care will be assigned to experimental or control groups nine months after entering foster care. Random assignment may occur earlier for cases in which reunification has been ruled out as a permanency option.
• Sampling ratio will be specified in an approved evaluation plan.
• The State anticipates enrolling 350 children currently in foster care in the experimental and control groups and 80 children per year in the experimental and control groups over the five years of the demonstration, for a total sample of approximately 750 children.