GRANDPARENTS’ RIGHTS
Chafee Funds Program of NYS: COVID-19 Cash Assistance for Foster Youth
submitted by Kiana Stamps, intern The Chafee Program offers assistance to help current and former foster care youth achieve self-sufficiency. Additional Chafee Cash Assistance funds will be distributed on a one-time, first-come, first served basis in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ELIGIBILITY: Chafee cash assistance is available until September 30, 2021 for: Young adults, 18…
Read MoreIncreased Child Tax Credit for Tax Year 2021
Low- and moderate-income families will soon get monthly payments of $250 or $300 per month per child through an increase to the federal Child Tax Credit (tax year 2021 only). This includes grandparents of other relatives raising a child. If you are a parent or caregiver, have already filed your 2019 or 2020 tax return and…
Read MoreCPS Safety Plans
submitted by Sarah Hedden, Esq. Child Protective Service (CPS) is tasked with investigating reports of child maltreatment, and with keeping children safe. When a CPS caseworker finds a situation where a child is unsafe, they often work with the family to create a plan to keep the child(ren) safe while the parent works on the…
Read MoreKinship Care Month – Celebrating Non-Parent Caregivers
September is Kinship Care Month. Kinship Care refers to caregiver grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, adult siblings, and even family friends. Nationally, more than 2.7 million children live with relatives, and New York State has more than 200,000 children living full time with kin. The Center for Elder Law & Justice provides free legal representation to…
Read MoreKinship Attorneys available to assist caregivers with access to special education resources
For over a decade, the Kinship Unit of the Center for Elder Law and Justice has represented non-parent caregivers of children in Erie and Niagara Counties. We represent caregivers on issues related not only to permanency, but also access to education. Schools in New York officially closed on March 16, 2020, and will be closed…
Read MoreTemporary Orders of Protection during the COVID-19 Crisis
Submitted by Gabrielle Markle As of March 16, 2020, all non-essential matters in the Unified Court System of New York State were adjourned until at least April 30, 2020. Essential matters were narrowly defined to reduce traffic in the courthouse. It is advised that if you have an upcoming court date, to call the court…
Read MoreKinship Care: Continuing the Child-Parent Relationship during COVID-19
submitted by Sarah Hedden, Esq. The coronavirus pandemic is a scary and stressful time for everyone, but particularly for children. Their schools are closed, routines are disrupted, and they or their loved ones may be sick. It’s important to continue a routine for ourselves and the children we care for. Across the United States, about…
Read MoreNews for Kinship Families
Great news for non-parent custodians! I’m often asked, what’s the difference between guardians and custodians? Generally, Family Court issues Orders of Custody, and Surrogate’s Court issues Letters of Guardianship. There are several legal nuances, but one significant difference has been that non-parent guardians have the statutory authority to make medical decisions for children, just like…
Read MoreSignificant Update to the Family Court Act
by Sarah Hedden, Esq. On October 29, 2019, an update to Section 1028-a of the Family Court Act was signed into law, paving the way for more relatives and “fictive kin” to be considered as placement resources when children are removed from their parents. It has expanded from relatives within three degrees of consanguinity to…
Read MoreGRANDPARENTS: DON’T GET INTO FIGHTS ABOUT VISITATION
By David A. Shapiro, Esq., Staff Attorney I’ve been a family law attorney since 1981, and there’s one thing I’ve learned: try not to get into a dispute with parents over visitation. This is a losing proposition. The nastiest cases that I have involve grandparent visitation. If your son or daughter is deceased, the situation…
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