The Alliance for Children’s Rights’ Guardianship Program helps eliminate barriers and provides free legal services to caregivers seeking legal guardianship in Probate Court. Every day we see how family separation disrupts children’s lives, causing emotional trauma, instability, and barriers to the child’s education, healthcare, and long-term well-being.
Without greater clarity and enforceability of existing legal options, many parents are forced to make impossible choices. Some make the difficult choice to suspend their parental rights through the complicated probate guardianship process, others opt to use a Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit for a more informal arrangement allowing the caregiver to enroll the child in school and access routine healthcare.
The goal of AB 495 is to support families in making caregiving arrangements, providing options, and promoting agency in their decision-making that meets their needs and the best interests of the child by requiring schools and licensed childcare facilities to implement the Attorney General’s updated immigration-related policies to ensure family preparedness; standardizing recognition of Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavits so schools and agencies honor them consistently; expanding the categories of caregivers eligible to use a Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavits in recognition of families’ diverse kinship and community network; clarifying that a parent’s choice for who should serve as their children’s guardian be given due consideration by the court and, creating a new joint guardianship process, allowing parents facing family separations to designate a short-term joint guardian while preserving parental rights.
Family separations are a time of crisis. They are traumatic for parent and child. AB 495 promotes family preparedness plans to assist in preparing for separations and options for families to arrange for caregiving in the event parents are unable to care for their children, from more informal to court-involved processes.
Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavits are an existing legal form used by a caregiver who is not the parent or legal guardian of the child in their home to consent to school enrollment and some medical care. They do not transfer custody of children to the caregiver, which only a court order can do. Notably, using a Caregiver’s Affidavit necessarily means children are coming into contact with mandated reporters, like school and healthcare professionals, who are required to report suspected abuse or neglect.
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is proud to co-sponsor Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez’s AB 495 to support families and prevent unnecessary trauma for children, strengthen family stability, and ensure that schools and agencies are equipped to support families in times of crisis.
“We put the well-being of children at the forefront. AB 495 advances the goal, and the necessity, of supporting children and families in their communities. It promotes parent engagement in making the hard decisions that are best for their family and provides options to help support them in times of crisis. We are proud to stand with our community, Assemblymember Rodriguez, and our co-sponsors in supporting options for families facing the trauma of separation,” said Jennifer L. Braun, President and CEO.
