Why has Subsidized Guardianship Become an Increasingly Popular Permanency Option?
According to a recent survey conducted by the Children’s Defense Fund, 34 states and the District of Columbia currently have subsidized guardianship programs. For those states seeking permission from the government to use federal foster care dollars more flexibly through Title IV-E waivers, subsidized guardianship is the most frequently requested intervention. In response to the popularity and success of these programs, recent federal legislation has proposed to make subsidized guardianship a federally-funded permanency option for all states. For many years, children in the child welfare system had only two permanency options available to them: reunification with their families or adoption. In most cases, if adoption or reunification were not possible, children stayed in foster care, often until they became adults. With long term foster care no longer an acceptable permanency outcome for children, subsidized guardianship represents a third and important permanency option, often used in
