Thousands of children in California live with caregivers who are not their parents. Most often, those caregivers are the child’s relatives. But, caregivers can also be friends or neighbors.

The child’s parents may be in drug or alcohol treatment programs, in jail, deceased, deported, homeless or terminally ill.  The parent may have lost custody because of child abuse, abandonment or neglect or the parent may be unwilling to care for the child. Family members who step in to care for children in these circumstances are called relative or kinship caregivers.

Being a caregiver is extremely rewarding, but it can be challenging. Some caregivers need to quit their jobs or take a leave of absence to care for a child.  Other caregivers have delayed retirement plans or taken a new job to pay for additional expenses. Sometimes the family needs to move into a bigger home or purchase a larger vehicle. Caregivers can be mentally and physically exhausted by their caregiving responsibilities. In addition, these caregivers are forced to deal with whole new sets of issues:  

• Who can they call for financial help?
• How can they register the child for school?
• Where can they go for medical help?  

The custodial options available to you for the child in your care, including informal care, foster care, legal guardianship and adoption;

The financial resources available to provide for the child in your care, including cash assistance from CalWORKs (California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids), foster care funding, adoption assistance program (AAP) benefits, child support, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other Social Security benefits;

Government programs and community services providing health care, food, educational programs, housing and child care; and

Information on what to do if you are treated unfairly or do not receive what you are entitled to by law.

Click here to download the guide for California caregivers (pdf)

We help people who help children

Public Counsel helped Rocio Perez and Ruben Mendoza secure a guardianship for 8-year-old Valentina in 2012, so she can grow up with her sister Ilse and not in the Los Angeles foster care system. Every year Public Counsel assist hundreds of caregivers who are seeking legal permanent guardianship of a child.

Get help in person

Public Counsel's Skadden Arps Pro Per Guardianship Clinic assists with legal guardianship petitions for adults caring for children. The clinic also assists with petitions for visitation and termination of guardianship.

Clinic location and times:

Probate Court
Stanley Mosk Courthouse (Downtown Los Angeles)
111 N. Hill St., Room 230
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM

Walk-ins only. No appointments. It is not necessary to bring children to the clinic

Useful Links

California Caregivers Guide

Pro Se Guardianship Clinic brochure

Peace of Mind Guardianship Program for terminally ill parents

National Resource Guide for Improving Legal Services and Supports for Kinship Caregivers

California Resource Guide for Improving Legal Services and Supports for Kinship Caregivers

Self-Assessment Tool for Improving Legal Services and Supports for Kinship Caregivers

Take Action for Families

Public Counsel is part of Step Up for Kin, a coalition of groups who support relative caregivers to children in the foster care system. But they receive less financial support from the state than other foster parents. Click here to learn more and join our effort.

Click here to visit StepUpforKin.org