Foster, kinship, and adoptive parents are an important source of information for the judges who make important decisions about children in foster care.  Under the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), foster caregivers have a legal right to provide information at review and permanency hearings about their foster and kin children.  Making certain that the court has all the information it needs to make the best decisions possible about each child’s future is a basic responsibility that caregivers share with others on the child welfare team.  

Caregiver families can participate in court proceedings in various ways.  In some situations, foster and kin caregivers simply want to provide information (orally or in writing) to the court.  Some states, including California, have standardized court forms that facilitate the exchange of the information.  Other caregivers wish to become more involved in the court process by becoming a “party” to the court case.  Becoming a party (called de facto parent status in California) grants additional legal rights to caregivers.  Still other caregivers want to ask the court to change an order that the judge made.  In California, that can be accomplished by using a standardized court form called a Request to Change a Court Order Form. Finally, foster and kinship parents in California are now able to be designated as prospective adoptive parents after the legal rights of the child’s biological parents have been terminated. 

However a caregiver decides to participate in court, it is important to remember that the job of the court is to ensure that the best interest of the child is protected.  Courts ensure that the rights of the child’s biological parents as well as the rights of the child are safeguarded.  Learning about the court process and how to effectively participate in it benefits the child, their family, and the foster or kinship family. 

To learn basic information about the juvenile court dependency process for foster and kinship caregivers in California, see:

Caregivers and the Courts:
A Primer on Juvenile Dependency Proceedings for California Foster Parents and Relative Caregivers
www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/cfcc/pdffiles/caregive.pdf

Proveedores De Cuidado Y Las Cortes:
Un Manual de los Procedimientos de la Dependencia Juvenill Para los Padres de Crianza y Guardianes de California
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/cfcc/pdffiles/caregiverssp.pdf

Participating in court in different ways requires different court procedures and forms.  For your convenience, LAPP provides links to California court forms and instructional materials that are frequently used by California foster, kinship and adoptive parents.

Below are links to information on participating in court in various ways in California: 

Providing Information to the Court as a Foster or Kinship Parent Using the Caregiver Information Form

Participating in Court as a Party: Becoming a De Facto Parent

Asking the Court to Change a Court Order

Becoming a Court-Designated Prospective Adoptive Parent