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Committee hears proponents on expanding grandparent power-of-attorney to other kinship caregivers
Summary
Proponent witnesses told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Senate Bill 58 would allow non-grandparent kinship caregivers to use power-of-attorney and caretaker authorization affidavits to enroll children in school and consent to medical care, aligning Ohio with other states and reducing barriers to kinship care.
Larry Bresler, a social worker and representative of Northern Ohioans for Budget Legislation Equality (NOBLE), and other witnesses urged the committee to pass Senate Bill 58 to expand the grandparent power of attorney and caregiver authorization affidavit to other kinship caregivers.
"This would permit them to be able to enroll the child in school and participate in their educational processes, obtain medical treatment, and other needs that might the child might have that would require a parent's authorization," Bresler said, describing the practical effects of the change.
Tim Johnson of the Ohio Poverty Law Center and Mary Wachtel of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio said kinship care yields better outcomes than foster care and that Ohio currently limits the power-of-attorney/caretaker affidavit to grandparents. Wachtel cited census data showing 81,400 Ohio grandparents were raising grandchildren in 2023 and told the committee that many more children live with relatives other than grandparents.
Latress "Yaya" Lumpkin of the Ohio Grandparent Kinship Coalition described the prevalence of informal kinship arrangements and said the expansion would help thousands of caregivers who cannot afford court processes to obtain custody.
Proponents argued the change would reduce costs to the state by keeping children in family settings rather than foster care, improve stability and educational and mental-health outcomes for children, and remove administrative barriers for caregivers.
Ending: The bill received proponent testimony from multiple organizations advocating for children and kinship caregivers; no vote was taken at the hearing.
