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Committee hears bill to expand grandparent power-of-attorney to all kinship caregivers
Summary
Advocates and child‑welfare officials told the Senate Judiciary Committee Senate Bill 58 would expand existing grandparent power‑of‑attorney and caregiver authorization affidavits to all kinship caregivers, easing school enrollment and medical consent for children cared for by relatives.
Witnesses from advocacy groups, child‑welfare organizations and legal aid told the Senate Judiciary Committee Senate Bill 58 would remove an Ohio‑specific restriction that limits grandparent power of attorney and the caregiver authorization affidavit (CAA) to grandparents only, allowing aunts, uncles, siblings and other kin to use those documents.
Larry Bresler of Northern Ohioans for Budget Legislation Equality (NOBLE) and Tim Johnson of the Ohio Poverty Law Center said expanding the authorization to all kinship caregivers would reduce trauma for children, improve stability and could reduce public costs associated with foster care. Mary Wachtel of the Public Children’s Services Association of Ohio said the change would help the many families who care for children informally — without legal custody or child‑welfare involvement — and would allow caregivers to enroll children in school and consent to health care.
Latrice "Yaya" Lumpkin, representing the Ohio Grandparent Kinship Coalition, described the practical barriers for non‑grandparent caregivers: notarization, filing with the county juvenile court and the fact that the parent may revoke a power of attorney at any time. She said Ohio is currently the only state that restricts these tools to grandparents and that expanding them would align Ohio with other states and help thousands of informal kinship households.
Why it matters: Witnesses cited federal policy favoring kinship placements, rising kinship care because of the opioid crisis and the COVID‑19 pandemic, and state census data. The Public Children’s Services Association cited 81,400 Ohio grandparents raising grandchildren in 2023 and said census data from the 2021 American Community Survey shows roughly 297,000 children living in relative‑caregiver homes in Ohio; speakers said about one‑fourth of children in PCSA custody are placed with approved kinship caregivers.
Committee members asked no substantive policy questions during the hearing; the panel recorded the session as the second hearing on SB58.
