Has anyone ever done long term legal guardianship of a child through foster care?
Legal guardianship is often frowned upon by the foster care system for unrelated foster children, and people who try to ask for it usually get heavy resistance or outright denial. It is (usually wrongly, I think) seen by the system as a lesser willingness to commit to the child, and social workers tend to be very worried by things like that. Additionally, all those I’ve ever talked to who have actually BEEN foster children for an extended length of time have shared the perception that a guardian would not be as committed, and have wanted an actual legal mom and dad. (Not saying ALL foster children feel this way, as I’m sure some don’t, but the number I’ve talked to is extensive, so it’s at least a percentage.) So legal guardianship instead of adoption may not be what the specific child wants or needs, and I sincerely hope that the child would actually be considered as an individual. Under the current system, pursuing legal guardianship of an unrelated foster child is nearly impossible.
