Sharon and her husband Gregg personify everything that is good and positive about relative caregivers caring for relative children in our country today. Challenged emotionally and financially to the max, they have found a way to provide safety and permanency for the two granddaughters in their care for many years. One of those granddaughter's is a step granddaughter and severely disabled. She is now 21 years old. Their other granddaughter will be turning sweet 16 in December. Sharon had to give up her very lucrative job as an optician and manager of two optical shops when the children arrived in order to provide the stability they needed. In addition to being a co-founder and Vice-President of GrandFamilies of America, Sharon is Vice-President of The Minnesota Kinship Caregivers Association (MKCA), and also serves on the Board of Directors for Solutions For Children and Caregivers.

Since the Census Bureau's 2000 census report where the first figures regarding grandparents raising their relative children was released putting relative care of children issues on everyone's radar screen, many states have undertaken legislation to try to aide these families. In almost every case, they have looked to Sharon to help with that legislation. One of the most important successful pieces of legislation to come out of Minnesota is the De facto and Third Party Custodian Legislation. Some states have a de facto law or similar language, while others, such as Tennessee, are working toward that goal at the present time, Minnesota's De facto continues to be considered the premier legislation. Below is Sharon's explanation of a true De facto bill and points out some of the flaws in other pieces of legislation. "A true de facto bill will keep the focus on the fact that the child is already living with a relative with no parent present and will avoid the need to prove a parent unfit in a court of law".

De facto: Every child deserves a place they can call home and many children have found that home with a relative. The greatest majority of these new families were formed outside of the formal foster care system and therefore do not receive the same level of security that a formal placement would provide. These families have stepped forward to prevent the child from entering the formal system, but need to have a legal relationship established. A number of states have recognized this in the form of a de facto custodian law. A true de facto law simply acknowledges that someone other than the parent has been the primary caretaker of the child and allows the court to use the best interests of the child standard in determining custody. With parental rights comes parental responsibility and a de facto law only applies to the children whose parents have already shown a disregard for their obligation by leaving them with a non-parental caregiver for an extended period of time. By enacting a de facto custodian law, you will validate the place these children call home.

De facto custodian.
(a) "De facto custodian" means an individual who has been the primary caretaker for a child who has, within the 24 months immediately preceding the filing of the petition, resided with the individual without a parent present and with a lack of demonstrated consistent participation by a parent for a period of:
(1) six months or more, which need not be consecutive, if the child is under three years of age; or
(2) one year or more, which need not be consecutive, if the child is three years of age or older.
(b) For purposes of the definition in this, "lack of demonstrated consistent participation" by a parent means refusal or neglect to comply with the duties imposed upon the parent by the parent-child relationship, including, but not limited to, providing the child necessary food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, creating a nurturing and consistent relationship, and other care and control necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health and development.

Some of the other projects Sharon and MKCA have been working on is creating a separate category for the informal caregiver. This is the population whose children are not in state custody and for which there is little in the area of support or services. MKCA is very proud of their Legal and First Steps manuals and are currently working on adding to this amazing resource by developing a video to with the manuals. For more information on the Minnesota Kinship Caregivers Association go to www.mkca.org .