[msEveK5]

Hello I am I desperate need of some advice and answers. I am raising my 3 grandchildren... two (age 11 & 8) I have had for over 5 years and one (age 2) I have had for a year now... there has been no contact with my daughter or really their fathers (don't even know who the youngests ones dad is)... I do have guardianship over the older two, but nothing on the baby and don't really know where to go from here... I am getting 600 a month total + medi-cal for all of the girls through the state but that is it and not nearly enough to support them all with daycares and all the other expenses... no child support is being paid either... so what I need to know is how can I get the support I need for these kids? I have heard from many people I should be getting way more if I "adopted" them or whatever, but I don't know the difference beetween all the terms or where to start... if there is anyone out there that can help with this and let me know what I should do, it would be greatly appreciated!

[Fr_Chuck]

If you adopt them, you don't get anything, except for state welfare.

I wonder what money you are getting 600 dollar a month for ? Is it food stamps and welfare?
If you file for custody you can attempt to make your daughter and the fathers pay support. ** but then of course they could flie to gain custody back from you also.

[AK lawyer]

... I don't know the difference beetween all the terms or where to start...

Different states have different uses of the terms, but in general,

• guardianship (conservatorship in some places) is the situation in which you have been appointed by the court, or perhaps an agency, to take care of someone such as your grandchildren.
  
• When a social agency places children with someone such as yourself, it is often called foster-care. Such children are not necessarily related to you and you have no right to continued custody. But a foster-parent often is paid something in return for caring for the children.
  
• kinship is being related to someone. As a grandparent, you are "kin" to these children, as well as to your children, your nieces, nephews, sisters, brothers, cousins etc. It is not a legally appointed status, but instead just - family.
  
• adoption is the process whereby someone, kin or not, legally becomes the parent of someone. If you were to adopt these children you would become, legally, their parent.

[cdad]

Actually you don't know if the Fathers of the children are paying child support or not. In most cases if your on state aid program then any child support collected goes to that first. Only the extra amounts would be sent along to you.