Becoming the guardian of three grandchildren has been financially challenging for Carolyn Jackson, but she doesn't regret it. Guardianship has offered the children, ages 8, 2, and 1, not only a safe haven from a troubled home but a permanent, loving family connection.

"They have a network of people who love them, immediate and extended family," says Jackson, 52, of New Haven, Connecticut. "Grandparents are do-or-die folks. They'll stick with them through thick and thin."

Jackson is part of a promising effort known as subsidized guardianship, which provides a permanent family connection for children who have been neglected or abused and would otherwise be in foster care. This strategy got a boost last year from a new child welfare reform law that allows federal, not just state, dollars to be used to fund guardianships. In the 37 states now offering subsidized guardianship, relatives who become legal guardians for children whose parents cannot care for them receive financial help. And now that federal funding has been secured via the new law, the rest of the states should begin authorizing subsidized guardianships as well.

Children of color, who disproportionately stay in the system without a permanent home, and older youth, who often struggle when they "age out" because they don't have a family to count on, are among the groups for whom subsidized guardianship can be particularly helpful.

Data show guardianship helps to reduce the trauma of out-of-home placement, enable greater contact with birth parents and siblings, preserve family history and culture, and lower recurring abuse rates.

In the past, many foster parents caring for relatives' children were reluctant to become guardians for fear of giving up foster care payments without receiving adequate subsidies. But the new law means those eligible could receive the same payments as foster care parents. The law also includes other helpful provisions, like providing greater incentives for adoption, requiring that close relatives be notified when a child is about to enter foster care, and extending federal foster care payments to youth up to age 21.

The federal guardianship funds can be used only for relatives who are foster care parents switching to guardianship and whose children come from low-income households that qualify for public assistance. But relatives who don't qualify could still be eligible for state-funded subsidies depending on how states handle it.

"We've made progress, but we've got further to go," notes Sania Metzger, policy director at Casey Family Services in New Haven, the Casey Foundation's child welfare agency.

Jackson gave testimony before Congress that helped get the new law passed. But for now it will not necessarily benefit her grandchildren financially because she was never their foster parent. She'll keep receiving $576 a month to care for her grandchildren—far less than foster care payments—but hopes Connecticut will use freed-up state funds to help others like her.

All guardians "should get the same benefits as foster grandparents," Jackson says. "We're doing the same job, and we help keep them connected to their families and communities."

Carolyn Jackson, speaking at policy forums on subsidized guardianship (left and right), is the guardian for three of her grandchildren in Connecticut, including Dalonna Jackson (center).