What if my long term guardians aren’t immediately available?

So, one of the dangers if your long-term guardians are not immediately available to your kids is the possibility that your kids could be removed from your home and placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Families if there is no clear plan for what should happen next.

So, in that scenario—to avoid having your kids taken from your home and placed in the hands of strangers—we recommend that you name short-term guardians for your kids as well.

Now with short-term guardians in place, or what we call “First Responders”, these would be people who live close to where you live and would be able to come over quickly and be with your kids if there’s an emergency.

And, if there’s a police officer standing on your front doorstep, no parent wants their kids to be removed from their home.

So, naming those short-term guardians is a way to prevent that from happening.

And then your short-term guardians will take care of and look after your kids until your long-term guardians can arrive and take over.