Custody planning can be very difficult emotionally, especially when a parent is confused about his or her legal options. Parents may not realize that they need to legally secure their child's future if they should become too ill to care for their child. This is understandable. Parents also tell us that they are afraid to make plans for their child's future because this makes them feel as if they have given up all hope of recovery and resigned themselves to die. The Child's Rights Project's Peace of Mind Program uses trained social workers and attorneys to help clients choose the best legal option in a way that respects the client's situation.
Advantages Planning for their child's future provides several advantages.
Planning provides a smooth transition to a new care-giver and a new home. It permits the children and parent choose where the child will live, and prevents the child from unnecessarily entering the foster care system. It provides the parent with peace of mind, relieves pressure and reduces the anxiety that children already feel. Although the process is difficult to talk about at times, parents and children often feel better just knowing what their options are. At the beginning of a family meeting, a child commented that he has worried about what was going to happen to him.