What are the differences between placement and guardianship authority?

• A. Guardianship is a temporary arrangement with no legal custody.
• B. Placement involves placing a child with a caregiver; guardianship is a legal custody status transferred to a guardian; LCPAA must operate within placement authority.
• C. Placement grants full parental rights to the caregiver.
• D. Guardianship and placement are the same.

Answer: (B)

Understanding how placement differs from guardianship is about what each authority covers and how it is established. Placement refers to the act of placing a child with a caregiver and supervising that arrangement, focusing on where the child lives and who is caring for them. It is typically temporary and carried out under the agency’s oversight as part of the child’s planned services. Guardianship, on the other hand, is a formal legal custody status—granted by a court—where a designated guardian gains substantial, lasting authority to make major decisions for the child and assume responsibility for the child’s welfare. This can transfer many rights and duties away from the parents and is not something an agency grants alone.

Because of that difference, the agency’s role is to operate within placement authority—arranging, approving, and supervising placements—rather than to grant guardianship or to establish permanent custody. Guardianship involves a court process and carries broader, long-term legal implications for the child and the family. The correct understanding is that placement is a caregiver arrangement supervised by the agency, while guardianship is a court-ordered legal custody transfer to a guardian.