How to Fill Out the Delaware Caregiver School Affidavit Step by Step

Before You Start

You need the official Relative Caregivers' School Authorization Affidavit published by DSAAPD (the Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities). Download it free from dhss.delaware.gov or pick up a printed copy from the school district's central registration office. The form comes in English and Spanish.

Don't use a generic guardianship or power-of-attorney template from the internet. Delaware school districts are required to use this specific DSAAPD form under 14 Del. C. § 202(f), and they can reject anything else.

The Two-Column Evidence Requirement

The form's most important section is the two-column proof system. You need one document from Column A and one from Column B. Getting this right before you visit the registrar is what separates a smooth enrollment from a wasted trip.

Column A — Proof of Relationship

Column A establishes that you're actually related to the child. Accepted documents include:

• Birth certificate chain linking you to the child (your birth certificate, the parent's, and the child's)
• An executed will naming the child and specifying your relationship
• An insurance policy listing the child and defining the relationship
• Hospital, clinic, Medicaid, or SNAP records showing the relationship
• Military or Veterans Affairs records specifying the relationship

Column B — Proof of Caregiving

Column B proves you're actually caring for the child day to day. Accepted documents include:

• Medical or immunization records where you authorized treatment
• Child-Only TANF documentation showing you receive assistance for the child
• Federal income tax return claiming the child as a dependent
• Earned Income Tax Credit documentation for the child
• Social Security survivor or death benefit records paid to you on the child's behalf
• DSCYF records (Division of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families)
• Alternative documentation explicitly reviewed and approved by the school district

If your situation doesn't fit neatly into these categories, the district can approve similar documents on a case-by-case basis.

Completing the Form Sections

Caregiver information. Fill in your name, address, phone, and date of birth. Your address must be within the enrolling school district's boundaries.

Child information. Enter the child's full legal name, date of birth, and grade level.

Qualifying circumstances. Check the form box describing why the child lives with you — a parent is dead, so sick they cannot care for the child, incarcerated, or on military assignment; unable to provide adequate financial support or parental care or guidance; alleged abuse or neglect; a parent's condition preventing adequate care and supervision; an uninhabitable home; parents who cannot be located; or other circumstances approved by the district. The statute specifies that the home-loss ground means loss or uninhabitability resulting from a natural disaster.

Parental consent. If the parent, legal custodian, or guardian is available and willing, they sign this section before a notary. If they cannot be located after reasonable effort, complete the required search steps below.

Your signature. You sign the affidavit under oath, affirming that everything is true. This must be notarized — knowingly false statements can draw a minimum civil penalty of $1,000 under 14 Del. C. § 202(f).

If the Parent Can't Be Found

When a parent, legal custodian, or guardian cannot be located, the current form requires Section A plus one of Options B, C, D, or E:

• Section A (required): Send a certified notice to the parent's, custodian's, or guardian's last known address stating your intent to take educational responsibility. Attach the notice and the certified-mail return receipt showing that it was not deliverable because the person was not at that location.
• Option B: Visit the last known address and describe what you found, whom you spoke with, that person's relationship to the parent, and what they said.
• Option C: Contact a social service agency, the parent's place of employment, health care provider, or friends. Include names and responses; the regulation also requires a signed written statement from the person contacted confirming that the parent's location is unknown.
• Option D: Place a notice in both the News Journal and the Delaware State News. Eight days after publication, describe the response or lack of response and attach a copy showing the publication date.
• Option E: Attach other documents or confirmations showing that the parent, custodian, or guardian cannot be found.

Getting It Notarized

The completed affidavit needs a notary stamp. Free notary services are commonly available at school district offices, Delaware state service centers, public libraries, and banks. If an out-of-state parent needs to sign, a notarial officer located in Delaware may notarize remotely using communication technology under 29 Del. C. § 4320. The law requires live audio-video communication and allows identity verification by personal knowledge, a credible witness, or at least two types of identity proofing; confirm with the notary that they can notarize this affidavit.

Next Steps After Filing

Once accepted, the affidavit is valid for one to two school years depending on filing date, unless the district extends it (details in our post on how long the affidavit lasts). The School and Medical Consent Guide for Delaware Relatives includes printable evidence-gathering worksheets that walk you through both Column A and Column B preparation before your district office visit.

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