Maine Kinship Care Forms: Where to Download Consent and Delegation Templates

You need forms — for school, for the doctor, for the dentist, maybe for court — and you do not know where to start. Maine does not have a single centralized portal for kinship caregiver forms, so the right documents are scattered across different state agencies, court systems, and legal aid sites. Here is where each one lives.

Parental Delegation Power of Attorney (§ 5-127)

This is the most commonly needed form for kinship caregivers. A Title 18-C § 5-127 power of attorney lets a parent delegate powers regarding care, custody, education decisions, and medical consent to you for up to 12 months. It does not by itself establish school residency in your school unit.

Section 5-127 does not prescribe a standard form. Your options:

• Pine Tree Legal Assistance (PTLA) publishes a free delegation template on their website at ptla.org. Search for "delegation of parental powers" or "power of attorney for child."
• An attorney can draft a custom version that includes specific provisions for your situation.
• Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine (AFFM) Kinship Navigator staff can point you to current templates and walk you through completion.

Under § 5-127(4), a 501(c)(3) organization assisting with a power of attorney for temporary care must ensure DHHS abuse, neglect, or exploitation record checks and an FBI-inclusive criminal-history check for the proposed agent and adult household members, then share the results with the parent and agent. The exception is for organizations whose primary purpose is free legal services or hospital services.

PTLA's current template includes the parent's signature, two witness signatures, and a notary acknowledgment. Maine law bars a notarial officer from notarizing for the signer's spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling, child, in-law, step-relative, or half-relative; it does not bar every relative from notarizing.

School Enrollment (§ 5205(2) Nonparent Residency)

Section 5205(2) does not prescribe a statewide form. Ask the school administrative unit (SAU) which request paperwork it uses:

• Ask for the nonparent residency request form or enrollment application for a child living with a non-parent.
• The superintendent must make a best-interest determination and send you a written decision within 10 calendar days.
• If the school does not have a dedicated form, you can submit a written request under 20-A M.R.S. § 5205(2), explaining that the child lives with you for reasons other than education and identifying a qualifying circumstance: it is undesirable and impractical for the child to live with a parent, there is a safety reason, or other extenuating circumstances justify the placement.

Guardianship Petition Forms

If you need to go to court for formal guardianship under Title 18-C § 5-204, use the current forms from the Maine Judicial Branch. Minor guardianship cases may be filed in District Court or Probate Court, depending on the child's case history.

• Court forms are free to download from the Maine Judicial Branch website; paper forms are available from any clerk's office.
• PTLA publishes self-help guardianship form packets with instructions written in plain language.
• Fee waiver forms — CV-067 (Application to Proceed Without Payment of Fees) and CV-191 (Financial Affidavit) — are available from the Maine Judicial Branch website for caregivers who cannot afford filing costs.

Medical and Dental Consent

Maine has no single state-issued "caregiver medical consent form." Medical authority flows from your legal instrument:

• If you have a § 5-127 POA that delegates medical authority, present it to the provider.
• If you are a qualifying surrogate under § 1503-A, you may consent directly without a separate statutory form. Before consenting, make a good-faith attempt to inform the parent of the need for care and the parent's right to decide; after care, make another good-faith attempt to inform the parent of the care provided, unless another law does not require parental notification.
• Individual hospital systems (MaineHealth, Northern Light Health) and dental offices use their own authorization forms. Ask the intake desk for their Healthcare Authorization or Consent for Treatment of a Minor form when you register.

Bring the original notarized POA to the first appointment and ask that a copy be scanned into the child's electronic health record.

MaineCare and Public Benefits Applications

• MaineCare — apply online at MyMaineConnection.gov or submit a paper application to your local DHHS Office for Family Independence.
• Child-Only TANF — same application process through DHHS OFI.
• SNAP — apply through MyMaineConnection.gov.

DHHS provides an Authorized Representative form to appoint someone to act on an applicant's behalf with the department.

A Warning About Generic Online Forms

Etsy, Gumroad, and national legal form sites sell "caregiver authorization affidavit" templates for $5–$15. Many cite obsolete pre-2019 Maine statutes (Title 18-A instead of Title 18-C) or import concepts from other states — like California's Caregiver Authorization Affidavit — that have no statutory basis in Maine. A generic form only delegates the powers it actually grants; make sure it clearly includes the school and medical decisions you need the caregiver to make.

Our Maine School and Medical Consent guide consolidates all the consent instruments, enrollment documents, and tracking worksheets into a single organized binder — each one aligned to current Maine law and ready to present to schools, clinics, and agencies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a single form that covers school and medical consent together?

A § 5-127 power of attorney can delegate both educational and medical authority in one instrument. However, individual schools and clinics may still ask you to complete their own forms in addition to the POA.

Do I need an attorney to fill out a power of attorney for a child in Maine?

No. PTLA and AFFM can help with templates. PTLA's current template includes a notary acknowledgment and two witness signatures. An attorney is advisable if the family situation is complicated — for example, if a co-parent with active custody rights objects.

Where do I get the forms if I cannot find them online?

Call Pine Tree Legal Assistance through its statewide intake system or contact AFFM's Kinship Navigator program at 207-827-2331. Ask either organization whether it can send you the current template.

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