Maryland Informal Kinship Care Affidavit for School Enrollment

Maryland's informal kinship care affidavit is the document that lets a relative enroll a child in public school without a court order and without the parent's signature. It is established under Education Article § 7-101(c), and it is the single most important piece of paper a kinship caregiver in Maryland needs to get a child into a classroom.

What the Affidavit Does

When you sign this affidavit under penalties of perjury, you are swearing that:

• You are related to the child by blood or marriage within the fifth degree
• The child lives with you full-time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at your Maryland address
• The living arrangement is caused by a qualifying serious family hardship (death, serious illness, drug addiction, incarceration, abandonment, or military deployment of the parent)
• You have made reasonable efforts to inform the parent about the enrollment

The school accepts this as establishing educational domicile. The child attends the neighborhood school assigned to your address, free of charge.

Which Form to Use

Maryland does not have one universal form. The statutory language comes from § 7-101(c), but local school districts may issue their own versions:

• Montgomery County Public Schools — MCPS Form 334-17 ("Affidavit: Children in Informal Kinship Care," revised July 2017)
• Frederick County Public Schools — FCPS Regulation Form 80
• Baltimore City Public Schools — the city's own kinship affidavit and enrollment packet
• Most other counties — use the standard state statutory affidavit language

Contact your school district's enrollment office or pupil personnel worker before filling anything out. They will tell you which version they accept.

How to File

You complete the form yourself — listing the child's name, date of birth, your relationship, the qualifying hardship, and the parent's last known address. You sign and date it under oath in the physical presence of a commissioned notary public. Some supporting documents, like shared housing disclosures, may also need notarization.

Submit the completed affidavit to the school along with your proof of residency, the child's immunization records (MDH Form 896), a blood lead test certificate if the child is entering Pre-K through 1st grade (MDH Form 4620), and proof of the child's age.

The school may request documentation to verify the hardship — a death certificate, medical letter, incarceration record, or treatment facility verification — but the child must be enrolled immediately, even while that documentation is being processed.

Annual Renewal

This is the detail most caregivers miss. Under COMAR 13A.08.05, the affidavit must be re-filed at least two weeks before the start of each school year. Education § 7-101(c)(5) encourages submission of hardship documentation by September 30. If any circumstances change during the year, you must notify the school within 30 days.

What the Affidavit Does Not Do

It does not give you legal custody. It does not change child support arrangements. It does not terminate or restrict the parent's rights. If a parent objects, the parent's decision controls. And if a court has already awarded custody or guardianship to someone else, the affidavit cannot override that order.

For the companion health consent affidavit, county-by-county form details, and a renewal tracking calendar, see our Maryland School and Medical Consent Guide.

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