Ohio Caretaker Authorization Affidavit: When Parents Can't Be Found

Your grandchild is living with you, the parents are out of the picture, and nobody can reach them to sign a power of attorney. Ohio has a form for exactly this situation: the Caretaker Authorization Affidavit.

The CAA lets a grandparent step in unilaterally — no parent signature required — when the child's parents cannot be located. It's the backup instrument when a Grandparent Power of Attorney isn't possible because no parent is available to sign.

How the CAA Works

Under ORC § 3109.65, a grandparent whose grandchild lives with them can execute a Caretaker Authorization Affidavit if they've made reasonable attempts to find the parents and failed. The grandparent signs the form alone, before an Ohio Notary Public. No parent signature is needed.

The CAA grants the same operational authority as a GPOA: school enrollment, educational records access, and consent to medical, dental, and psychological care. It does not transfer legal custody or alter parental rights.

Who Can File

Like the GPOA, the CAA is restricted to grandparents only under current Ohio law. Aunts, uncles, siblings, and family friends are not eligible. If you're a non-grandparent caregiver, your options include McKinney-Vento enrollment for school access or a court petition for legal custody.

The "Reasonable Efforts" Standard

The form asks you to check a box affirming that you've made reasonable attempts to contact the child's parents. Ohio doesn't define a rigid checklist for what counts as "reasonable," but courts and clerks generally expect:

• Phone calls to known numbers
• Messages to last-known email or social media
• Letters to last-known addresses
• Contact through mutual family members

You don't need a private investigator. You need honest, documented attempts. Keep a written log of every attempt with dates — you may need it if the filing is ever questioned.

The form also includes statutory exceptions: you can skip the search if the other parent's paternity was never established, their parental rights were terminated, or a domestic violence protection order prohibits contact.

Filing: Same Five-Day Rule

The deadline mirrors the GPOA. You must file the notarized CAA with the juvenile court in your county within five calendar days of notarization. Filing fees are waived under ORC § 3109.74(D).

Attach the UCCJEA Custody Affidavit (Supreme Court Form 3.0) disclosing the child's five-year residential history and any pending custody proceedings. If there's an active custody case, divorce, or PCSA dependency proceeding, the court cannot accept the CAA.

The One-Year Limit

A CAA expires exactly one year from filing. This is the biggest practical difference from the GPOA, which has no set expiration. When the year is up, you'll need to either:

• Execute a new CAA (but the second consecutive one triggers a mandatory court hearing)
• Transition to a GPOA if a parent becomes available to sign
• File for formal custody or guardianship through juvenile or probate court

The Second-Affidavit Court Hearing

If you file a second consecutive CAA for the same child, the juvenile court is required by statute to schedule a hearing. The court will review the child's living arrangement and consider whether formal dependency or custody proceedings should begin.

This isn't punitive — it's a statutory review of the child's living arrangement when a second consecutive CAA is filed. The hearing gives the court a chance to consider whether formal dependency or custody proceedings should be initiated.

What to Watch For

The CAA is legally void if it's executed primarily to enroll a child in a specific school district for athletic or academic programs. Doing so is a first-degree misdemeanor under ORC § 2921.13. The form exists for genuine caregiving situations, not school-shopping.

If a parent reappears and revokes the CAA, or physically takes the child back, and you believe returning the child is dangerous, you have 14 calendar days to file a custody complaint in juvenile court and request emergency temporary custody.

For a complete walkthrough of the CAA alongside the GPOA and all seven fillable worksheets, see our Ohio School and Medical Consent toolkit.

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