Which kinship care pathway applies in PEI?
A child can live with a grandparent or relative through several different arrangements. This guide shows the main pathways and the questions that clarify legal authority, support and next steps.
Part of our First Steps resource series. See the main First Steps guide for the wider topic and related resources. Following a guided route? Return to the Child Protection & GACP route.
Information reviewed September 2026. Program rules and service processes can change, so use the linked official source for current requirements.
Six common pathways can lead to a child living with kin.
Informal kinship care
A parent and a relative or trusted adult arrange for the child to live with the caregiver without a Child Protection placement or court order.
Key question: What authority does the caregiver actually have for health, school, travel and other decisions?
Temporary out-of-home placement
PEI's GACP temporary stream applies when a child has been found in need of protection and needs care outside the parental home while reunification remains the primary goal.
A Family Intervention Plan is required, Child Protection remains involved, and the proposed caregiver is assessed through GACP.
Permanent placement
When protection concerns remain unresolved and reunification is not possible, an approved caregiver may obtain permanent legal custody or guardianship and continue receiving GACP support while eligibility requirements are met.
Private custody or guardianship
A caregiver may obtain legal authority through a family-law agreement or court process outside a temporary GACP placement. The exact order or agreement determines what the caregiver can decide and what rights the parent retains.
Relative adoption
PEI allows a birth parent to make a plan for a child to be adopted by a close relative through the province's relative-adoption process. Adoption permanently changes the child's legal parentage.
Reunification
In a temporary child-protection placement, the goal may be for the child to return to a parent once the protection concerns have been resolved. Benefits, school contacts, health information and caregiver authority may all need to change at that point.
How do I work out which path applies?
- Is Child Protection currently involved?
- Is there a court order, guardianship document, written agreement or GACP agreement?
- Who has legal custody or guardianship today?
- Who can consent to health care, school decisions and travel?
- Is the arrangement intended to be temporary, permanent or still undecided?
- Is reunification with a parent the current goal?
- Who may apply for the Canada Child Benefit or other child-related support?
- What would cause the arrangement to be reviewed, changed or ended?
GACP is not the definition of kinship care.
PEI's GACP Program is an important pathway for eligible children connected to Child Protection, but many grandparents and other relatives care for children through informal arrangements, family-law orders or other legal pathways. A caregiver can be part of a kinship family even if GACP does not apply.
Permanent placement and adoption are not the same thing.
The GACP permanent stream can give a caregiver permanent custody or guardianship without making that caregiver the child's legal parent through adoption. Relative adoption is a separate legal process under PEI adoption law.
PEI Adoption and Relative Adoption
When a court or agreement is involved, get the exact document.
Do not rely on verbal descriptions such as "you have custody now." Ask for a copy of the order or agreement, read what it actually says, and get legal information or advice when the meaning is unclear.
Kinship Care Pathways in PEI
Two-page visual summary with the six pathways and the questions that help identify which one applies.
Download PDFInformal care vs GACP
See what changes when Child Protection and the GACP Program are involved.
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