Parents aren’t the only ones raising their children nowadays, and a new law signed earlier this month by Gov. John Baldacci now gives more rights to guardians – more specifically, grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings – and the children they care for.

The legislation, LD 1402, gives new guidelines to probate judges to consider in assigning guardianship and allows them to factor in the best interests of the children when making their decision.

“When extended family members have stepped in for long periods of time to fully meet the needs of children, it is imperative that there be a way to thoughtfully explore the best way to assure their safety and well-being,” Baldacci commented Wednesday about the new law in an e-mailed statement.

The 2000 Maine census numbers show 11,000 children are being raised by family members and that there are 5,000 grandparents raising their children’s children.

The legislation came about after a group of six grandparents, all raising their grandchildren, decided last fall to try to get state legislation passed that would give them legal rights with the children they care for.

One of the lead supporters of the law was Orrington Selectman Christine Lavoie, who, along with her husband, Herb, have been raising two of their grandchildren for more than three years.

“We were just ecstatic,” she said Wednesday. “We all are just so happy that it’s gone through.”

Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, at the time a state representative, submitted the bill on behalf of the grandparents’ group.

“The purpose of this was to serve the children,” he said Wednesday. “It gives people acting as guardians, on a day-to-day sense, a standing with the courts, and I think it will help standardize the process for those seeking legal guardianship.”

Several groups involved with children in Maine worked on the legislation, Rosen said.

“The families involved worked extremely hard,” he said. “This was a true compromise. It was a collaborative effort. The probate court was actively involved in the process, along with the Department of Human Services.”

The Maine Children’s Alliance and Families and Children Together, a Bangor support group for grandparents raising their grandchildren, also participated in creating the new law.

The new law, which is based on similar legislation in Minnesota and Kentucky, provides guidelines for probate court judges to use when deciding what is in the “best interest of the child” and gives 13 factors to consider in assigning guardianship.

The list includes the preference of the child if the child is old enough to express a preference; the length of time the child has lived in a stable environment; whether the parties involved are capable of giving love and guidance to the child; and “all other factors having a reasonable bearing on the physical and psychological well-being of the child.”

The new law establishes guidelines that allow the courts to recognize a de facto relationship between the child and guardians who have cared for the child, or children, for at least two years and uses parental participation as a tool for gauging rights of the parties involved.

It also allows de facto guardians to be appointed as legal guardians and gives guardians the right to choose a co-guardian. For those who cannot afford a lawyer, the law allows the state to provide one for contested actions.

The grandparents group, which initiated the legislation, first met at a support group meeting.

“It was almost a year ago [that] some of the old time members started to say, ‘Jeez, you know, the laws could work more smoothly,'” Barbara Kates, director of Family Connections, a program of Families and Children Together, said Wednesday.

From that point, the grandparents group started to do research into what it really wanted and what other states have done. It also started to get the word out, Kates said.

It was after hearing other grandparents complain about guardianship issues that Lavoie’s grandparents group decided to get involved and change the law.

“There [are] just so many problems with kin trying to get anyone out of the foster care system,” Lavoie said. “We want to try and make it easier. We had to do a small thing to get things going.”