AUGUSTA -- Across the United States, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family members stepping in to take care of a relative's child face legal hurdles in securing legal custody.

While the number of grandfamilies, as they are known, has grown nationally in recent years, laws in most states continue to favor the foster care system, an expert told an audience of dozens of grandparent caregivers and social-service providers Friday at a University of Maine at Augusta conference.

For biological family members taking care of a child not their own, "the law doesn't recognize you," said Gerard Wallace, director of the Grandparent Support Project at Albany Law School in Albany, N.Y.

By favoring unrelated foster parents as children's caregivers, Wallace said, the legal system is undermining a key family value.

"That family value is that family takes care of family and family takes care of children," he said.

Wallace was the keynote speaker at Friday's Maine Summit for Grandfamilies, a gathering sponsored by an array of social-service providers.

In Maine, 11,000 children are under the care of relatives, according to Maine Kids-Kin, a Bangor support network for grandparent caregivers and the summit's primary sponsor.

Maine Kids-Kin Director Barbara Kates said the organization's goal was to bring together an audience with a common interest in the status of grandfamilies in Maine.

The summit featured presentations and panel discussions focused on legal options open to relatives seeking to care for a family member's child, and how Maine laws work for grandparent caregivers.

"We're here to think about where Maine is now and where we want to be," Kates said.

In the best situation, children are raised by their parents, said Owen O'Donnell of the Portland organization Casey Family Services. When that is not possible, putting children in the custody of a family member is generally the next best alternative.

"There's better outcomes when they're raised by family," he said. "But we don't put any resources into that. It's not just dollars, but services."

Maine Kids-Kin works with family members seeking to become children's primary caregivers, Kates said.

"What we have regularly are grandparents, aunts, uncles who are concerned about the child and are looking for all the resources they need to provide care for a child," she said.

In his speech, Wallace recounted stories he had heard of grandparents engaging in lengthy court struggles to secure custody of their grandchildren.

"It doesn't seem like our family value is being reflected as a legal value," he said. "A lot of these situations are awful."

For years, Diane Loranger dealt with grandparent caregivers in her work. But when she began to care for her two grandchildren, she said it was not readily evident what resources were available to help her as a grandparent caregiver.

"People are very confused about what they can and cannot do," said Loranger, of Saco. "When it hits home, you really don't know where to start."

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, Ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com