Kinship Care
Scope of this chapter
This chapter should be read in conjunction with information in the Decision to Look after and Care Planning section in the Durham Resource Library
Related guidance
- Children Act 1989: Family and Friends Care : Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities about family and friends providing care for children who cannot live with their parents.
- Championing Kinship Care: The National Kinship Care Strategy
- Promoting the Education of Children with a Social Worker and Children in Kinship Care Arrangements: Virtual School Head Role Extension : Non statutory guidance for local authorities about the development of Virtual School Head’s strategic leadership role in promoting the educational outcomes of children in kinship care arrangements.
- Family Rights Group, Initial Family and Friends Care Assessment : A Good Practice Guide outlines what a viability assessment for family and friend carers should look like, what social workers should consider and how to undertake international assessments.
Amendment
This chapter was updated in November 2024, to reflect Championing Kinship Care: The National Kinship Care strategy.
Children may be brought up by members of their extended families, friends or other people who are connected with them for a variety of reasons and in a variety of different arrangements.
This policy sets out the local authority's approach towards promoting and supporting the needs of such children and covers the assessments which will be carried out to determine the services required and how such services will then be provided.
The manager with overall responsibility for this policy is the Strategic Manager, Children Looked After's Resources.
This policy will be regularly reviewed and made freely and widely available.
Consideration of children's welfare and best interests will always be at the centre of the work we do.
It is an underlying principle that children should be enabled to live within their families unless this is not consistent with their welfare. We will therefore work to maintain children within their own families, and facilitate services to support any such arrangements, wherever this is consistent with the child's safety and well-being. This principle applies to all children in need, including those who are looked after by the local authority. Where a child cannot live within his or her immediate family and the local authority is considering the need to look after the child, we will make strenuous efforts to identify potential carers within the child's network of family or friends who are able and willing to care for the child.
We will provide support for any such arrangements based on the assessed needs of the child, not simply on his or her legal status, and will seek to ensure that family and friends carers are provided with support to ensure that children do not become looked after by the local authority, or do not have to remain looked after longer than is needed.
We will provide support and training in ways that are appropriate and encouraging for family and friends carers.
The local authority has a general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of Children in Need living within its area and to promote the upbringing of such children by their families. The way in which we fulfil this duty is by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children's assessed needs (Section 17, Children Act 1989). This can include financial, practical or other support. (See also Finance Panel procedure in the Durham Resource Library).
It is important to note that the local authority does not have a general duty to assess all arrangements where children are living with their wider family or friends network rather than their parents but it does have a duty where it appears that services may be necessary to safeguard or promote the welfare of a Child in Need.
*A Child in Need is defined in Section 17(10) of the Children Act 1989 as a child who is disabled or who is unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of services by the local authority.
To clarify the children who may come within the definition of Children in Need, the local authority has drawn up a 'Threshold' document.
Children in Need may live with members of their family or friends in a variety of different legal arrangements, some formal and some informal. Different court orders are available to formalise these arrangements.
Children looked after will always come within the definition of Children in Need, whether they are accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (with parental consent) or in care subject to a Court Order whereby the local authority shares parental responsibility for the child. The local authority has a responsibility wherever possible to make arrangements for a Child Looked After to live with a member of the family (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989).
For a detailed summary of the meaning and implications of different legal situations, the rights of carers and parents, and the nature of decisions which family and friends carers will be able to make in relation to the child, please see Annex A: Caring for Somebody Else's Child - Options. Section 4, Different Situations whereby Children may be Living with Family and Friend Carers, which sets out the local authority's powers and duties in relation to the various options.
In relation to financial support, the local authority may provide carers of children in need with such support on a regular or one-off basis, under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989. This may include discretionary funding based upon a financial means test. However all decisions about financial support for S17 spend needs to be made at finance panel which is chaired by Operations Managers. (See Finance Panel procedure in the Durham Resource Library). The legal status of the child may have a bearing on the levels of financial support which may be available to carers, The following sections of this policy set out the financial support that we may provide to family and friends who are caring for children in these different contexts.
Where a child cannot be cared for within his or her immediate family, the family may make their own arrangements to care for the child within the family and friends network.
The local authority does not have a duty to assess any such informal family and friends care arrangements, unless it appears to the authority that services may be necessary to safeguard or promote the welfare of a Child in Need. In such cases, the local authority has a responsibility under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 to assess the child's needs and provide services to meet any assessed needs of the child. Following the completion of a Child and Family Assessment, a Child in Need Plan will be drawn up and a package of support will be identified (see Child In Need Plans and Reviews Procedure). This can comprise a variety of different types of services and support, including financial support.
Parental responsibility remains with the birth parents, but the carer may do what is reasonable to safeguard or promote the child's welfare.
A privately fostered child is a child under 16 (or 18 if disabled) who is cared for by an adult who is not a parent or close relative, where the child is to be cared for in that home for 28 days or more. Close relative is defined as 'a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) or step-parent.' It does not include a child who is Looked After by a local authority. In a private fostering arrangement, the parent still holds parental responsibility and agrees the decision-making arrangements with the private foster carer. (See Private Fostering Procedure).
The local authority has a duty to assess and monitor the welfare of all privately fostered children and the way in which they carry out these duties is set out in the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005. However, the local authority may also become involved with a child in a private fostering arrangement where the child comes within the definition of a Child in Need. In such cases, the local authority has a responsibility to provide services to meet the assessed needs of the child under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989. Following a Child and Family Assessment, a Child in Need Plan will be drawn up and a package of support will be identified. As in 4.1 above, this can comprise a variety of different types of services and support, including financial support.
See also Placement with Connected Persons Procedure.
Where a child is looked after by the local authority, we have a responsibility wherever possible to make arrangements for the child to live with a member of the family who is approved as a foster carer (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989).
The child can be placed with the family members prior to full approval as a connected persons foster carer, subject to an assessment of the placement, for up to 16 weeks (The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations, 2010, Regulation 24). During this time the local authority must make immediate arrangements for the connected persons carers to be fully assessed subject to The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011.
This temporary approval can only be extended in exceptional circumstances for a further period of eight weeks (The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations, 2010, Regulation 25).
In this context the carer is referred to as a connected person foster carer and the process of obtaining approval for the placement is set out in the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011.
Where temporary approval is given, the carers will receive financial support on a regular basis in line with the current fostering allowances.
The fostering allowances and fees are reviewed annually.
In addition the child will have a placement plan (The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations, 2010) which sets out the specific arrangements surrounding the child and the carers including the expectations of the foster carers and the support they can expect to receive to enable to fulfil their responsibilities for the child.
The assessment and approval process for connected persons who apply to be foster carers for a specific Child Looked After will be the same as for any other foster carer except that the timescales for the assessment are different where a child is already in the placement as indicated above. In all other respects the process is the same as for any other potential foster carer and is set out in the assessment and approval of foster carer procedure.
An information pack will be available to potential connected persons foster carers about the process and they will be given the name and contact details of the social worker from the fostering service allocated to carry out the assessment.
Once approved as connected persons foster carers, they will be allocated a supervising social worker from the fostering service to provide them with support and supervision and they will receive fostering allowances and fees for as long as they care for the child as a foster carer.
While the child remains a Child Looked After, as a foster carer, they will be expected to co-operate with all the processes that are in place to ensure that the child receives appropriate care and support, for example, contributing to reviews of the child's care plan, cooperating with the child's social worker and promoting the child's education and health needs.
Authority for day-to-day decision making about the child should be delegated to the carer(s) and this will be set out in the placement plan.
A Child Arrangements Order is a Court Order which sets out the arrangements as to when and with whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact.
These orders replace the previous Contact Orders and Residence Orders.
A Child Arrangements Order may give parental responsibility to the person in whose favour it is made. Parental responsibility is shared with the parents.
Authority for day-to-day decision making about the child should be delegated to the carer(s), unless there is a valid reason not to do so.
Child Arrangements Orders may be made in private family proceedings in which the local authority is not a party nor involved in any way in the arrangements. However, a Child Arrangements Order in favour of a relative or foster carer (who was a 'Connected Person') with whom a child is placed may be an appropriate outcome as part of a permanence plan for a Child in Need or a 'Looked After' child.
The local authority do not ordinarily offer financial support to Child Arrangement Order arrangements. In exceptional circumstances a request for financial support can be made to the finance panel. The social workers involved will present the case to the finance panel which is chaired by senior managers within the local authority and a decision will be made regarding the request for financial support. See also Eligibility and Provision of Financial Support in Respect of Child Arrangement Orders Procedure.
Special Guardianship offers a further option for children needing permanent care outside their birth family. It can offer greater security without absolute severance from the birth family as in adoption.
Relatives may apply for a Special Guardianship Order after caring for the child for one year. As Special Guardians, they will have parental responsibility for the child which, while it is still shared with the parents, can be exercised with greater autonomy on day-to-day matters than where there is a Child Arrangements Order.
Special Guardianship Orders may be made in private family proceedings and the local authority may not be a party to any such arrangements. However, a Special Guardianship Order in favour of a relative or foster carer (who was a 'Connected Person') with whom a child is living may be an appropriate outcome as part of a permanence plan for a Child in Need or a 'Looked After' child.
Where the child was Looked After immediately prior to the making of the Special Guardianship Order, the local authority has a responsibility to assess the support needs of the child, parents and Special Guardians, including the need for financial support.
The assessed support needs will be set out in a Special Guardianship Support Plan.
See also the Applications for Special Guardianship Orders Procedure, for details of what financial assistance may be available to holders of Special Guardianship Orders, the applicable criteria and who within the local authority will make decisions under the policy.
Kinship Arrangements
The UK government has put into place three different visa routes for Ukrainians who wish to come or remain in the UK since the war in the Ukraine started. These are:
Private Fostering
If a child or young person is living with a Homes for Ukraine sponsor, is under 16 and the sponsor is not a close relative, this is a statutory private fostering arrangement. All private fostering responsibilities and procedures must be followed in these cases. See Private fostering arrangements.
Please Note: These resources are being continually updated and so it is important that you seek the most up to date guidance when considering a kinship placement for a Ukrainian child or young person. Further advice can be found here and The Ukraine Advice Project UK.
Local authorities and regional adoption agencies can apply for therapeutic funding for eligible adoptive, special guardianship order and child arrangement order families. Local authorities and RAAs must apply to the ASGSF within 3 months of assessing a family’s support needs. The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) is available to most children being raised under a Special Guardianship and Child Arrangement Order. This also includes children up to and including the age of 21, or 25 with an education, health and care (EHC) plan who:
- Are living (placed) with a family in England while waiting for adoption;
- Were adopted from local authority care in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and live in England;
- Were adopted from abroad and live in England with a recognised adoption status;
- Were in care before an SGO was made;
- Left care under a special guardianship order that was subsequently changed to an adoption order, or vice versa;
- Are under a residency order or child arrangement order (CAO) and were previously looked after;
- Were previously looked after but where the adoption, special guardianship, residency or CAO placement has broken down, irrespective of any reconciliation plans.
For more information and how to apply see: Adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) Guidance
Kinship Carers in the Workplace: Guidance for Employers sets out best practice for supporting kinship carers at work, including the right to be entitled to leave benefits similar to that of parents and adopters.
From 1 September 2021, the School Admissions Code provides that children being raised by family and friends carers under a Special Guardianship Order or Child Arrangements Order, who struggle to get a school place during the year, will be supported in finding one.
In addition, Pupil Premium for permanently placed children (also known as Pupil Premium Plus) was introduced in 2014. Pupil Premium Plus is awarded in recognition that many adopted and permanently placed children need extra support in school because of the circumstances that led to them being placed into care, and later being adopted or being placed on a SGO or CAO. See Pupil Premium Overview.
Promoting the Education of Children with a Social Worker and Children in Kinship Care Arrangements: Virtual School Head Role Extension highlights the inclusion of children in kinship settings having access to the virtual school head program to continue to support their academic achievement.
Last Updated: November 14, 2024
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