What is kinship care?

Kinship care is when a child cannot live with their parents and is raised by other family members or friends. Kinship carers can be grandparents, aunts, uncles, and older siblings as well as other adults who have a connection to the child.

Kinship care includes children who might be living in an informal arrangement made by their parents, are subject to a Child Arrangements Order or Special Guardianship Order or are placed with kinship foster carers. 

Kinship care is also commonly referred to as Friends and Family Care and is different to private fostering.

Private fostering is if both the following apply:

• You’re not a close relative, i.e., grandparent, brother or sister, uncle or aunt or stepparent
• You’re looking after a child who’s under 16 (under 18 if they’re disabled) for more than 28 days in a row

You must tell your local council about this arrangement.

Understanding your rights as a kinship carer

If you are caring for a child long-term, you can get parental responsibility for the child by applying for a Child Arrangement Order or Special Guardianship Order.

If you’d like to learn more about this process, request a call back from one of our expert family solicitors.

Having parental responsibility means you can:

• Get unpaid parental leave
• Choose the child’s school
• Agree to the child’s medical treatment
• Look after the child’s finances and property
• Apply for a passport for the child
• Stop the child from being taken abroad without your permission 

“It is important that kinship carers understand their rights and the support that is available to them when caring for children within the family. The Local Authority should provide a robust package of support to ensure that any placement is appropriately underpinned to prevent any chance of the placement breaking down.

We can provide advice to ensure that Kinship carers understand the options available to them and the difference between different types of orders that can be made by the Court.”

Joanne Callister, Associate & Solicitor in the Family Law department

Unsure of your rights as a kinship carer? Call today to speak to an expert in family law.

What support is available for kinship carers?

The new government guidelines move away from the current model of intervention to focus instead on effective early help and support within families. 

This includes a plan to test new ways of supporting kinship care and children with ‘Family Network Support Packages’.

These packages will include different types of help that local authorities can give to kinship carers, like helping them build an extra bedroom or giving them some extra money to support the child.

They will also offer training to all kinship carers in the country to support them in caring for a child.

Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, Claire Coutinho said:

“Children in care deserve the same love and stability as everyone else. Yet we’ve seen from the 2 tragic murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson that more needs to be done to protect our most vulnerable children.

“Our wide-ranging reforms will put strong relationships at the heart of the care system. From supporting our brilliant foster carers, kinship carers and social workers to getting early help to families and improving children’s homes, we want every child to get the support and protection they need.”

Are you entitled to extra support? Make an enquiry. 

How can we help?

If you would like to learn more about how you can gain access to the services provided for Kinship carers, learn more about the application process for a child arrangement order, or if you need assistance in attaining a special guardianship order, we are here to help.

Our expert solicitors understand the complexities of private family matters and will be able to assist you with the process.

Call today or make an enquiry and allow us to help assist with the legal process, allowing you to focus on what matters most, the child.