Kinship Care

Part of: Grandparents Rights

Young children may often require care and love beyond their parents. In an ideal world, one or both parents may share the custody of a child. Parents may be unable to continue providing care and assistance to their children due to certain circumstances. Children will often need love, care and affection during such times where the parents are unable to provide care and support to their children, this is where kinship care may come into play.

What is kinship care?

Kinship care is the term given where parents are unable to look after and care or support their children. In such a situation other family members and relatives may be required to care for the child including looking after their day to day needs and housing needs. These can be grandparents, elder siblings, uncles or aunties or other adults who are connected to the child. Kinship carers are also known as family and friends carers. Such people who raise a child either full time or most of the time when their parents are not able to are known as kinship carers. It could also cover adults such as neighbours or friends including family friends. The idea of kinship care is also supported by the government and is noted as looking after someone else’s child.  

For what reasons may children be placed in kinship care?

The sole reason why children may be placed in kinship care is due to the inability of the parents to look after and care for the children. The charity, Kinship has conducted a research which states that 52% of the children end up in such care due to drug or alcohol misuse by the parents. Other reasons could include the bereavement or imprisonment of a parent or parental abuse, parental neglect, or even ill health of the parent.

Is kinship care permanent or temporary?

Kinship care could be arranged on a short term or long-term basis. This arrangement can also be either a permanent or temporary arrangement. A temporary arrangement may be one which is agreed informally between the parents and the kinship carer. Alternatively, it may be a permanent arrangement which is formalised and approved through a court order from the family court. Long term kinship care can be arranged through formalising the kinship care arrangements through court orders. These can be through a Child Arrangements Order or a Special Guardianship Order.

What are the different types of kinship care?

Kinship care can take form in many ways. Most common forms of care are:

1. Informal family and friends arrangements
2. Private foster care arrangements
3. Family and friends foster care child arrangements
4. Child Arrangements orders
5. Special Guardianship Orders
6. Adoption orders

Informal family and Friends Kinship care

Informal family and friends kinship care arrangements can take place when a child begins living with relatives, friends or other people connected to the family. This will be due to the child’s parents inability to continue caring for the children. This arrangement can take place informally between the parent and the kinship carer. In that situation, the carer may manage day-to-day care but may not be able to make important decisions without legal authority. Alternatively social services may become involved where they consider that a child by living with their parent is at a risk of harm and may informally agree to an informal kinship care whilst their investigations continue. If children’s services become involved, or you need help understanding your position, seek legal advice.

Private Foster Care Arrangements

Family and friends foster care child arrangements

What is the assessment for kinship foster care?

Kinship care through a child arrangements order

A child arrangements order can be obtained from the family court to determine where the child will reside. Quite often family members can also make applications for child arrangements to either achieve the residence of the children or to establish some form of contact with the children. In terms of kinship care, carers can apply to the court to obtain a Child Arrangements order in their favour. This would also mean they have parental responsibility along with the child’s birth parents and would be able to make decisions about the child’s upbringing, including education, which can help maintain stability for the child. A carer should get legal advice before applying, especially where there is disagreement about the arrangement. When considering kinship care a child arrangement order can be made in private family law proceedings which doesn’t include any involvement from the local authority or social services.

Where kinship foster care is awarded to a relative, family member or a family friend, the carer can also obtain a Child Arrangement order in their favour. This is especially the case where the care arrangement maybe beneficial for the child and could provide a permanent plan for the concerned child.

Kinship care through a special guardianship order

Kinship Care vs Special Guardianship order?

If arrangements are to be long-term then you may want to consider securing a Special Guardianship Order to enable rights over the child. Adoption can be an alternative if you are happy for rights over the child to be left with the local authority.

Kinship Care and adoption

Quite often kinship care may lead to adoption of the child. With adoption the adoptive parent becomes the child’s legal parent. A family member which is either a grandparent, aunty or uncle, a sibling or stepparent can make an application to change the status from kinship care to adoption. This is providing if the child has lived with you for at least 3 years in the last 5 years.

If you are placed as a local authority foster carer by way of the local authority becoming involved and allowing you to become a foster carer of a child, then you can apply to adopt the child providing you have been caring for the child and the child has lived with you for a period of at least 1 year.

Adoption can often be seen as the last resort if the parents are unable to care for their children for the long term. This is because adoption provides the adoptive parent the parental rights and responsibility. Adoption can make kinship care permanent as it lasts lifelong and cannot be revoked. To transfer kinship care to adoption the local authority need to be notified and an adoption order will need to be obtained. This can only be obtained once the social worker from the local authority carries out their assessments and approve you as an adoptive parent.

Is help available for kinship care?

Within England and Wales help and support is available to kinship carers who raise children when their parents are not able to do so. A leading charity offering this support and assistance is Kinship Family Rights Group also provides support and assistance to ensure children are kept safe during difficult times.

How is kinship foster care supported by this country?

What is relative foster care allowance?

Common questions about kinship care

In what circumstances can a kinship foster carer be refused?

A family member, relative or family friend maybe refused to be considered for foster kinship care where either the kinship foster carer or any one in their home has a conviction for child abuse, assault, violent offences against children or neglect. You may also be refused to be considered for such care if either you or a member of your household has been convicted of raping either an adult or a child.

Is tax payable on relative foster care allowance payments?

Whether or not a kinship foster carer must pay tax on a relative foster care allowance payment depends on the number of children they look after, whether it is a full tax year and whether other kinship foster care people live in the same house.

No tax is payable on relative foster care allowance payments if the carer earns up to £10,000.00 a year. If there is more than one kinship foster care parent in the same house, then this exemption is shared equally between them.

For relative foster care allowance payments which exceed the £10,000.00 mark a kinship foster carers tax relief is available for every week or part week a child is with them.

Contact Kabir Family Law today for a free initial consultation

If you are caring for a child who is not biologically yours or is a child of a relative or a friend, then contact our family lawyers today to receive all the support and advice you need on kinship care. Our family lawyers in Nottingham as well as across Newcastle, Northampton, Oxford and London can assist you to ensure you fully understand the principles of kinship care. Our family specialists can also advise you on the different forms of kinship care as well as assisting you in making your care arrangement permanent by way of a child arrangements order, special guardianship, or adoption.

We provide family law advice nationally as well as internationally through telephone, email and Skype. We will also ensure you are kept up to date with your matter and assist you developing a strategy to help you succeed. Contact us today for a free initial consultation by calling on 029 2192 1400 to discuss your options or let us call you let us call you back. You can otherwise book a time that suits you.