Kinship care
Sometimes children and young people experience issues within their birth family and may no longer be able to live at home. If this happens, we can consider whether the children and young people could live with other family members.
Kinship care can be time limited or long term.
There are two types of kinship care:
- Formal - children are ‘looked after’ and placed with relatives or people who know them, often as a result of a children’s hearing or court order
- Informal - children are looked after by relatives, often many informal care arrangements are unknown to statutory services
A kinship carer is defined as "a person who is related to the child (through blood, marriage or civil partnership) or a person with whom the child has a pre-existing relationship" (Looked After (Scotland) Regulations 2009).
We support kinship carers as per the principles set out in Part 13 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.
Kinship assessments
Kinship care assessments are a statutory requirement for North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership.
The assessment process aims to determine if kinship carers have the capacity and ability to:
- meet the child's specific needs
- ensure the child's safety and wellbeing
Kinship care assessments differ from foster care assessments in the following ways:
- they consider the pre-existing relationship between the child, family, and carer
- the carers are being assessed to care for a specific child or children
- the carer is usually identified by the child or their family
Objectives
The objectives of the assessment are to:
- gather relevant information to approve or reject the caregivers
- identify any risk factors within the household
- make an informed decision about the potential strengths and weaknesses of the placement
- determine who the primary carer will be
- identify any necessary supports to ensure the success of the placement
How it works
Assessments are carried out by the Kinship Care team.
The assessment requires the assessing worker to conduct several home visits in order to gather information for the kinship assessment report. This report is then presented at the Kinship Panel.
The panel decides on:
- whether the carer is approved
- their ability to meet the needs of the specific children in their care
Information and checks
The assessment process includes the following checks:
- Protection of Vulnerable Scheme applications (Kinship Carers)
- Disclosure checks on all adults within the household
- Health checks
- Local authority checks (authorities where you were previously resident)
- Pet assessments (if applicable)
- References
- Health and safety assessment of the home environment
It considers the following background information:
- upbringing
- family background
- employment
- education
- relationships
- lifestyle
- home environment
- health
- previous parenting
- current or previous involvement with social services or other agencies
How to apply for kinship care assistance
Some kinship carers are entitled to a weekly kinship allowance. If you are seeking financial assistance, you should apply to North Ayrshire Council. You can find out more about the process by speaking to the Families for Children team or your social worker.
Additionally, prospective kinship carers may be eligible for financial support towards the cost of an application for a kinship care order. This is when you are applying for - or are considering applying for - a kinship care order in relation to a child under the age of 16 who was previously looked after or is at risk of becoming looked after.
We will notify you around the decision to your application - and the reasons for this decision - as soon as we can.
Kinship care assistance eligibility
There are two main criteria in relation to qualifying for kinship care assistance. An eligible child is:
- A child was previously looked after
- A child who is currently at risk of becoming looked-after
How are kinship allowances calculated?
Not all kinship carers will be eligible to receive the weekly allowance. The calculation process applied is the same in all cases.
North Ayrshire Council pays a higher rate than the Scottish Recommended Allowances for foster carers and kinship carers. Kinship care payments are made weekly and are determined by the age of the child.
There are four age bands:
- 0 to 4 years: £200
- 5 to 10 years: £200
- 11 to 15 years: £200
- 16 years and above: £268.41
Kinship carers may also qualify for Universal Credit/Child Tax Credit and Child Benefits. As such, the Kinship Care Allowance will be calculated by deducting the Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit entitlement from the corresponding allowance.
Kinship allowance will end when the child is no longer in the kinship care placement or where they reach the age of 18 (unless they meet the criteria for Continuing Care).
Advice on kinship care
The Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland (KCASS) provides free, confidential and impartial advice to:
- kinship families
- professionals working with kinship families
To find out more:
- visit the KCASS website
- call the free advice line on 0808 800 0006 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 2.30pm)
- email advice@kinshipscot.org
Other resources
The following resources may also be helpful:
- The Real Toolkit has guides about the transition into continuing care or leaving care
- Scottish Government has information on the national support, advice and information available
Contact us
To find out how we can help, please get in touch.
Families for Children Team, North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, 2nd Floor Bridgegate House, Irvine KA12 8BD
01294 310300 (Monday to Thursday, 9am to 4.45pm; Friday, 9am to 4.30pm; leave a message and we will call back)