Kinship care

Kinship Care is when a child is looked after by their extended family or close friends if they cannot remain with their birth parents.

Under the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009, 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".

Kinship Care includes:

looked after children who have been placed with Kinship Carers by the local authority
Children not under the care of the local authority but live in an informal Kinship Care arrangement (these children may be subject to an order under Section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or may be living in a completely private arrangement with extended family, with no local authority involvement)

Children in Kinship Care often experience less disruption in their life, they do better in education, have a stronger sense of identity and have more meaningful contact with parents and other family members. We value and respect this unique role played by Kinship Carers and recognise that Kinship Care can give children better outcomes.

Becoming A Kinship Carer

Kinship Carers are often family members or close contacts already involved in the child's life. If alternative care is needed, the social worker collaborates with the birth parents and child to find suitable carers.

If you want to be considered as a Kinship Carer, it's important to first inform the child's parents and, in all cases, notify the child's social worker.

Why are Kinship Carers assessed and what is involved?

We are legally responsible for assessing the suitability of Kinship Carers for children in care. An initial assessment will be done, followed by a more detailed assessment if the child stays longer.

What's involved?

A Kinship Worker will be assigned to conduct the assessment, which involves meetings to gather personal information. This helps to:

build a profile
understand your role and ability to meet the child’s needs
explore the relationships and lifestyles in your home

The assessment can take up to 12 weeks, focusing on strengths, vulnerabilities, and support needs.

Financial Support

Kinship Carers of 'looked after children' may be eligible to claim Child Benefit but are not entitled to claim Child Tax Credits for the child.

When a child is placed you, the Kinship Worker should check if you are eligible for financial support. If you meet the criteria, you will be referred for a financial assessment.

Types of financial support which may be available:

LAC Kinship Allowance– where children have been placed with Kinship Carers through a Children’s Hearing, or with a S25 agreement, their carer may be eligible to receive a weekly payment towards their care.
Non LAC Kinship Allowance – where children are living with Kinship Carers who have been awarded a Residence order or Kinship Care Order, their carer may be eligible to receive a weekly payment towards their care.

If you are receiving any child-related benefits, Fife Council will deduct these from the allowance you are paid.

The current weekly allowances (set by the Scottish Government in August 2023) before any deduction are:

0 to 4 year-olds: £168.31
5 to 10 year-olds: £195.81
11 to 15 year-olds: £195.81
16-years-old and over: £268.41

Other benefits

If you are resident in Scotland, responsible for a child under 6 and in receipt of one of the following low-income benefits you may be eligible for Scottish Child Payment/Best Start Grant/Best Start Foods:

Child Tax Credit
Universal Credit
Income Support
Pension Credit
Working Tax Credit
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Housing Benefit (Best Start Grant/Best Start Foods only)

The Scottish Child Payment is a benefit introduced by the Scottish Government for families in receipt of reserved benefits. It is a weekly payment of £26.70 per week per child every four weeks.

For more information and advice contact your Kinship Worker or go to www.Mygov.scot

Kinship Support Groups

We offer support, information and advice to Kinship Carers, so they are better equipped to meet the needs of the children and young people in their care.

We are happy to discuss all aspects of being a Kinship Carer including:

the role and identity of a kinship carer
employment and financial concerns (see below for more information)
child care
challenging behaviour
housing issues
health concerns and isolation

We provide support for attending meetings and providing advice and guidance about supporting the child. We can also liaise with services who may be able to help, such as housing, health, and education and help to access other groups in the community.

Kinship Care Groups provide a safe space for Kinship Carers to discuss issues affecting them with other carers in their local areas. They can share experiences and seek advice and support from others in a similar situation.

Groups are currently meeting in:

Dunfermline
Benarty/Cowdenbeath
Glenrothes
Levenmouth
Kirkcaldy
Cupar
North East Fife

Training and advice

There's plenty advice and training available if you decide to be a kinship carer. We want to support you. In our Kinship Carers training guide, find details of the courses we and our partners offer our Kinship Carers, how to access them, and more useful info and links from us. In our Kinship Carers training programme for 2025, you can see a list of upcoming courses kinship carers can attend.

Please contact Fife Kinship Team for information of times and venues of current groups running in your area.

Contact us:

By phone; 01592 583554

By email: Kinship.earlyyears@fife.gov.uk

Facebook: Fife Kinship Care