Kinship care

There are two types of kinship care:

1. 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.
2. Informal – where arrangements have usually been worked out by the child’s parent to live with extended family or a close family friend.

We do not know about all informal care arrangements with relatives or friends. These carers can contact us to find out what support is available to them. We would like to welcome you to our kinship community.

Looked after children

Looked after children are those who are in the care of their local authority. This is defined in the  Children (Scotland) Act 1995. 

Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland (KCASS) has a useful guide to help understand the difference between 'looked after' and 'non-looked after' children in kinship care.

KCASS: Looked After, or Non-Looked After?

Depending on your situation, you may be asked as a kinship carer to undergo a kinship care assessment. We hold a responsibility to carry out these assessments to make sure that carers are able to:

• meet the child's needs
• keep the child safe and well

During assessments we will gather information to find out more about:

• who will be providing care
• the home environment
• the strengths and needs of the carers
• the relationships between the child, family, and carer
• what additional support may be needed

This will allow our kinship care team to present a report to our kinship panel who will decide whether the carer is approved, and their ability to meet the needs of the children in their care.

A kinship care order secures the kinship placement through a court and to provide you custody of a child. With a kinship care order the child is no longer ‘looked after’.

A kinship care order can help provide a more stable home environment for a child. They can also transfer some or all of the parental rights and responsibilities to the carer. 

A person who wishes to apply for a kinship care order must be:

• related to the child, which includes relations through marriage or civil partnership and those related to the child by half-blood
• a friend or acquaintance of a person related to the child
• a person who has such other relationship to, or connection with, the child as the Scottish Ministers may by order specify

Financial support related to kinship care orders

You will still receive a kinship care allowance if a kinship care order is granted. However, the child will no longer be able to apply for Section 29 leaving care financial assistance.

Anyone can approach their solicitor and request a kinship care order. The costs associated will vary dependent upon the solicitors representing the carer, but you can expect to pay between £1,500 and £3,000.

If a carer is seeking assistance with these legal expenses, legal aid may be available for those with a disposable income of less than £26,239 (as at 11 June 2020).

The local authority can support carers to apply for a kinship care order (if they are not entitled to legal aid) up to a maximum of £2,000 for uncontested cases and up to a maximum of £4,000 for cases which are contested.

Further information about kinship care orders

Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland (KCASS) provides free, confidential and impartial advice to kinship families and 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), or email advice@kinshipscot.org.

Further information about Section 11 Kinship Care Order

Our kinship care team are part of East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, providing support and advice to kinship carers across East Ayrshire.

The team offer emotional and practical support to kinship carers through support groups in Kilmarnock and Cumnock, training opportunities, access to information and resources, and support in accessing other local services.

The team also undertake kinship assessments for existing or potential kinship carers.

Kinship community

We have remarkable kinship carers in East Ayrshire, providing loving family homes and care.

Our kinship care team are developing networking opportunities to build our kinship community, helping carers to connect with other carers, share experiences and concerns, and bring people together in a positive environment to support each other.

It is a place where carers can also provide feedback and work with us to improve our services together.

To find out about our kinship carer groups and get involved, contact the kinship care team.

Local and national support for kinship carers

Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland (KCASS)

A national website for information and advice, training, policy updates and the latest news and events for kinship care families.

Children 1st Parentline

Help for any family in Scotland who is worried about their child. You can speak to Children 1st Parentline on the phone or online, or take a look at their advice pages for guidance.

Nurture Scotland

Support for kinship carers and their families to welcome and help successfully integrate cared for children and young people into their homes and communities.   

A Local Information Service for Scotland (ALISS)

A broad directory of local services, groups and activities for health and wellbeing, connecting you to your community.

Training and events

Our kinship care team coordinate a programme of free training and social events for all kinship carers in East Ayrshire. 

Get in touch with the kinship team to be kept up-to-date with the latest course and event dates and booking information.

KCASS also provide a calendar of their own training and events.

Many people in their professional roles can help children, families and kinship carers.

You may not hold a formal position, such as a social worker or a corporate parent, but through your contact with people you could become a vital part of that person’s care journey.

How to help

It is a common assumption that all kinship care arrangements will be known by the local authority. The reality is, there are many kinship carers that we don’t know about and are therefore unable to support.

You can ensure kinship carers are directed to our services and encouraged to contact us. You can also contact the kinship care team if there is something you would like to discuss, or if you have a concern.

Corporate parents

Organisations or professionals who hold responsibilities to care experienced children are known as corporate parents, and include:

• East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership
• East Ayrshire Council (including education services)
• NHS Ayrshire and Arran
• Police Scotland
• Scottish Fire and Rescue
• Ayrshire College

Practitioners

If you are in a role working with kinship care families, our kinship care team can offer support, advice and training.

Please get in touch with the team to find out how we can work together.

In East Ayrshire, if a child is placed with you in advance of you being approved as a kinship carer, social work services will seek to support the arrangement financially through a wellbeing payment. This is a payment of £140 per week and is not subject to any type of deduction.

In emergency situations, to help you as a prospective carer receive a child into your care, you may be a need to make purchases to accommodate the needs of a new child in your home. We will deal with any such needs on a discretionary basis.

A wellbeing payment usually lasts for 12 weeks while you are assessed as a kinship carer. Upon approval as a kinship carer, you will receive a kinship carer allowance. The allowance you receive is set out below and equates to the Scottish Recommended Allowance which has been set by the Scottish Government.

Kinship carer allowances from 2024 to 2025:

• 0 to 4 years: £168.31 per week per child
• 5 to 15 years: £195.81 per week per child
• 16 years and over: £268.41 per week per child

There are a number of child-related benefits offered by the Department of Work and Pensions that you may be entitled to as a kinship carer. We will help you explore what you may be entitled to.

Prospective carers will also complete a financial assessment together with the Health and Social Care Partnership’s Finance Team which will ensure that all available monies are being claimed. To achieve payment parity, this assessment will also determine the relevant deduction to the allowance in respect of additional child-related benefits.

There are 16 key components that the allowance should cover:

• food
• toiletries
• clothes
• wear and tear
• hobbies and activities
• bedding
• furniture
• pocket money
• toys
• insurance and utility bill increases
• daily access to a computer and the internet for homework or course work
• transport costs for the child (for the purpose of attending review meetings, children’s hearings, contact, and travelling to school, college or another educational facility)
• mobile phone
• holiday costs to cover school holiday activities and family trips
• birthdays
• Christmas or other cultural or religious events

Part 13 of the 2014 Act and the 2016 Order states that kinship care assistance is available to children, and to those who may care for them, where:

• a person is applying for, or 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
• a person holds 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
• a person is a guardian by virtue of an appointment made under section 7 22 of the 1995 Act of a child under the age of 16 who was previously looked after or is at risk of becoming looked after, 23 unless they are also a parent of the child
• a child is under the age of 16, and subject to a kinship care order, and they were previously looked after or are at risk of becoming looked after
• a child is at least 16 years of age, they were subject to a kinship care order immediately before their 16th birthday, and they were previously looked after or are at risk of becoming looked after
• a child has a guardian by virtue of an appointment made under section 7 of the 1995 Act, and they were previously looked after or are at risk of becoming looked after.

If a kinship carer is seeking assistance to apply for a kinship care order, and it is in alignment with the plan for the child:

• an application should be made for legal aid, where household income is below £26,239, via an independent solicitor sought out by the kinship carer
• where legal aid to cover legal costs is not gained, the solicitor will ordinarily approach the local authority on the kinship carer’s behalf to seek further assistance

East Ayrshire has set a limit on what they will pay to assist kinship carers in applying for an order. These are:

• a maximum of £2,000 in uncontested cases
• a maximum of £4,000 in contested cases

Any matters relating to the payment of kinship allowances or kinship assistance where there is disagreement, there is no right of appeal.

However, the health and social care complaints process is a potential avenue open to any carer who believes a process has not been applied correctly.

Comments, suggestions and complaints

Kinship carers should be advised that they are required to register as self-employed for tax purposes. Further information on this and wider matters relating to kinship carer finance is available via:

• East Ayrshire’s Kinship Carer Team (contact details below)
• East Ayrshire Financial Inclusion Team (contact details below)
• East Ayrshire Citizens Advice Bureau
• Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland: Financial support

As a kinship carer you may be eligible for different types of financial support and benefits.

East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership also provides financial advice through its  Financial Inclusion team that kinship carers can access.