Information on informal kinship care arrangements, including how you become an informal kinship carer and available support.
Becoming a kinship carer
Becoming a kinship carer can feel daunting, but it can be a really rewarding experience for you, as well as for the child you are caring for. Here’s what you need to know.
This advice applies to: England and Wales
Kinship carers often say the rewards of caring are enormous. Becoming a kinship carer can be life-changing, but the experience of being a kinship carer can bring significantly more pressures to day-to-day family life. Before becoming a kinship carer, it’s important to understand what it entails and whether it’s right for you and your family.
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Your local authority has a duty to provide family support services to promote the upbringing of children in kinship care. Yet, kinship carers tell us they often find it difficult to get the support they need from their local authority. You can get support from Kinship through our services, including our website and advice line, local peer support groups and programme of training and workshops.
Deciding if being a kinship carer is right for you
People become kinship carers in different ways and for different reasons. In many communities, raising children within their wider family is normal. For some carers a crisis leads to the arrangement.
You might have thought very carefully about becoming a kinship carer, or everything may have happened in a big rush. You may have lots of complicated emotions, such as feeling responsible, angry, anxious, or that you have no real choice but to step in to help. Whichever way you find yourself in this situation, your feelings matter.
All these feelings and emotions are perfectly normal. If you are clear about why you are stepping up to help, it will enable you to make better, more informed decisions. Caring full-time for a child is a huge undertaking and will be life changing. People often need help to think and talk through the implications. Specialist, independent legal advice is essential if the plan for the child’s care involves a formal arrangement.
If you have weighed it all up and feel this isn’t the right choice, you can say no. Only you know the right decision for you and your family. If you feel it’s not the right decision, talk to whoever has parental responsibility, to children’s services, explore a family group conference or other meeting where family-led decision-making takes place.
Legal help for kinship carers
If you are a family member or friend raising a child on behalf of their parents, legal advice will help you understand what your rights are.
Legal help for kinship carers
How to become a kinship carer
If you decide to become a kinship carer, there are different types of care arrangements. Arrangements can be made ‘informally’ between the parent or parents and the relative or friend, or the arrangements can be because of children’s services involvement.
What is expected of you
As a kinship carer, you will need to provide a safe, stable, and supportive home for the child in your care. You will also need to meet their emotional, educational, and social needs.
To develop a sense of personal identity, it’s important that the child or children maintains contact with their family. Whether you have parental responsibility or not, it’s important that you respect the child’s family background and culture when making decisions about their care and their future.
Parental responsibility describes the rights, duties, responsibilities and powers which the law gives a parent in relation to their child. Parental responsibility can be complex in kinship care arrangements. Find out more about parental responsibility in our guide.
Support from Kinship
Here at Kinship, we offer a range of free support for all kinship carers, including workshops, online advice and information, and support groups.
Contact the Kinship advice team to speak to an adviser or book an appointment.
Find services, information and support in your local area using our Kinship Compass, including information about your local children’s services.
Related advice and information
Information on special guardianship orders for kinship carers, including how they work and available support.
Information on child arrangements orders for kinship carers, including how you get one, how they work and available support.
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