Kinship care

Kinship care is when a child who cannot live with their parents is looked after by a relative or someone they already know well, such as a family friend. These carers are often called connected persons.

Being cared for by family or someone familiar can help a child feel secure and maintain their sense of identity, family connections and belonging.

Types of kinship care

There are several different types of kinship care, each with its own legal status, level of support, and responsibilities:

• Informal kinship care: this is a private arrangement made within the family, without the involvement of the local authority or courts, in which the birth parents usually retain parental responsibility.
• Private fostering: this is a formal arrangement where a child under 16 (or 18 with SEND) is cared for by someone who is not a close relative for 28 days or more, for example a neighbour of family friend. The local authority must be notified and has a duty to assess and monitor the arrangement for safeguarding and birth parents retain parental responsibility.
• Kinship foster care (Connected Persons Foster Care): the child is “cared for” by the local authority and placed with a relative or friend who has been approved as a kinship foster carer. For example, a child is placed with grandparents following child protection concerns. The local authority shares parental responsibility with parents through a care order.
• Special guardianship orders (SGOs): a legal order that gives a kinship carer or connected person enhanced parental responsibility, meaning the special guardian will have overriding parental responsibility for the children they care for. Special guardians can make most decisions independently of the birth parents. An SGO offers permanence and stability without completely severing the legal relationship with birth parents.
• Child arrangements orders (CAOs): this is a court order specifying where a child lives and who they spend time with. The person named in the order shares parental responsibility equally with the parents. This order provides clarity around living and care arrangements for a child.
• Adoption by relatives: this is a permanent legal arrangement where a relative adopts the child. Adoptive parents gain full parental responsibility and the legal link with birth parents ends.