An informal kinship carer is an immediate family member who will look after a child or young person they know, following an agreement between them and the parent(s) and without the involvement of the local authority.
An 'immediate family member' is defined in the 1989 Children Act as a ‘grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) or step-parent'.
The child’s legal status is also important: in informal kinship arrangements, the child is not a 'looked after child'. This type of arrangement does not involve the local authority, and the kinship carers do not generally receive a fostering allowance. Parental responsibility will usually remain with the birth parent, unless the informal carers seek an order through the court such as a Child Arrangement Order or a Special Guardianship Order (SGO).
If you are a kinship carer and the local authority was involved in any decision to place the child with you, it may be helpful to seek independent advice about any financial support you may be entitled to, from organisations such as Kinship or the Family Rights Group.
Informal kinship carers may be able to apply for child benefit, and may be eligible to claim other benefits depending on their overall circumstances. It may be useful to contact Citizen's Advice.
If an informal kinship carer feels they need financial support to meet the needs of the child, they can request a ‘Child in need’ assessment from the local authority. This assessment will consider whether there is a need to provide additional services for the child, but any financial support is at the local authority's discretion.
