1.1.11 Kinship Care Policy |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
For the purpose of this policy kinship care is defined as the full time nurturing and protection of children (living apart from their birth parents) by their relatives, friends and Connected Persons.
Kinship Care is used to describe all arrangements where the Local Authority is involved in providing a service to children and families in partnership with persons previously known to the child. Kinship care arrangements may be made for children who become a Looked After Child (LAC) under the following sections of the Children Act 1989:
Section 17 - Provision of services for children in need, their families and others
Section 20 - Provision of accommodation for children: general
Section 31 - Care and supervision orders
Section 8 - Residence, contact and other orders with respect to children
Children subject to a Special Guardianship Order made under the provisions of Adoption and Children Act 2002 may also be placed with kin.
This chapter first appeared in this manual in February 2010.
AMENDMENT
This chapter was slightly updated in September 2011 in regard to the term Connected Person.
Contents
1. Introduction
The purpose of this document is to provide policy guidance in relation to the placement of children with their relatives, friends and Connected Person. This document should be read in conjunction with the following related policies:
Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers Procedure
Placements with Connected Person Procedure
- The policy is to support families when a child needs to live away from home, to plan for their child by having a Family Group Conference
- To enable these children who need to live away from home and who have been assessed by Children's Services as being Children in Need to be cared for by a close relative/friend or Connected Person who can be supported to become a kinship carer
- To support families to ensure a care arrangement with kinship carers is the first choice for these children
- To keep children out of the care system, provided this meets their needs
2. Kinship Care Arrangements
Children placed under this general category are Looked After Children.
Children who are subject to Interim or full Care Orders can only be placed under this category.
Types of placement within this category:
- Placements with relatives and friends under Regulation 24 of the Foster Service Regulations. (See Placements with Connected Person Procedure)
- Placements with relatives and friends who have been formally approved to care for a specific child under Regulation. (See Placements with Connected Person Procedure)
3. Powers and Duties
The following statutory powers and duties provide the legal basis for Directorate involvement in a range of kinship care arrangements.
3.1 Children in Need
The Children Act 1989 placed a general duty on the Local Authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need and so far as is consistent with their welfare, to promote the upbringing of children by their families by providing a range and level of services appropriate to their needs.
Section 17(1)) CA 1989).
3.2 Accommodation of Children
Local authorities shall provide accommodation for a child in need who appears to them to require it as a result of there being no person with parental responsibility for him, or because he is lost and abandoned, or because the person who has been caring for him is prevented from providing suitable accommodation or care.
(Section 20 CA 1989).
3.3 Restriction on Duty to Provide Accommodation
A local authority may not provide accommodation under this section for any child if any person who -
- Has parental responsibility for him: and
- Is willing and able to -
- Provide accommodation for him: or
- Arrange for accommodation to be provided for him
(Section 20 (7) CA 1989).
3.4 Provision of Residence Order Allowances
Where a child lives, or is to live, with a person as the result of a Residence Order, a local authority may make contributions to that person toward the cost of the accommodation or care of the child, except where the person is the parent of the child or the husband or wife of the parent of the child. Please refer to Residence Order procedure and Residence Order Payment Review Procedure.
(Children Act 1989 Schedule 1 Para 15).
3.5 Special Guardianship Orders
Financial support may be provided:
- To facilitate arrangements for a person to become the special guardian of a child where the local authority consider such arrangements to be beneficial to the child's welfare; or
- To support the continuation of such arrangements after a Special Guardianship Order is made
Please refer to Special guardianship Order Procedure and Special Guardianship Order Payment Review Procedure.
(Special Guardianship Regulations 2005, Section 2 (6)).
3.6 Immediate Placement of a Child with a Relative or Friend
Where a local authority are satisfied that the immediate placement of a child is necessary they may for a period not exceeding sixteen (16) weeks place the child with a person who has not been approved under regulation 28 provided, after interviewing the person, inspecting the accommodation and obtaining information about other persons living in the household that the person is a relative or friend of the child.
See Placement with Connected Persons Procedure for the approval of Immediate Placement of a Child with Relatives or Friends.
3.7 Provision of Accommodation and Maintenance by Local Authority for Whom they are Looking After
It shall be the duty of any local authority looking after a child-
- When he is in their care, to provide accommodation for him; and
- To maintain him in other respects apart from providing accommodation for him
4. Duty to Place with Relatives and Friends
Subject to any regulations made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this subjection, any local authority looking after a child shall make arrangements to enable him to live with -
- A person falling within subsection (4); or
- A relative, friend or other person connected with him
- unless that would not be reasonably practicable or consistent with his welfare.
(Section 23 (6) Children Act 1989).
NB. If placed under Section 23 (6) the child will remain looked after.
Section 67 of, and Schedule 8 to, the Children Act 1989 are amended by Section 44 of the Children Act 2004, which came fully into force on 1 July 2005. The Children Act 2004 inserts a new paragraph (7a) into Schedule 8 of the Children Act 1989 which places a duty on local authorities to promote public awareness in its area of the notification requirements. The amended section 67(1) extends the duty of local authorities to satisfy themselves that the welfare of children privately fostered within their area is being satisfactorily safeguarded and promoted to include children who are proposed to be privately fostered. The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 1991 are replaced by the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005, which came into force on 1 July 2005.
5. Principles
There are unique advantages for children in experiencing normal family life in their own birth families and every effort should be made to preserve the child's home and family links.
If young people cannot remain at home, placement with relatives or friends (kin) should be explored before other forms of placement are considered.
If young people have to live apart from their family of origin, both they and their parents should be given adequate information and helped to consider alternatives and contribute to the making of an informed choice about the most appropriate form of care.
Parents should be expected and enabled to retain their responsibilities and remain as closely involved as is consistent with their child's welfare, even if that child cannot live at home either temporarily or permanently.
Admission to public care by virtue of a compulsory order is in itself a risk to be balanced against others. So also is the accommodation of a child by a local authority. If out of home placement is necessary, the least coercive legal status consistent with meeting the child's needs should be the first choice; likewise the least restrictive placement.
Continuity of relationships is important. Attachments should be respected, sustained and developed.
A change of home, caregiver, social worker or school almost always carries some risk to a child's development and welfare.
A child's age, sex, health, personality, race, culture and life experiences are all relevant to any consideration of needs and vulnerability and have to be taken into account when planning or providing help.
Corporate parenting is not good enough on its own. Every child and young person needs at least one individual to whom he/she is "special", who retains responsibility over time, who is involved in plans and decisions and who has ambitions for the child's achievement and full development.
Processes for assessing, approving and supporting kinship carers should be as rigorous as arrangements made for assessing and approving non- related carers.
Local authorities have a duty to support placements that they have made or are funding. The level of monitoring, support and funding provided to the range of kinship care arrangements should be based on an assessment of the child and carer's needs and clarity about the status of and accountability for the placement.
Children's welfare is best promoted when the authority is able to work in partnership with parents and other relevant agencies. All care plans should take account of parents and children's views.
Partnership with parents is best promoted through fair and open practice that takes account of individual differences, provides information to children and parents on their options and rights and treats all members of the community with respect as fellow citizens.
In exercising this policy, a balance should be achieved between the departmental duty to ensure that children are safeguarded and the requirement that authorities do not intrude unnecessarily in family life. (Human Rights Act 1998 and CA 1989).
6. Policy
Options for a child to live with a relative or friend on a private basis should be rigorously explored before consideration is given to admitting a child to public care.
In very exceptional circumstances, the Directorate may make payments from Section 17 funds to support a child's placement with relatives or friends for a time-limited period as an alternative to receiving them into accommodation and to act in the best interest of the child. See Financial Assistance to Children in Need Procedure.
The Directorate will proactively work to ensure that the children who are admitted to local authority care are placed with kinship carers, so long as this is consistent with safeguarding and promoting their welfare.
The Directorate will give active consideration to whether a child's needs will be best met by their permanent placement with a kinship carer, if they are unable to return to parental care within a reasonable time-scale. (See Permanence Planning Procedure).
In operating these policies and procedures, the authority will have full regard to the principles outlined in Section 5, Principles.
7. Accountability
Public kinship care arrangements are those arrangements made in respect of a Looked After Child who are subject to Interim, or Full Care Orders or accommodated under Section 20 are looked after children. Any placements made in respect of looked after children are required to meet with regulatory requirements arising from the Children Act.
Accountability for the placement of Looked After Children clearly resides with the Directorate in its role as a placing authority.
Looked After Children cannot be placed with carers on a private basis.
8. Assessment of Relatives/Friends as Kinship Foster Carers
Placements with Relatives and Friends Procedure applies to the assessment and approval of Family and Kinship Carers as foster carers whether on a planned or unplanned basis.
This procedure should be followed when:
- A child who cannot remain within his or her birth family is assessed as needing to be a Looked After Child by Lincolnshire County Council and is placed with relatives or friends
- A child is already living with a relative or friend and subsequently becomes a Looked After Child by Lincolnshire County Council
- A child who is already a Looked After Child is placed with a relative or friend.
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