Can grandparents receive a kinship fostering allowance?

The key distinction is the child’s legal and care status. A grandparent may be eligible for fostering payments where the child is looked after by the local authority and the grandparent is approved, or temporarily approved, as a connected-person foster carer. Being the child’s grandparent does not, by itself, create an automatic entitlement to a fostering allowance.

Kinship fostering usually applies when a child cannot safely live with their parents and the local authority asks, or agrees, for a relative to care for them. The child may already be in care, or the arrangement may be made as part of safeguarding planning. The local authority remains responsible for deciding whether fostering is the appropriate legal arrangement and for arranging the assessment.

Before approval, the fostering service will normally assess whether the proposed home can meet the child’s needs. This can include:

• checks on identity, household members and criminal records;
• references and information about health and circumstances;
• an assessment of the home and sleeping arrangements;
• discussion of the grandparent’s relationship with the child and wider family;
• training and preparation for fostering; and
• consideration of the child’s emotional, educational, cultural, health and contact needs.

Connected-person assessments can be particularly detailed because the child may already know the proposed carer. The fostering service must still consider safeguarding, the grandparent’s ability to provide consistent care, and whether the arrangement is likely to meet the child’s needs over time. Approval is not simply a formality based on the family relationship.

Where the grandparent is approved as a foster carer, the allowance is intended to contribute towards the child’s day-to-day costs. This can include food, clothing, personal items, transport, activities and other expenses associated with caring for the child. The applicable rate is set under the policy of the responsible local authority or fostering agency. It may vary according to the child’s age, needs and the type of placement.

Some fostering services also make other payments or provide practical help, such as equipment, initial clothing or support with particular placement-related costs. These arrangements are not identical everywhere, so the grandparent should ask for the current payment policy in writing. The fostering service should explain which payments are maintenance allowances, whether any fee is available, and which expenses must be agreed separately.

A fostering allowance should not be confused with financial support available under another kinship arrangement. A grandparent caring for a child under a child arrangements order, special guardianship order or informal family agreement may be considered under different rules. Those arrangements can involve different allowances, benefits or local authority support, and the standard fostering allowance may not apply.

It is also important to establish who is legally responsible for the placement. If the child is looked after, the local authority should explain the care plan, contact arrangements, delegated authority and financial terms. If the child is not looked after, the family should obtain specific advice before assuming that fostering payments will be available.

Fostering payments can also affect the grandparent’s wider financial position. The treatment of an allowance may depend on the type of payment, the grandparent’s circumstances and the benefits or tax arrangements involved. A fostering service can explain its payment records and policy, but questions about existing benefits, pensions or tax should be checked with the relevant government service or a suitably qualified adviser. Do not rely on an informal family arrangement to establish entitlement.

Grandparents considering this route should ask the child’s social worker or local authority:

• Is the child being treated as looked after?
• Would the proposed arrangement be fostering, special guardianship, a child arrangements order or another form of kinship care?
• Who will carry out the assessment and approve the arrangement?
• What allowance, fee or one-off support is available?
• How will payments be reviewed if the child’s needs change?
• What support, training, respite and contact advice will be provided?

The most reliable way to confirm eligibility is to discuss the individual circumstances with the child’s social worker and the responsible fostering service before the child moves in. They can explain the assessment route, the legal status being considered and the financial support that applies to that specific placement.