What support can kinship carers receive beyond financial allowances?

Support for kinship carers is usually arranged according to the child’s legal status, the carer’s circumstances and the child’s assessed needs, rather than being limited to a payment. The route into support can therefore differ where a child is looked after by the local authority, lives with a relative under a special guardianship order or child arrangements order, or is cared for through an informal family arrangement.

A written support plan can clarify what help is available, who is responsible for arranging it and when it should be reviewed. This may be prepared as part of an assessment by the local authority or discussed with a kinship care, fostering or children’s social care team. A useful plan should consider the child’s age, health, education, relationships with family members, emotional needs and the carer’s ability to manage these responsibilities alongside work and family life.

Support may include:

• Practical advice for daily care: guidance on establishing routines, responding to difficult behaviour, managing changes in the household and helping a child settle into a new placement.
• Help with family relationships: advice on maintaining safe contact with parents and other relatives, setting appropriate boundaries and handling disagreements about care arrangements.
• Education-related assistance: help preparing for meetings with a school, understanding the child’s educational needs and asking for additional support where learning, attendance or behaviour is affected by their circumstances.
• Health and development support: assistance with referrals, appointments and communicating relevant information to health professionals. Where a child is looked after, additional health assessments and planning arrangements may apply.
• Emotional support: access to a social worker, specialist service or counselling referral where the carer or child is struggling with grief, trauma, anxiety, attachment or changes in family relationships.
• Peer support: local or online groups where kinship carers can share practical experience with people in similar circumstances. These groups can also help carers identify services that they may not have found independently.

Training is often available as part of the support offer. It may cover safeguarding, trauma and attachment, safer caring, positive behaviour management, communicating with children about their history and working with birth parents. The most appropriate training depends on the child’s needs and the type of arrangement. For example, a carer may need different preparation when caring for a teenager with complex emotional needs than when caring for a young child who has recently moved into the family home.

The child’s legal status is important when identifying the right support. Kinship foster carers usually work within a fostering framework and may have a supervising social worker, regular reviews and access to the fostering service’s procedures. A special guardian may receive support through a special guardianship support service, while a carer with a child arrangements order may need to ask the local authority what services are available under its kinship or family support offer. Informal carers should also ask what assessment and advice can be provided, as support is not necessarily arranged in the same way as it is for a child who is looked after.

Carers can ask for their support needs to be reviewed if the child’s circumstances change. This might be appropriate after a move, a change in contact arrangements, a new diagnosis, difficulties at school or a significant change in the carer’s health, employment or family circumstances. A review should consider whether existing services remain suitable and whether further assessment or specialist involvement is needed.

When contacting a local authority or support organisation, it is helpful to ask:

• Which team is responsible for kinship care in this situation?
• What assessment is available for the child and the carer?
• Will the outcome be recorded in a written support plan?
• Which services depend on the child’s legal status?
• How can the carer access training, peer groups, advocacy or specialist referrals?
• When will the support be reviewed, and who should be contacted if circumstances change?

Keep copies of assessments, plans, review notes and correspondence. Clear records make it easier to explain the child’s needs, follow up agreed actions and request a further review if the support offered does not reflect the current situation. Because services differ between local authorities, kinship carers should confirm the available offer directly with the relevant children’s services or kinship support team.