Can grandparents claim kinship payments before fostering approval?

There is no automatic kinship payment simply because a grandparent is caring for a grandchild. Financial support depends on the legal arrangement, the child’s circumstances and the decision of the local authority responsible for the child. A grandparent should ask the authority to assess the situation before agreeing to take on care, particularly if the placement is expected to last beyond a short-term family arrangement.

Where the local authority places a child with a grandparent as a relative foster placement, it can consider the grandparent for temporary approval as a foster carer. This is a specific fostering route used when a child needs to be placed with a relative before the full assessment has finished. Temporary approval involves checks and an assessment of whether the proposed home can safely meet the child’s needs. It is not the same as full foster carer approval, and it normally leads into the wider fostering assessment.

If temporary approval is granted, the local authority may arrange fostering payments under its policy. The amount and payment date should be confirmed in writing. They can depend on the child’s age and needs, the authority’s fostering scheme and the precise legal status of the placement. A grandparent should not assume that a payment will begin from the day the child moves in unless this has been agreed.

Other types of support may apply where fostering approval is not in place. Depending on the circumstances, the local authority may consider assistance under children’s social care duties, help with essential items or other support linked to the child’s welfare. These arrangements are different from a fostering allowance and may have different eligibility tests. The authority should explain which type of assistance is being considered and whether it is regular, one-off or subject to review.

A private family arrangement is different again. If a grandparent agrees informally to care for a grandchild without the local authority placing the child and without a fostering arrangement, there is generally no automatic entitlement to a fostering allowance. This does not prevent the grandparent from asking children’s services for an assessment of the child’s needs and the support required to keep the arrangement safe and sustainable.

Before accepting a placement, ask the social worker or fostering team:

• What is the proposed legal status of the placement?
• Will the grandparent be assessed for temporary or full foster carer approval?
• What financial support is available before approval, during temporary approval and after full approval?
• When will payments start, and what information is needed to process them?
• Will support be reviewed if the child’s needs or living arrangements change?
• Who should be contacted about practical costs, equipment, transport and education?

The assessment may include identity and household information, checks on other adults in the home, references, health information, criminal record checks and an assessment of the home environment. The grandparent should be open about any health, safeguarding or household issues. These checks are intended to establish whether the placement is safe and suitable, rather than to decide financial entitlement alone.

It is important to keep copies of letters, payment decisions, agreements and receipts for agreed expenses. If the local authority says that no payment is available, ask for the decision and the reasons in writing. A grandparent can then ask how to challenge or review the decision and whether a different legal arrangement would affect support. Independent advice may be useful where the proposed arrangement involves a care order, special guardianship or another long-term order, because the financial consequences can differ.

In practical terms, a grandparent should contact the child’s allocated social worker or the local authority’s children’s services department as soon as a placement is being considered. The key issue is not only whether money can be claimed, but which arrangement gives the child appropriate legal protection and gives the grandparent access to the right assessment, training and ongoing support.