Types of Kinship Care

To be eligible to receive Kinship Care Allowance in East Renfrewshire the carer must be considered as a 'formal kinship carer'. Local authorities have no responsibility to provide financial support to informal kinship carers who entered a private care arrangement with a friend or family member without any intervention from the local authority.

Formal Kinship Carers

• the child(ren) must have been placed with carers by the local authority.
• the child(ren) must be "looked after" by the local authority or have previously been looked after by the local authority or be at risk of becoming looked after.
• all appropriate checks including police checks, health checks, disclosures etc do not show any concerns about the suitability of the placement.
• a Kinship Assessment, including a financial assessment, has deemed the placement suitable

Informal Kinship Carers

• the child(ren) was not placed by the local authority and not considered a "looked after" child.
• there is an informal agreement between the carer and the parent(s) that the child will be cared for by the carer. The local authority is not involved