Government issues statutory guidance for local authorities on kinship care

The Department for Education has published statutory guidance for local authorities and their staff, setting out how councils should support children in kinship care and kinship carers.

The guidance also details the duties and expectations on local authorities in relation to kinship families.

Chapter 1 covers:

  • Aims of the guidance
  • The role of kinship care
  • Kinship definition
  • Principles that underpin practice
  • The broader policy context
  • National Kinship Care Ambassador

Chapter 2 addresses the legal context and types of arrangements and processes. It covers:

  • Informal kinship arrangements
  • Private fostering arrangements
  • Child Arrangements Orders and Special Guardianship Orders
  • Looked after child: Identification and Assessment
  • Looked after child: Approval of Kinship Carers as Foster Carers
  • Adoption
  • Legal requirements

Chapter 3 discusses the Kinship Local Offer and covers:

  • The context of the kinship local offer
  • Governance of the kinship local offer
  • Types of support to be included in the kinship local offer
  • Types of arrangements that should be covered by the kinship local offer.

The statutory guidance can be viewed here.