Local Kinship Offer

Language is ever evolving and you may see terminology such as connected persons, Special Guardianship Order (SGO) carer or private foster carer, these all mean Kinship Carer.

• Informal kinship care arrangements are when a close family member or friend look after a child for a temporary or permanent amount of time. This arrangement is agreed privately with the parents and parental responsibility for the child remains with the parents.
• Kinship Carers with a Child Arrangements Order (CAO). Child Arrangements Orders are granted by the family court and determine who a child can live with and/or who a child can stay with and for how long. The Kinship Carer shares parental responsibility with the child’s parents, or others with parental responsibility, until the age of 18 unless the court states otherwise. In 2014, Child Arrangements Orders replaced Residence Orders and Contact Orders.OFFICIAL
• Kinship Carers with a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) have parental responsibility for a child following an order made by the family court. Kinship Carers live permanently with their children but need permission from the court to make important decisions, such as changing the child’s surname.
• Kinship foster carers look after children who are “looked after” by the local authority following a voluntary agreement with the parent/s, if a child spends more than 24 hours in local authority care under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 or if a Care Order is made by the family court.
• Private foster carer is a private arrangement made by a parent (or person with parental responsibility) for someone else to care for their child because they are unable to do so. In some circumstances, a young person may have decided to live elsewhere. If the person the child/young person is living with is not a direct relative and the placement lasts 28 days or more, this is called private fostering. The child/s parent/s retain parental responsibility under this arrangement.