Assessment and Support for Kinship Carers of Looked After Children

Part 1

The carers must agree:

To care for the child within the kinship carer's home in a safe, appropriate and caring way
To seek medical attention for the child when necessary
To allow the local authority placing the child access to the child at all reasonable times
To work as a part of the child care team involved with the child
To allow or refuse contact with the child as agreed with the local authority or by a court or children's hearing
To notify the local authority of any significant event or serious illness or occurrence involving the child.
To agree to care for any child aged under 5 placed with them in a smoke free environment
To agree to work towards using no physical punishment on the child
To ensure that any information about the child is kept secure and not disclosed to other people without the permission of the local authority
To involve agreed members of the wider family in the care of the child
To comply with any specific requirement about the care of the child in a court order or from the placing local authority

The local authority as corporate parent agrees:

To provide support to the carers and child including financial support for the costs of caring for the child
To provide immediate support with resources needed for the practical aspects of caring for the child
To assist the carer to negotiate educational and medical resources to meet the child's immediate needs
To provide information on how any allegations or complaints will be dealt with
To advise kinship carers to seek specialist financial and benefit advice from CAB Scotland
To work across local authority departments to access support for the kinship carers
To ensure as far as possible that there are no organisational barriers to the child and her/his carers experiencing as normal a life as possible.

Part 2

Post Approval

The local authority as corporate parent agrees:

To provide information on training opportunities for the carers
To provide information on the procedure for reviewing the placement and the needs of the carers in caring for the child
To work with the kinship carers to identify the best financial package for them to support the care of the child
To consider any additional specific supports the carers need to meet the individual needs of the child

The Scottish Government