What is Kinship Foster Care?
Do you know who a kinship foster carer is? How about the types of kinship arrangements and their legal obligations? Find out important details that every carer in kinship foster care should know.
Fostering is a noble service that provides a homely environment for children or young people who would otherwise be living outside the normal family environment.
Can you foster your relative’s children?
Essentially, that’s all about kinship foster care. You take the responsibility of the child’s birth parents.
Defining kinship foster care
Kinship foster care is an out-of-home arrangement that allows you to care for a child with whom you have a family relationship. You could be a close or distant relative of the child that needs foster care.
Types of kinship foster arrangement
We have different kinds of kinship arrangements as discussed here:
Informal arrangement
This is a private arrangement between you and the parents of the child. It is important to note that this kind of arrangement does not have recognition by the court and jurisdiction.
Formal
In formal arrangements, the court system will recognise the foster care arrangements. There are two types here i.e. a formal arrangement that is only recognised by the court system with no payment made by the system and a formal arrangement that is through a foster care agency where payments are offered.
Therefore, you must establish the kind of kinship foster care that you want depending on various factors like financial needs.
Common reasons for kinship foster care
The reasons for kinship foster care are similar to those of any other type of foster care. Here are the top reasons why a child may be in need of foster care:
- The birth parents are unable to offer a proper home life for the child
- The child’s birth parents are subjecting the child to domestic violence or any other form of abuse
- The birth parents are experiencing drug-related issues
- The birth parents are in jail
- The birth parents are unable to care for the child because of mental health issues or any intellectual disability that may hinder proper care for the child.
Getting started…
Do you know of a relative that needs your help in caring for a child? This can be a good starting point. Let us know of this information and our team of social workers will help you assess the situation and advise further.
We can also help you if you are already fostering a child of a relative and you want to formalise it so that you receive a weekly allowance. Contact us today to get started.
