Kinship Services
What is kinship care?
- A care arrangement provided by a child’s extended family or by a close friend who has a pre-existing relationship with the child
- It can be a formal or informal arrangement
- It can be time limited or long term
Social work services has a general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their community who are in need by providing a range of services. This means that kinship carers and the children for whom they are caring can ask for assistance under this provision. Inverclyde Council provides a kinship allowance to carers who meet certain criteria and have been assessed and approved by social work services as kinship carers.
Examples of the kind of help offered are outlined below:
- Access to individual social work support
- Financial support
- Advice on welfare rights and legal options
- Training in relation to behaviour management, child development, attachment, effects of separation and loss
- Advice on managing difficult behaviours
- Advocating on behalf of carers to relevant agencies such as health, housing and education
- Monthly local support group meetings for kinship carers
Ongoing training will be delivered via a range of forums including the Family Ties Support Group and in joint training sessions with foster carers.