Caring for Children you Already Know

When children and young people can't live at home, they often find loving homes with relatives or friends. These arrangements can be informal or formal. Our team is committed to supporting carers and ensuring children feel safe, happy, and well-cared for.

Friends and Family Fostering

Kinship Care

A Kinship carer is an umbrella term for anyone who is caring for the child of a family member or friend. You may hear kinship care also referred to as family and friends carer, connected carers, kinship foster carers or special guardians.

What is Kinship care?

Kinship carers are family or friends who step up, often during an unexpected crisis, to care for a child when their parents aren’t able to.

Why do Kinship care arrangements come about?

There are lots of reasons why Kinship care arrangements come about. The arrangements can be permanent or temporary. It is an alternative care that allows children to stay connected to the people they know and feel connected to.

What are the types of Kinship care?

Below are the different types of Kinship care and what they mean:

Informal kinship care is an arrangement where a close relative looks after a child. The overall parental responsibility remains with the parents. The local authority do not have any major involvement and there is no court order in place.
Kinship foster carer also known as, family and friends care is when a family member or friend becomes a child’s approved foster carer and will receive a foster care allowance to help support the child. The child is in the care of children’s services, who share parental responsibility with parents.
Child arrangement order is a legal order awarded by a family court. Carers share parental responsibility and can make day to day decisions. However, for major decisions, parents must be involved.
Special guardianship order (known as SGO for short) is a legal order given by a family court. Special guardians share parental responsibility with parents but can make nearly all the decisions without involving parents. You can learn more about Special Guardianship Order on this webpage.
Private foster carer is when someone who is not a close relative cares for a child for 28 days or more. You learn more about Private Fostering on this webpage.

How we support Kinship Care in Doncaster?

Support could include:

Family support visits
Tailored carer support – including the opportunities to complete training courses
Advice on new or existing contact arrangements
Access to support groups
Therapy services
Help and advice if you are worried about home or education settings
Access to all SGO activities and events Our SGO Team provide information, advice and support Kinship carers.

To make sure you are getting the right support, get in touch with our team to chat through your circumstances. You can contact the team by calling 01302 735 551 Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm or emailing CYPF.SGOteam@doncaster.gov.uk
You can also find out more advice on the national Kinship website Kinship: Home | The Kinship care charity | England and Wales

Special Guardianship Orders (SGO)

What is a Special Guardianship Order?

A Special Guardianship Order (known as an SGO for short) is a way of providing a secure family life for a child whilst they grow up. An SGO is awarded by the courts to someone who is known to and has a close relationship with the child. This can be a family member, former foster carer or family friend who has been legally appointed by the court to care for the child and be their Special Guardian.

Why apply for a Special Guardianship Order?

A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is a court order that grants parental responsibility for a child to someone other than their birth parents, typically a relative or close family friend, while maintaining a legal link between the child and their birth family. It provides a stable, long-term living arrangement for the child until they reach 18, without completely severing ties with their birth parents.

Who can apply for a Special Guardianship Order?

A special guardian order (SGO) can be applied for by individuals who are over 18 years old and not the child's parent. This includes guardians of the child, certain foster carers, relatives, and those named in a child arrangements order, among others. The application can be made individually or jointly with another person In some cases, you may need to apply to the family court for permission to apply for an SGO. You will need to care for the child or young person for a year before applying.

Can I apply for a Special Guardianship Order?

You must first tell your local authority's Children's Services department in writing at least three months before applying to the court. A social worker will assess your suitability to become a special guardian, and the court will consider this report when deciding on the application. As part of this process, references will be needed from people you know, both personally and professionally. You will also need a Disclosure and Baring Service check (known as a DBS for short), along with anyone else in your household who is aged over 18 years.

Is there any financial support?

Once the child is living with you, you may be able to claim child tax credits, including the child element of Universal Credit. For example, if you work and have childcare costs, you may be entitled to make a claim for Universal Credit towards these costs. You may also be entitled to claim Child Benefit depending on your level of income. If you are caring for a child who is in local authority care, you may be entitled to financial support. A means-tested financial assessment will be undertaken to confirm the level of payments you may receive.

How do I find out more?

You can find out more by getting in touch with the SGO team by calling 01302 735 551 Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm or emailing CYPF.SGOteam@doncaster.gov.uk

Private fostering

When children and young people can’t live at home, they often find loving homes with relatives or friends. Whether these arrangements are informal or more formal, our team can help make sure both you and the child have the support needed.

What is Private Fostering?

Private Fostering is when a child is cared by someone who isn’t a close relative for 28 days or longer. A close relative means either, a step-parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt or uncle – either by blood or marriage. A child in this context is anyone under the age of 16 or a disabled young person under 18. All private fostering arrangements must be reported to the City of Doncaster Council. In principle this should be before the arrangement is made but if this has not happened the arrangement should be reported immediately.

Why are children and young people fostered?

There are many reasons why children and young people are privately fostered. For example:

parent working long hours
parents’ ill health/ recovering from an illness
children or young people who are sent to this country for education or health care by their birth parents from overseas
children or young people who are living with a friend/boyfriend/girlfriend’s family as a result of parental separation, divorce or arguments at home
children or young people whose parents work or study long or antisocial hours
children or young people on school holiday exchanges that last more than 28 days
children or young people who are on sports or music sponsorships living away from their families Whatever the reason, it is the parents’ responsibility to decide that the arrangements are suitable for their child.

How can the council help?

When private fostering happens, it is the City of Doncaster Council’s responsibility to: • assess the suitability of the private foster carers. • make regular visits to the child and monitor the overall standard of care. • ensure that advice to carers, parents and the child is made available when needed. Parents still have parental responsibility for the child, which means they remain responsible financially and for making decisions for the child. However, the local authority is there to support, advise and signpost where further support can be accessed.

When should parents and private foster carers notify the local authority?

The parent/s (or those with parental responsibility) and the private foster carer have a duty to notify the local authority of the name and address of the private foster carer, six weeks before the start of the private fostering arrangement. If the arrangement is already in place, they must notify the local authority at once. If the arrangement is made in an emergency and is intended to last more than 28 days, this information should be provided within 48 hours of the child being placed.

How can I find out more?

You can find out more by getting in touch with our team by: You can speak with our team by: Calling: 01302 737777 Emailing: fosteringandadoption@doncaster.gov.uk

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