Guidance on Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007

PART V KINSHIP CARE

Introduction

The study by Jane Aldgate and Miranda McIntosh in 2006 for the Social Work Inspection Agency " Looking after the Family ' focused attention on the value of kinship care for many children who become looked after and recognised this form of care in its own right. This was followed by The National Fostering and Kinship Care Strategy published in December 2006 which identified support as central to further development of kinship care. Getting it Right for every child in kinship and foster care, published in 2007, confirmed the commitment of the Scottish Government to give attention to the needs of kinship carers. The Looked after Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 now underpin this by the inclusion of this part of the regulations specifically focused on kinship care. In taking this forward, local authorities should ensure that their procedures explicitly address the needs of kinship care and have appropriate processes in place. This should include an identified point within the local authority for developing policy and monitoring progress.

In Scotland, as in other cultures, family and friends have always played an important role in supporting parents and their children at times of crisis. Many of these arrangements may be regarded as informal as the child does not have a legal relationship with a local authority, these regulations do not apply to informal arrangements. Kinship care arrangements which need to be formally recognised are where the child is "looked after" by a local authority and therefore in a legal relationship with that local authority. The local authority is accountable for the placement with the kinship carers. These are the kinship carers who must be approved in terms of the Looked After Children regulations.

For kinship care placements the two main legal bases will be a child for whom the local authority is providing accommodation under s25 of the 1995 Act or a child who is subject to a supervision requirement in terms of s70 of the 1995 Act.

Moving Forward in Kinship and Foster care published in March 2009 provides further consideration of the work needed to strengthen kinship care and sets out the outcomes for children from a strong and professional approach to working with looked after children and their kinship carers.

For the purposes of this guidance, regulation 10 provides a broad definition of a kinship carer as:

i) a person related to the child by blood, marriage or civil partnership- with no restrictions on closeness of that related status.

ii) a person known to the child and with whom the child has a pre-existing relationship. This could include close friends or people who know the child well through regular contact and can be seen as part of the child's network.

Local authorities should ensure that they have a clear understanding of the range of ways that they may encounter different forms of kinship care - both formal and informal arrangements - when these regulations apply and where as a local authority they provide a service to these different forms. There will be points of interface with other provision and in some cases choices of options. Local authorities encounter many situations where circumstances are comparable but in some instances the child is looked after and in others support is required in terms of 'children in need' but kinship care may be valued as a means of keeping a child from becoming 'looked after'. Local authorities should have explicit information available about any support they may be able to offer kinship carers who are not covered by these regulations, including criteria for accessing such supports and how decisions are made in areas of discretion.

Local authorities also have a responsibility in relation to private fostering. They should have clear information available about when non relatives may be assessed as kinship carers under these regulations and when they may step in to care for a child in accordance with the wishes of the birth parent(s) and need to be aware of the private fostering requirements.

Where individuals have come to know children though their workplace or a professional contact, local authorities may also need to consider where this is a personal relationship with someone who is stepping in during an emergency as a known person to the child and where it is more appropriate to proceed via a fostering application. Where there is a choice of route social workers should ensure they seek guidance from their line manager and that all decisions in areas of discretion are clearly recorded.

Financial issues

The issue of finance is a complex and recurring concern for all forms of kinship carers. Section 110 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 provides the power for Ministers to make provision for payments to kinship carers. This is taken forward in Part VIII regulation 33 of the regulations in terms of including kinship carers covered by the regulations in the general provisions for the payment of allowances. This does not specify amounts or minimum levels of payment. A Concordat between the Scottish Government and local authorities running until 2011 includes an expectation that kinship carers should receive an equivalent amount to the allowances paid to foster carers but excluding any fee element. This signals the government's desired direction for services for kinship carers.

Where a child is being cared for informally, a dn therefore not covered by the regulations, information should be available about areas such as the use of section 22 of the 1995 Act for support in kind or cash in certain circumstances; payments under section 50 of the Children Act 1975 or financial or other supports to assist kinship carers who have some parental rights and responsibilities under section 11 of the 1995 Act. This is not new, but as local authorities develop their services for kinship carers for looked after children, it will be good practice to monitor support to other informal kinship arrangements where there are comparable needs. Financial and other practical support may be vital in sustaining any kinship arrangement which needs to be addressed alongside the particular circumstances to be taken into account in considering the need for a child to be regarded as 'looked after'.

The impact of kinship care allowances on universal welfare and tax benefits continues to be complex and every kinship carer of a looked after child should be encouraged to seek an expert benefits check to ensure that accepting any allowance from a local authority does not mean that they are worse off. This is a changing area and subject to UK legislation so local authorities will need access to up to date information and also be prepared to explain the Scottish dimension when the use of these regulations means that kinship carers are no longer approved as 'foster carers'. There are various sources of information about this including local authorities' own benefits advice services; the Citizen's Advice Scotland Kinship Care project; or the Child Poverty Action Group advice service. Social workers advising potential kinship carers should be aware of the issues under debate in this area and provide carers with information about the different sources of information.

While finance may feature heavily in a number of kinship placements, local authorities should also be alert to the potential range of services that may enable these placements to meet the children's need - this includes other practical provision, such as equipment, one off payments for an identified purpose as well as broader support, advice and training.

Regulations 10-16

The regulations cover:-

• assessment and approval of kinship carers
• placement
• agreements with kinship carers
• notification
• short-term placements
• Records

For a number of these elements there are parallels with the regulations about foster carers. While there are clearly overlaps, at all stages from the initial placement, through the arrangements for carrying out the assessment to the agreements reached and the support and reviewing of the placement, there are features that are particular to kinship care. This should balance the accountability of the local authority for the safety and wellbeing of children who may need to be looked after with a service for kinship care that is proportional and makes sense to the children and families.

Assessment and approval

Principles

Local authorities carry out assessments in various contexts to underpin planning and decision making in the best interests of children. Different models have been developed both for the assessment of children and their birth parents to inform care planning and for the preparation and assessment of people who apply to become foster carers. Social workers have drawn on the skills, methods and tools from these different areas of work to help in assessing kinship carers. Identifying the key defining aspects of kinship care enables this to be translated into a model that can be developed for this specific form of assessment. One aspect of this is being clear about the purpose of the assessment and sharing this with the potential carers. All assessments have as a basis the safety and well being of children. Assessment of children remaining at home under supervision has a strong emphasis on acknowledging the difficulties that have led to the concern for the child and the potential for change. Assessment of foster carers includes a significant element of preparation and sharing of information about abused, traumatised or neglected children to establish applicants' ability to use their strengths to respond to such needs. In considering kinship carers, many will need help in reflecting on the implications for themselves of assuming care of a known child as the plan evolves, especially if this is likely to be long term, and identifying the supports they will need to maximise the prospect of the arrangement working. At the core of this is the child's plan and the ongoing review of this ( ANNEX B).

As a starting point it is helpful to articulate the potential strengths and value of kinship care and the possible areas of risk or vulnerability against which individual assessments can be evaluated. These include :-

Potential Strengths

• Reduction of the upset of separation, greater continuity of care and recognition of the importance of known carers and contacts for the child
• A sense of 'normality' in the eyes of the child and the community
• Lessening of the risk of the stigma of being 'looked after by the local authority'
• Maintenance of the child's sense of identity and their place in the family
• Continuity of culture and heritage
• Understanding of the child's history and experiences

Possible Vulnerabilities

• Issues around protection of the child when they remain within the family network
• Managing complex contact across the family network especially where this has already been a feature
• Handling conflicting emotions arising from the child's situation, particularly initial distress, grief, hurt or anger
• Extent to which the birth parents' problems are reflected in the wider family - or the degree to which the parents have been isolated or antagonised

At all stages along the way, the local authority has the responsibility to ensure the child's safety. Local authorities are also aware at any time of broader strategies such as GIRFEC (see ANNEX A) and policy about the aims and aspirations for all children for whom they provide services; and for particular identified groups who may additional needs or vulnerabilities. In reality, a number of these placements are required before a full assessment is possible. This has implications for the local authority process in planning their kinship care service. Key implications include -

a) Understanding family networks is complex work. Where children and their birth parents are already known to the local authority either because they are already subject to a home supervision order or receiving some level of support service, the possibility of a family group meeting or a more formalised family group conference may have already occurred. The place of such meetings should be recognised within procedures and they will be important in helping to decide the viability of a kinship care placement. They will also contribute to the planning of an assessment and an understanding of the particular perceptions and motivation of the possible kinship carers and who else in the network can add their support.

b) There is a link between this part of the regulations and Part X . The language throughout Part X emphasises the link between reviewing the plan for the child and considering the capacity of any placement made in an emergency to meet the child's emerging needs. This reflects the development of a model of assessment in kinship care which clearly ties together the threads of the child's needs and the capacity of the kinship carer to respond to those needs. The assessment model incorporates a link with a review of the initial arrangements at three days, the 6 week review and the completion of the assessment and approval in time for the child's review by 4.5 months. ( ANNEX B)

c) Although the regulations in Part V do not directly refer to the child's views, the interweaving of the assessment of kinship carers with planning for the child brings to the fore the need at all stages to consider the wishes and feelings of the child as they are able to express them or as observed in their behaviour and responses.

d) As many of these placements are initiated by the Children's Hearing, it will be important to keep them informed about the progress of the assessment and in particular to ensure that they are made aware immediately of any concerns that emerge that could compromise the child's safety.

e) Regulation 36 allows the possibility of placement with an unapproved kinship carer in an emergency and other sections of Part X set timescales for the completion of a full assessment and approval. Altogether this allows 12 weeks for the process. Local authorities need to have procedures in place to enable these assessments to be planned, allocated and completed within the necessary timescales. How this happens will depend on the size and structure of the local authority. This work may be carried out by a member of the family placement team, the children and families team who carry responsibility for planning for the child or in large authorities by a team with a particular remit to develop kinship care. The key elements are the understanding of the assessing worker of the context of the assessment; an approach and a model which is clear to the prospective carer and demonstrable objectivity. The assessment should not rely solely on the child's worker who may already be caught up in the child's network.

f) The timescales laid out in Part X are aimed at taking kinship carers through an assessment when children have been placed in an emergency. While this covers a number of the kinship placements, it is not the only route. Local authorities are also aware of the advantages of planned placements in reducing the distress to children. Developing strategies and the growing use of family group conferences and other family meetings should help in increasing the use of planned and assessed kinship placements. Members of the child's extended network may be identified by birth parents as an option where a brief intervention in a crisis is lasting longer than expected or the child's plan becomes a permanent placement. The child may be temporarily placed with foster carers or in a residential unit and when longer term or permanent plans are made, other family members may come forward. These potential carers may not necessarily have a close relationship with the child or may be at a distance geographically, depending on family circumstances. While there may not be the same immediate pressure as in an emergency placement, it is good practice to aim at completing these assessments also in 12 weeks unless there are identified reasons for requiring a longer period. In such situations, a realistic timescale should be agreed and adhered to in order to ensure that decisions are made within a child centred period. For young children, the alternative if kinship carers are not suitable is likely to be adoption and this needs to be progressed quickly in the best interests of the child. If there is more than one option to be explored before looking at other options for permanence these should be identified quickly and initial assessments made simultaneously wherever possible to avoid delay from sequential assessments. For older children with ongoing contact with birth parents, they are likely to know of and have views on the possible kinship placement and need this resolved in an appropriate time frame.

g) Regulation 10 (3) refers to the local authority making a decision. It does not define the process. The local authority may decide to use their existing Fostering Panel; a subgroup of that panel focusing on making recommendations about kinship care assessments or a small group including a manager set up for the purpose. Although the pattern of a panel discussion, recommendation and then endorsement by an agency decision maker which is familiar in foster care is not specified, local authorities should consider a form of this process in order to be accountable for these placements. There is no provision in the regulations for review if a kinship carer is not approved but good practice indicates that local authorities should make provision for a similar review of the decision as may be available to fostering applicants.

Information to be gathered

The broad areas on which the local authority must satisfy themselves in placing a child with kinship carers are laid out in regulation 11 (2). This includes the information that should be gathered under regulation 10 (3) including 'as far as reasonably practicable' the information set out in Schedule 3. The information gathered should enable the assessment to conclude whether the placement with the specific kinship carers is in the best interests of the child and the carer is judged 'a suitable person'. In addition, regulation 11 (2) refers to the written agreement in regulation 12 (the kinship carer agreement in accordance with schedule 5) and also schedule 4 (the placement agreement). These are covered further later but at the outset it is important to place working in partnership with the local authority on the agenda. For kinship carers this may be seem at odds with their aim of maintaining normality for the child and avoiding them becoming 'looked after and accommodated'.

Schedule 3 applies to both kinship and foster carers and workers should consider the most appropriate ways to apply this to kinship carer assessments. All of these assessments will be for a specific child or children. Schedule 3 does not address this but an important part of gathering and assessing this information will focus around the child's needs and the plan for the child. The child's perception and understanding of his/her kinship network and the child's place within that network is an important part of this. Relationships and attitudes within the extended family will inevitably play a central part. Other areas to consider include :-

• As many kinship carers are grandparents, questions of age and health will need to be approached sensitively and acknowledge the worker's understanding of the value of trying to make arrangements for the child within the family network. Extra attention may need to be paid to both the supports that will be available from other family members and any other additional support services required. The significance of this will depend on the age of the child and the likely length of placement. Where this is unclear, the issue of long term capacity to provide care should be addressed and appropriate arrangements made to monitor the situation.
• In accommodating children, local authorities are aware of the need to explore how carers will provide an environment and opportunities for a child to meet their full potential. Where kinship carers need additional services to offer comparable opportunities, it is important to acknowledge the part played by the child's positive engagement within the care setting. If a child is less traumatised by a move within a known network or the kinship placement accords with their wishes, they are more likely to be able to benefit from the care available. The question them becomes one of identifying any need to supplement what is on offer.
• The request for a medical report should highlight any area which is seen to be significant for this particular kinship carer and the child to be placed.
• The use of an application form as is usual with foster carers may appear alien to kinship carers and be unrealistic in an emergency. Workers should be clear about the basic information that must be recorded at the outset, explicit about this with the potential carers and have a simple format available to ensure that the various checks can be carried out timeously.
• Information about all the people in the household may have particular importance as they are all likely to know the child and have views on the situation leading to the need for the placement. Equally, the views of other family members outwith the household, especially parents, will be central to the management of the placement. The kinship carers will have to be able to put the needs of the child before that of the parent of the child.
• Accommodation may be important, particularly where there is more than one child to be placed. Unlike the assessment of foster carers where accommodation may dictate the number of children who may be placed, in kinship care the question may be about what help the local authority can offer to enable adequate facilities to be available if otherwise the kinship placement is in the best interests of children.
• Religious persuasion, ethnicity and cultural heritage may be an issue either where the parents of the children have diverged from that of the proposed kinship carers causing tensions or where the parents of the child come from very different backgrounds and the kinship carer being assessed may disapprove of this. For example grandparents may find it difficult to maintain links with some of the child's extended family if they disapprove of their son or daughter's relationship with the other parent.
• Employment histories, standards of living, leisure activities must be explored as much in terms of the kinship carers' capacity to encourage children to be active as the kinship carers own activities and interests.
• The capacity of the prospective kinship carer to care for their own or other children and their previous experience of parenting is often a complex area where the need for the placement arises from the difficulties experienced by their son or daughter. Exploring this area may be particularly emotive for these prospective carers. It is important to address this as thoroughly as possible to reduce the risk of difficult feelings damaging the placement for the child. Discussion about past difficulties may enable the carers to identify different approaches to caring for the child to be placed.
• Kinship carers require the same checks as foster carers. Particular attention must be given to any child related offence, violence or dishonesty that could provide a poor model for a child placed and affect the relationship of trust that the local authority will need to build with the carer. Local authorities have experience of the factors to take into account in making judgements about the relevance of any past convictions for more minor misdemeanours. Any conviction needs to be seen in the context of their overall suitability to care for the child, the child's views and the other benefits of maintaining the particular child within that specific family network
• Details of any approvals or refusals of past applications to foster or become a kinship carer need to be examined and the worker must be able to give a clear reasoned statement about whether any past refusal of approval is or is not significant for this current application.
• In considering motivation, a full discussion with the carers about why they want to become carers for the particular child and their understanding of the task will be needed. For many kinship carers this is an emotive area which may bring forward a number of complex feelings about the family history of the child and his/her parents. The worker's reflection on the issues with their supervisor will shape the analysis of the motivation of the kinship carer and the extent of the care they can offer.
• The need for references is included in schedule 3 but the approach may need different planning than for fostering applications. Information from other people should reflect a balance between meeting any other significant members of the child's kinship network and also independent references from non family members. They should seek specific information about the kinship carers' ability to care for the child and the particular dynamics within the family network. A visit to referees is always useful so that the challenges can be explained, particularly when it is a kinship care placement and many people might see this as simply caring for "one of the family". The challenges of children who have had very disrupted early years are many and the carers' stamina to deal with this year after year is important to discuss with referees.
• Throughout the assessment, the content of the discussion should consistently link back to the needs of the child, the child's views and the way the plan for the child is evolving so that the work remains focused and relevant in the eyes of the kinship carer

Placement

Regulation 11 covers planned placements of looked after children with approved kinship carers and should be read alongside regulation 36 on emergency placements. Between them, these two regulations address the requirements when children are placed away from their birth parents with kinship carers. While a number may be emergency placements, particularly through the Children's Hearing. Regulation 11 draws attention to the potential benefits of considering ways of developing more planned use of kinship care

Both regulation 11(1) and regulation 36(4) set out similar prohibitions on placements which are contrary to any supervision requirement or any other relevant order or warrant listed there. Once compliance with any current Orders has been checked, as these are formal kinship care arrangements then local authorities should include in their procedures the written agreements to be signed as in the relevant parts of regulations 11, 12 and 36.

With foster carers, normally there will be separation between the use of the general foster care agreement following approval covering the obligations of the carer to the local authority, and of the local authority to the carers, and the subsequent different placement agreements based on the specific needs of any children placed. In kinship care these agreements will be closely linked. Where prospective kinship carers are not yet approved these will be preceded by agreement to the areas detailed in regulation 36(3). Local authorities should consider ways in which these different agreements at various stages work together to make sense to the carers.

Placement for permanence

Some looked after children may be placed with kinship carers for the first time following permanency discussions which will be reflected in the placement agreement. Where a Looked After Child review decides that the child already accommodated by the local authority needs a placement that can offer her/him greater stability and that a return to his/her birth parents will not be possible, then permanency plans should be made. The fostering, adoption or permanency panel (depending upon the local authority policy) should be integral to that discussion so that all the legal and health issues are fully explored as well as ensuring that at the time of making the permanence plan, the potential of a kinship care placement has been fully explored. Appendix 3 suggests further areas to cover when considering permanent placement with kinship carers. ( ANNEX B)

Local authority procedures should consider the alternative routes to permanency with kinship carers and distinguish between the identification of potential kinship carers as part of permanence planning assessments for accommodated children and the evolution of an emergency or temporary placement into a long term arrangement with kinship carers. This will have parallels with the development of practice with existing foster carers who have already been through an assessment and approval process and are subsequently offering permanence for a child initially placed on a temporary basis. There are similarities here both in the need to explore the implications of a changed plan and also to develop an approach which builds on the existing care arrangement. A potential difference is in the perception of the term 'permanence' especially for close relatives such as grandparents. They often need careful support in balancing the implications of a commitment to the ongoing stability for a child and their long term hopes for the future for the child's parents.

In practice terms there is the need to be able to identify the point where there has been a significant change of direction; how this is explored and made explicit with all parties; consideration of changing the legal status of the placement; any further re-assessment element required and how this will be explained to kinship carers. In terms of local authority procedures, there should be clarity about the respective roles of the reviewing system for children, the panels and any other forum that the local authority has in place for kinship carer approvals and reviewing. This should balance clarity about the plan with a proportional process for the kinship carers. At the same time, they may need an unpressurised space to re- evaluate the commitment they are making to the child and what might have to change in their lives to manage that.

Agreements with kinship carers

The initial agreement signed by an unapproved kinship carer under regulation 36 (3) addresses the basic duties that the local authority requires of them. During the assessment there will be the opportunity to explore more fully the further obligations covered in schedules 4 and 5 that will need to be agreed following approval. Schedule 5 is the kinship carer agreement and schedule 4 is the placement agreement that relates to both foster carers and kinship carers. This provides a minimum in regulations that must be addressed and local authorities may add to and adapt these.

Kinship carer agreement

Schedule 5 relating to regulation 12 starts with clear statements about the obligations of the local authority to provide support and training for kinship carers. These placements are likely to need as much support as that offered to foster carers both because the children frequently have comparable needs including issues around managing their behaviour and contact and also because concerns about any deterioration in birth parents' circumstances are likely to have a direct impact on the child and may also be more keenly felt by kinship carers. There is some evidence that kinship carers do not feel comfortable within support groups established for foster carers often because of sensitivities about discussion of the part played by birth parents when they are also family members. Training opportunities are often not routinely extended to this group. Here too there may be personal resonances when discussing the impact of behaviour such as domestic violence, abuse and alcohol and drug misuse on the care of children and trainers need to be aware of this. Equally, contact issues which feature frequently in training for foster carers often have extra dimensions within kinship care. Local authorities therefore need to address how they offer support and training to their kinship carers. This is also an area where the service provided may be equally relevant to kinship carers not directly covered by these regulations who are offering comparable care to vulnerable children who are not looked after but are recognised as children in need.

Some possible services that kinship carers have identified as supportive include :-

• Emergency financial support
• Support to have Child Benefit transfer arranged as soon as possible
• Financial advice - Access to specialist advice service at start of placement
• Support for kinship carers in poverty - to enable them to meet basic needs/ clothing, food, shelter etc
• Advice to kinship carers about what legal arrangements would be the most advantageous to the child and them
• Sound advice about issues with legal documents/passports
• Responsive services from all corporate parents in a local authority, particularly education, housing, recreation
• At the initial stage useful to have separate workers for a child and carers - but at later stage one person working with both child and carer confirms family focus.
• Kinship carers want help when children ask awkward questions - Why am I different? What is happening?
• Importance of the role of a lead professional to help carers to hold everything together
• Contact with other carers who understand their perspective
• If long term, help if necessary in ensuring suitable accommodation
• Family group conference/ Family meetings positive to help the family to meet and discuss issues in neutral supportive environment / opportunity to raise issues and find solutions , identify other family members who could offer some support to the main carers
• Information, support and training both on the birth parents' issues and handling
• the emotional and behavioural consequences for the child

The regulations do not lay out requirements for reviews of kinship carers. In some aspects, there is not the same focus as in reviews of foster carers in reconsidering the terms of approval and monitoring skills development. Kinship carers, however, do have similar review needs to foster carers with regard to ensuring their support and training needs are met and also for providing them with space to reflect on their position if the plan for the child becomes more long term than initially anticipated. Schedule 5 requires the local authority to put in writing their procedures and timescales for reviewing the child's placement with the kinship carers. This can be linked to the looked after reviews for children in PART XII REVIEW OF THE CHILD'S CASE, REGULATIONS 44 TO 47 but should allow time to focus on the carers' needs in their own right. Good practice indicates that whether or not a child is looked after, if they are cared for within a kinship arrangement and the local authority continues to have some level of role or responsibility, then the carers need the opportunity at intervals to have an acknowledged space to reflect on the impact on themselves of caring for the child and to express any needs for support and advice.

Schedule 5 also requires local authorities to put in writing the financial support they offer and also the procedures available to kinship carers who wish to make representations to them. The details are not covered by regulations but the intention is to have a clearer more robust framework for these placements. These agreements should be updated as individual local authorities develop their kinship carer schemes.

Sections 4 and 5 in the schedule look at the kinship carers obligations to the local authority and the child. They are a mixture of administrative duties like informing of changes that may have a bearing on the kinship carers' ability to care for the child placed with them. This includes any convictions subsequent to approval or investigations or changes in the household. Changes in arrangements for the access of the birth parents to the child will more usually be dealt with through the Looked After Children Review but important that if there are two workers they keep lines of communication very clear and open.

Local authorities across all their children's services, including social work and education, do not allow any corporal punishment to the child. Schedule 5 specifically extends this to kinship carers. This may be a contentious requirement if the family discipline to date has included corporal punishment. This area will need detailed discussion with the kinship carers and clear explanation about the thinking behind this obligation. Work during the assessment should address a range of other strategies to cope with difficult and challenging behaviour.

The need to keep information given to the carer in confidence to be kept confidential and not be disclosed to others unless the local authority has consented may also need detailed consideration during the assessment depending on the pattern of communication within the family network.

A major obligation is contained in paragraph 5(c) of Schedule 5 which relates to the actual care of the child and the carers' commitment to ensure that anything agreed in their Placement Agreement is carried out. Their key responsibility is to provide the child with good care and to make them a full part of their family. Safety and appropriate care are mentioned specifically and it will be essential that workers provide the carers with training and information about safe care. A separate paper setting out the expectations of keeping the child safe could be useful rather than the wider statements in the formal agreement.

The carer has a duty to promote the child's welfare having regard to both the immediate and longer-term plans for the child. Where the carer disagrees with the plan, workers will need to help the carer to express their concerns and how they can continue to care for the child safely and well.

Other obligations cover the need to inform the local authority immediately about any serious illness of the child or any serious occurrence. For some carers it will be important to expand that to give examples of what the local authority would see as serious, especially where kinship carers see this as 'family business.

The duty to notify the local authority of the death of a looked after child is not spelled out in the schedule but that must be built into the agreement so that the local authority can fulfil their obligation to advise Scottish Ministers immediately and wherever practicable the parents of the child and every person who has any parental rights or responsibilities in relation to the child Regulation 6

The final obligation spelled out in the Schedule is for the carer to allow the child to be removed from their home where the placement is terminated.

Placement agreement

Schedule 4 sets out the obligations of the local authority and of the kinship carers in terms of the placement of the specific child with the kinship carers.

The key aspects of this agreement are very similar to the placement agreements in use with foster carers and practice surrounding the use of placement agreements applies.

The local authority must give the kinship carer a statement with all the information about the child, which the local authority sees as necessary for the carer to care for that child. They should also receive a copy of the Child's Plan as outlined in Regulation 5 and a copy of any court or supervision order so that the carer is clear about any restrictions or requirements of such an order

Given that most kinship carers will already have knowledge of the child's background it may be that this information is built up together but it is still relevant to ensure that the kinship carer has information which is as accurate as possible about the health and educational needs of the child. Particular sensitivity may be needed in kinship situations where some of this information is under dispute, such as paternity questions, or information has not been shared within the family network.

The agreement must also identify what financial support the carers can expect. With kinship carers this information may not be immediately available and where there are benefit issues then the carers should be encouraged to discuss their finances with the CAS National Kinship Care Advice service, Citizen's Rights officers, CPAG or any other sources of specialist advice in this area so that a calculation can be done of what allowances may be best for their family. This recognises that for some, remaining in receipt of a range of benefits for them selves and the child may lead to them being better off than with an allowance from the local authority.

Notifications of placements

Regulation 13 sets out the responsibility of the local authority to provide notification of a placement with a kinship carer as soon as is reasonably practicable after the placement.

The wording is the same as in regulation 29 in respect of notifications of children looked after by foster carers, covering health services, the local authority where the kinship carers live if different from the care authority and persons with parental rights. Local authorities should already have well established procedures for this. These notifications should indicate the nature of the child's placement. This will link with ensuring good multi agency practice in all aspects of services for looked after children. As children in kinship care form an important group within the wider group of looked after children, all services need to be sensitive to their particular circumstances and familiar with that dimension of care.

Short term placements in kinship care

This regulation replicates regulations governing short-term/ respite placements from the previous regulations which also apply to short term placements with foster carers. ( Regulation 14). It is hard to know how many kinship carers will provide short breaks to looked after children but that may be built into the support plan for a kinship carer and the child.

Family meetings during the child's placement will be an appropriate forum for agreeing respite arrangements within the family and adherence to regulation 14 will be required if respite arrangements are regular and sufficiently frequent. .

Local authorities will already have their established services for respite care of children with disabilities which may also support kinship carers. Local authorities should be clear about when they might consider members of a child's kinship network as respite carers and also when it may be appropriate to recognise family members as additional to the main full time kinship carer who may need robust support.

Case records for kinship carers

The introduction to this guidance to the regulations provides general comments that apply to all recordkeeping about looked after children and the different forms of care they need. In this part, regulations 15 and 16 define the particular documents that form the basis of the working case record that must be retained, the confidentiality of such records and the period for which they must be retained.

The main content of the record will include:-

• The agreements entered into between the local authority and the kinship carers as noted in regulation 15 (2).
• Details of the children placed with the carers including the dates of the placements and the circumstances in which they ended.
• The information gathered in respect of the decision to approve the carers.
• The recommendations from the Panel and the decisions of the appropriate manager.
• Any other ongoing case records as defined by the local authority in their procedures.

As with any other records, the local authority will be responsible for establishing and maintaining the standard of these records.

The regulations also specify that a record should be kept of any prospective kinship carer, the members of her/his household and family. Although not specified in regulations, Local authorities should also maintain a record of the outcome of any such enquiries they made into the suitability of potential kinship carers. Where the local authority decided not to approve kinship carers the record should include copies of any letters written to the individuals informing them of this and the reasons. Where the individuals decide to withdraw, this should be acknowledged in writing and a copy kept on file.

Regulation 16 requires authorities to retain case records for kinship carers compiled under regulation 15 for least 25 years from the date that the placement with the kinship carer is terminated or until the death of the kinship carer if that is earlier.

.Regulation 16 does not mention case records for prospective kinship carers. Regulation 16 focuses on retention starting from the termination of a placement but says nothing about carers who have never had a placement. The parallel regulation for foster carer records does include retention of prospective foster carers' records for 25 years in regulation 32. Good practice would be to retain the records for prospective kinship carers at least during the period that the child who might have been placed with them continues to be looked after.

Young people who have spent many years being looked after in whatever placement may seek out information at a later date both about placements made and also why certain decisions were made. This could include placements made at some point with kinship carers, even if they later moved to foster or residential care and also reasons why an offer of care from their family network was not progressed. Looked after children and young people who have been cared for by kinship carers under these regulations should expect the same level of service as all other children for whom the local authority has had responsibility including access to information and their care records.

Original written records or copies of them can be kept or records can be kept in computer systems.

The local authority has a responsibility to secure the safe- keeping of every case record and ensure as far as they possibly can that the records are kept confidential. Exceptions to keeping the record confidential are specified and include where there is a court order requiring them to be produced or any other enactment that may require the records to be shared