What is Kinship Care? A Legal Guide for Parents and Carers

Legally reviewed by: Ravi Kaur Mahey Sep 2026 In: Child Care

When a child’s birth parents are unable to care for them, one of the parents’ family members or friends may step in to raise the child. This is called kinship care. This allows children to stay connected to their family and loved ones.

Learning that a child in your family may need your care can feel overwhelming, and understanding the legal processes behind this is essential to ensure you can make informed decisions for their future. This guide explains everything kinship carers need to know about their responsibilities, rights and options.

What is Kinship Care?

Kinship care occurs when a child is raised by a relative, a family friend, or another adult they have a pre-existing relationship with. This happens when a child’s birth parents can no longer care for them.

The system was created to keep children close to their family and in a familiar environment, in a time of crisis. It aims to provide more stability for the child.

Under the Children Act 1989, the law offers a few different options based on how the child came to live with you, whether social services are involved, and who gets to make important legal decisions. Every situation is different, and there is no single rulebook for kinship care.

What Are the Different Pathways in Kinship Care?

Informal Family Arrangements

Plans for the child and where they will stay are decided amongst the family informally. Formal court proceedings and social services aren’t involved in these decisions. The birth parents keep parental responsibility for the child, even when the child isn’t staying with them. They hold full legal rights and can ask for the child’s return anytime they want.

Private Fostering

If a child under 16, or 18 for a child with disabilities, is under the care of a non-relative or member of their extended family for more than 28 days, it is legally classed as private fostering. An informal family arrangement is one that involves close relatives, such as grandparents, aunts, brothers, or step-parents. Non-relatives or extended family included:

Great-uncles
Great-aunties
Cousins
Family friends
Anyone with no relation to the family.

The child’s birth parents keep full parental responsibility. They must also notify their local council’s children services of these changes. Failing to notify them is an offence. This is so the local authority can visit, assess and monitor the child’s welfare.

Kinship Fostering

If social services become involved because a child cannot stay at home safely, the child enters care under the local authority. Social services will then look at and assess a family member or friend to become their official foster carer. Before considering foster care with a stranger, it is a legal requirement that social services look at the child’s family members.

Kinship fostering can occur in two ways:

Parental voluntary agreement (Section 20 Agreement): The birth parents of the child decide they cannot care for the child right now, and they ask social services to step in.
A child is at risk of harm (Section 31 Order): If social services believe a child is at risk of harm when living with their birth parents, they can take this to court. The court may then make an order giving the local authority shared parental responsibility over the child. If a child is at immediate risk , the local authority can place them with a relative or friend immediately under what is known as temporary approval for up to 16 weeks to enable a more comprehensive assessment to take place.

Child Arrangements Order

This is a formal court order that decides where a child lives and who they spend time with. This states which home they will live in, whether their time is split between both parents and how this is split. It also details when and how the child communicates with members of the family, such as through phone calls.

When the court grants a Child Arrangements Order, you hold parental responsibility alongside the child’s birth parents, to make decisions about their daily life.

Special Guardianship Order

A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) under Section 14A of the Children Act 1989, is a legal order made by the family court, that puts a child under the care of another family member, in a permanent home. The birth parents remain the legal parents of the child, however the Special Guardian has overriding parental responsibility over the child’s daily life.

To apply for a SGO, you must first notify the local council at least 3 months before applying to the court. This allows the council to have time to assess the child’s situation and your suitability to look after them.

Getting Help With Kinship Care

For family members worried about kinship care, it is important to know what resources are available to help you.

The Kinship Local Offer

It is a legal requirement for local councils to publish specific resources and support mechanisms to help you care for a child. It is required that every local authority in England publishes a ‘Kinship Local Offer’. This sets out the support available to you in your local area, such as:

Local support groups: support networks and training courses designed for kinship carers.
Guidance on Special Educational Needs (SEN), education and local community resources.
Details regarding financial help available to you, and how this is assessed.

Financial Assistance

Under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, the local authority can provide financial help to kinship carers. This can be financial aid for emergency costs, bedroom furniture, or anything required to promote a child’s welfare. It can be given without needing a formal court order.

The Adoption Support Fund

The government’s Adoption Support Fund (ASF) also covers children under an SGO. This fund pays for therapeutic support, play therapy, and family counselling if a child has suffered trauma.

Need Legal Guidance on Kinship Care?

Whether you are navigating an informal arrangement, working through social services assessments, or applying for a formal court order, our specialist family law team is here to help you. Get in touch today for tailored legal advice to help protect your family’s future.

Frequently asked questions.

What is the difference between adoption and a special guardianship order?

A special guardianship order gives the carer complete parental responsibility to make decisions about the child’s daily life. However, it does not cut all legal ties with the child’s birth parents and they may still have legal contact rights. Adoption cuts these ties. The adoptive parents become the child’s legal parents and their birth parent’s lose their legal rights.

Will social services inspect my home if I take in a relatives child?

Yes. If social services are involved in Kinship Fostering, or you have applied for a Child Arrangements Order or Special Guardianship Order, social workers must carry out a comprehensive assessment, including home safety inspections. This is to ensure there is a safe home environment for the child to move into.

Can birth parents apply to discharge or end a Special Guardianship Order (SGO)?

Yes they can, but only with the courts permission. A birth parent cannot just revoke an SGO whenever they wish. The court will only grant a birth parent permission to apply for an SGO discharge if there’s evidence of: a significant change in circumstances such as stable housing or addressed safety risks, or if it is in the child’s best interest to return to their birth parents.

How do I access the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund?

You must ask your local authority’s Post-Special Guardianship Support team to carry out an assessment of the child’s needs. If they approve this, the council applies to the ASGSF on your behalf to secure the funding.

What happens if my initial social services assessment is negative?

If an assessment has a negative outcome, social services will state that they do not support placing the child with you. However, this not the final word. You can still request the local authority for a formal review of the assessment. Or, you can challenge the decision in court, for permission to undergo an independent social work (ISW) assessment.