Updated practitioner guidance on kinship care assistance in Scotland
The Scottish Government has today (20 March 2024) published updated guidance for local authority practitioners who are providing kinship care assistance and support.
Kinship care is where a child is unable to live with their parents and lives with close family friends or extended family, such as a grandparent, or aunt or uncle.
Informed by carers and practitioners, and written by members of the Kinship Care Collaborative of partner organisations including CELCIS, the 2024 guidance updates the National Guidance on Part 13 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (Support for Kinship Care) and provides support for understanding The Kinship Care Assistance (Scotland) Order 2016.
It seeks to further clarify Part 13 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) 2014 Act by explaining how the legislation should be used to support children and young people and carers in certain circumstances to access kinship care assistance when extra support is required.
The guidance includes practical examples to help practitioners to work through different scenarios where kinship care assistance may be required or sought.