Kinship care policy

Gateshead Council has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children and young people living in the Borough who are in need. The Council is committed to supporting parents and carers to enable children to be brought up within their own family network where it is safe to do so.

Research would suggest that children who live within kinship care frequently enjoy more positive outcomes when compared to similar children in foster care. Consequently, we want to help children who cannot live with their parents to stay with family and friends and the Council typically only considers alternative care arrangements when there is no other satisfactory way of promoting the welfare of children and young people or of protecting them from harm.

Family and friends often start to care for children as a short-term arrangement, but these can become openended or even permanent. Such changes in family circumstances can present challenges for both the child and the carer. Gateshead is committed to ensuring a comprehensive range of support is in place which enables family and friends to provide appropriate care for the child or young person which reflects their individual circumstances and needs.

The Council can become formally involved in family and friends care arrangements for several reasons, for example:

• It has a legal duty to provide support if the child is assessed as a child in need.
• If the Council has agreed that the child needs to become "cared for" either by remaining with family members or a connected person (s) or being "placed" with a foster carer employed by the council or Independent Fostering Agency.
• The Council has applied to the Court for a legal order which has been granted, giving the Council parental responsibility.

In all cases, the primary consideration in determining support will be the needs of the child and we will consider children's wishes and feelings in all relevant processes.