Agenda Item 14
EAST AYRSHIRE CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEE: 06 MARCH 2012
KINSHIP CARE
1. PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
1.1 To provide the East Ayrshire Child Protection Committee (EACPC) with an update on developments in Kinship Care in this authority area.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 In 2007 the Scottish Government and COSLA published a joint strategy entitled “Getting It Right for Every Child in Kinship and Foster Care”. This strategy set out proposals for providing flexible, child-centred care options for children and young people unable to live at home with their birth families. It included specific proposals for enhancing support to kinship carers - extended families or close friends who care for children as an alternative to them being placed in local authority care.
2.2 In June 2009 the Scottish Government approved The Looked After Children
(Scotland) Regulations, which came into force on 28 September 2009.
These included specific regulations with respect to kinship care.
2.3 On 3 June 2009 Cabinet approved a report outlining a Kinship Care scheme for East Ayrshire. The key points in this report that were approved were:

That a new Kinship Care Scheme would be put into place from 1 April
2010.

This would include provision of information and the payment of allowances at a flat rate , which for 2011/12 is £56.10 per child per week. Specific resources were identified and approved to implement this new scheme.
3. UPDATE ON PROGRESS
3.1 The new scheme was implemented in April 2010 as planned and approved.
As at 31 January 2012 a total of 75 children are looked after by 57 approved
Kinship Carers.
3.2 Throughout 2011 extensive work has been undertaken to develop revised
Procedures and Practice Guidance on Kinship Care. These include the establishment of a new system for approval of Kinship Carers by way of a multi-agency panel involving social work staff and colleagues from Education and Health Services.

3.3 The date for the inaugural meeting of the multi-agency Kinship Care
Panel has been provisionally set for Wednesday 21 March.
3.4 All social work staff involved in placing children with kinship carers and undertaking the required formal assessments need to be trained in the new
Procedures and Practice Guidance. Provisional dates for delivering this training have been set for Tuesday 27 and Thursday 29 March.
3.5 Throughout 2012 further work will take place to take develop enhanced support to kinship carers forward, including aspects such as training on child care and development and short-break support.
4. RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1 The East Ayrshire Child Protection Committee is asked to: - i) Note the contents of this report.
Susan Taylor
Chair of East Ayrshire Child Protection Committee
February 2012
Report prepared by
Will Brown, Service Manager, Family Support and Young People