Informal family arrangement

[Aunty69]

.my niece came to live with me second week of september,she is on a child protection plan ,and children's services have been involved since january,at the child protection review meeting the independent chair recommended that my niece should be with me as a kinship care.children's services are still saying that it is a family arrangement,what do I do ?

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Aunty69

Thank you for your post. My name is Suzie, online adviser at Family Rights Group and I will respond to your post here today but suggest that you join the kinship carers’ forum.

On that forum you are more likely to get support from other kinship carers who may have had a similar experience to you with children’s services saying there is private family arrangement.

Whether you niece is in your care under a private family arrangement or should be treated as a looked after child depends on how she came to be in your care. For it to be a private family arrangement, it should be made between you and your niece’s parent(s) who have parental responsibility. Her mother automatically has parental responsibility and a father will have it if married to the mother, is named on her birth certificate or has a court order granting him parental responsibility.

Sometimes an arrangement can start as a private arrangement but it changes depending on the circumstances and children’s services involvement.

If your niece came into your care at the request of children’s services (a social worker), or you were she could not return home this could amount to children’s services playing a significant role in her placement with you. In these circumstances, they should treat her as a ‘looked after’ child under s.20 of the Children Act 1989. You can read more about s20 voluntary arrangement HERE
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Please consider making a complaint to children’s services about your niece’s status and you may find it helpful to use either template letter 4 or letter 5 on our website. You can amend the letter you decide to use, to suit your circumstances before sending it.

Here is information from our website about becoming a kinship foster carer

I hope you find this helpful but please post again on the correct forum so you can get the best peer support. You can also telephone our free confidential advice line on 0808 801 0366 to speak to one of our experienced advisers should you wish to do so. The advice line is open from 9.30am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays)

Best wishes

Suzie