For information about all benefitsdownload our fact sheet. However, its worth remembering that if you receive an allowance from the local authority for raising a child, this will be ignored as income when you apply for these means-tested benefits. The main child-related benefits and tax credits that the kinship carer may wish to claim are child benefit and child tax credit (CTC). Learn more about health and care costs. Our experienced advisers help kinship carers with their questions on benefits, employment, housing, education, grant applications and often a shoulder to cry on too. If you are considering challenging a decision, you can contact us for advice or get help from an advice agency such as the Citizens Advice Bureau. The benefits of family care are recognized and are among the forces that have led to a growing use of kinship care. Some kinship carers receive a kinship care allowance from the local authority. If the local council didnt ask you to look after the child you dont have to tell them the child has come to stay with you. %PDF-1.5 Foster carers are not entitled to claim state benefits for the children they foster. 2. Childrens Aid Societies are actively looking for more families to provide kinship care. Extra financial support may be available to Kinship Care. YZK9Vrb&J=n^>yFx\i%~;wM4 sF0. Aj~z1@B`JXP!SQ/aDrU.vuTsf)83s=nQB4qa:d,`Ok4FH }STjW= C.g^]S0 2`rI#W)C~zAA}=64q:jVm Not only is a carer entitled to the fostering allowance which is for covering the cost of caring for the child, each Local Authority will usually pay additional allowances for the childs birthday, Christmas and an extra payment for the holiday paid in Summer. The main child-related benefits and tax credits that the kinship carer may wish to claim are child benefit and child tax credit (CTC). Kinship carers are family members or friends who care for children who cant live with parents. Accessibility Terms & Conditions Contact Complaints Policy Privacy Policy, Kinship is the working name for Grandparents Plus, which is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under number 4454103 and registered as a charity under number 1093975. Registered office: The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR. Receiving Carers Allowance may affect other benefits you or the person(s) you care for already get and you must not be in full-time education or in part-time education or work for more than 21 hours a week. The Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009, which came into force on 28 September 2009, introduced a legal definition of kinship carer. % A. Will all kinship families taking Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) of a CPS child be able to get the new Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) benefits? Kinship foster carers of looked after children will receive a fortnightly allowance from the fostering service to help towards the cost of looking after the child. If a kinship carer is in receipt of any child-related benefits, then the local authority may deduct these from the amount of allowance that it pays to the kinship carer. Turn2us - for information on income-related benefits, tax credits, Council Tax Reduction, Carers Allowance, Universal Credit and how your benefits will be affected if you start work or change your working hours 2. Kinship care is the care given to a child whose parents are unable to provide the care and support for a child and this responsibility is taken on by a family member such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling or other connected adults to the child such as godparents or close friends of the family. Entitlement to some benefits depends on your financial circumstances. If so, you are likely to be entitled to certain benefits. Depending on your situation, there are other benefits which you may be entitled to claim for example, maternity or bereavement benefits. In the All special guardians are entitled to apply for the means-tested Special Guardianship Allowance but not all who apply will successfully receive it. This factsheet includes information on Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Universal Credit, uardians Allowance and other sources of financial help. <>>> 5`M /{aAjOn2iD[% *=vw7,a)[Tz?#Tpqux4=B_:{WS"NB|620zAuanA/c^czC`Vn) u{)%7PGQ05"G\A&Lh#p(M9. Key elements of a special guardianship support service, Benefits for disability, long term illness and carers, Benefits for people with a disability or long term illness, or who are caring for a disabled person. For children and youth of Indigenous descent, kinship care can be arranged once the First Nation Band Council declares the child is being cared for under customary care. For advice around debt allowances and other financial issues click here. The amount is usually based on the local authoritys fostering allowance rate less any child-related benefits that you receive for the child which a foster carer would not get (for example child benefit, child tax credit). You may also be able to have more say in how the support you get is organised and paid for. Kinship care has some similarities with fostering in that it offers an alternative to residential care for children who cannot live with their parents. Depending on the persons situation they may also be able to: claim benefits - there is more information on our page Benefits for people who are sick or disabled; make arrangements for you to <> Benefits for families on a low income; Universal credit; Benefits for older people; Benefits for disability, long term illness and carers; Child benefit; Childcare for kinship carers Kinship care is when a relative or friend takes on the care of a child or young person whose parents cannot look after them. Benefits for kinship carers Are you a grandparent raising your grandchild, or a friend or relative bringing up a child who is not your own? Whether kinship carers are eligible to claim child-related state benefits for looked after children (such as child benefit, guardians allowance and child-tax credits) depends on the legislation the local authority uses to pay the allowance. Making sure the person youre caring for gets all the social care and support theyre entitled to could mean your role as a carer is made easier. As the number and proportion of children in out-of-home care placed in the homes of relatives continue to grow, child welfare agencies have been making efforts to ensure that children are placed with relatives. stream This can be a very complex area of advice and we recommend you discuss this in detail with specialist money advice services, any "k%&PxrOA +0(IlBu(bH%82kz{\V=}Xv\hA@%KR|[H4=;Wg/xe\x@[b\_ cb?/Ab!0ah7MDy:m[}tE +-U*^V+IC,M-fbOM(I57wvwtL6m%rd!yYK2R9 For more details see www.cas.org.uk You should now read Benefit Entitlements for a Child in an Informal Relationship He lived with his aunt who was a kinship carer. You must be approved as a foster carer if the local council has officially asked you to look after a child. Benefits will be changing in 2018 as Universal Credit will replace other benefits. Aboriginal kinship care is care provided by relatives or friends to an Aboriginal child who cannot live with their parents, where Aboriginal family and community and Aboriginal culture are valued as central to the childs safety, stability and development. 1. These are paid by different offices which are part of Kinship care is when a child who cannot live with their birth parents is looked after by extended family members or others with whom they have a relationship. You, and/or the person you care for, may be able to get help with health costs such as prescriptions, eye tests, dental treatment and with arranging and paying for care and support. You can get Carer's Benefit for a total period of 104 weeks for each person being cared for. Always contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice on what you are entitled to as a kinship carer. Our Advice Service helps kinship carers in crisis to make difficult decisions. approved foster carers (and formal kinship carers in Scotland) so long as they have fostered a child, or become an approved foster carer in the last 12 months Note: The rules that were introduced on 1 April 2017 are the same as the rules that apply to the 'bedroom tax' endobj Benefits of being a kinship carer include sharing family and culture with children as they grow. Carers receive additional payments for other essential items for birthdays and Christmas. Foster carers and paying Income Tax . However, a fundamental difference is that kinship carers are offering to look after a particular child rather than providing placements for any children requiring care. There is currently no specific benefit or allowance for kinship carers but, dependant on any legal order you may have (i.e. EG+&Z+r|\R7kIb% +$9NA\A^]pEW1\&oc~.GW! There are two ways kinship caregivers can receive OWF benefits. Our advisers will point you in the right direction. @I)bb9F$2V)DN^i?+;;#q/toOb83W2?f Wh(cZA]hAO{CIBITLM nIg?n*|{@|-ZSW#$ }B!KTGeC")U7Vk !>+^Td( If you are a kinship carer you may be entitled to an allowance. If youre not sure about what you might be entitled to, you can contact ouradvice service, who will be able to talk through your options with you. Demand is rapidly increasing and we want to be able to answer more calls, more quickly. This continued until a few months after his 16th birthday when he stopped being looked after and moved into support accommodation run by a voluntary organisation. endobj Kinship caregivers and the children in their care can apply for monthly cash assistance through the Ohio Works First (OWF) program. DGmdYhmiKcG]e_O>"QH:;hDX$ gW"Qr8q+C^y/e~qUUX00]Ehw|_0K 5 sP'Cw &S`Sul3'`s$(+(T!_Qk[g;{ju450(nCwPRus4Bh endobj Carer's Allowance Supplement is an extra payment for people in Scotland who get Carer's Allowance. R} bljzj[AtX 8 G)/yrC6g }InWni^Dxx&]y][m8XJ*=5PCi_T454wnklwY1K)(7) y)%]QT If youre giving full-time care to a child, you can get information from: 1. x\mo F% XH}P8r"c{=R")=#Qpf8pDiE1om[GnuyxVE[+v]~,/8?Evr~~M3{E=o]USEm]"_#U8ssapm&opfS?kMM0}mK!pgW7O/#&s?l5+ gIOrwxwyshp*0 Becoming a kinship carer can be stressful and bring legal and financial challenges. Your donation will help us do this. In order to be eligible for OWF, you must be related by blood or marriage, or be a legal guardian or custodian to the children in your care. They're entitled to get a care needs assessment from the council. Campaigners have called for kinship carers to receive the same rights and allowances as foster carers and adoptive parents, including paid employment Kinship carers of Looked After children should get the same rate as the local fostering allowance. Kinship care is when a relative or friend takes on the care of a child or young person whose parents cannot look after them. The headings below link to information about the main benefits that you might be able to claim if you are a grandparent raising your grandchild, or you are caring for a relatives or friends child. The Aboriginal If you are a kinship carer you may be entitled to an allowance. Start a webchat online or call us on 0800 138 1677. Time limits usually apply check your decision letter. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to Rob is a care leaver who cannot get Income Support, Income-based JSA or Housing Benefit. If you are unhappy with a benefit or tax credit decision, you can ask for the decision to be looked at again. Once a SGO is granted a carer has the same right to benefits and tax credits as a birth parent. f/ SD pYhTx(W6Cy(^wp@mA")I%AJj$j0i!G\$|,IEM!jQ rFM} Qjy/amsXVm BRNP It is uncommon for a Care Order to be made if a child will remain in a kinship placement, but at times it is regarded as the most appropriate, in the best interests of the child. Only kinship families and children who meet the eligibility requirements for PCA will be able to qualify to receive benefits. As this is a required step on the way to making an appeal it is called mandatory reconsideration. The Family Rights Group Most kinship carers are related to the children they look after, and the majority are grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings or other family members. No. This is called a kinship care allowance. You can also get more information about benefits from theCitizens Advicewebsite or use an online benefits calculator through thegov.ukwebsite. #*EB7sS9aIndcHxsi]R <> 8CQv4 mhGRF)tF+P*Qd`%Ess)BDd 1a/x/7*h$*9rB!)Om!\+Uy8N`=PB,RYJiL~jS^{MzIEa" 2 0 obj 1 0 obj For Housing Benefit you can choose whether to appeal a decision straight away or ask for the decision to be reconsidered. Only one claimant can get child benefit and CTC for a This is based on the childs age, (N.B. Kinship Care for First Nations, Mtis, and Inuit (FNMI) Children and Youth. Kinship care and benefits the essentials What is kinship care? Carer's Benefit is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for a person(s) in need of full-time care and attention. 3 0 obj Use one of the following: 1. 4 0 obj d-jb'x65C} ?P%^ *%x%[dW=`S9U60OVSwNgKt@Gv3??y JnpK`,j5?#Ia+tUTgj*6 For most benefits, and for tax credits, you must first ask for a reconsideration of a decision before you can make an appeal. Kinship carers are NOT entitled to claim Child Benefit). General Eligibility for Permanency Care Assistance Benefits . Youre known as a family and friends carer if youre a grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister or family friend looking after a child who cant be cared for by their birth parents. Foster/kinship foster carers are free to spend the allowance on food, household and travel expenses as they feel benefit the child most. The kinship carers would still be entitled to foster carers allowance but the child would remain in care and would be subject to regular reviews and medicals. Some kinship carers will be eligible for child-related benefits, which are intended to cover accommodation and maintenance. Special Guardianship Order, Kinship Foster/Family & Friends Foster Care Order), you may be able to access state benefits (care allowances and welfare benefits). One important benefit of kinship care is the increased likelihood of living with or staying connected to siblings. Grandparents Plus 2. <>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 595.56 842.04] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> ^'ZtDv [ For more information on Universal Credit and other welfare reforms see www.cpag.org.uk. \v/ ocFOHbK{4m:@(~O#O L-V>tJ":* L. wdj2$UdsqHSHP]@|u; By kinship care we mean a full-time care arrangement provided by a childs extended family or wider network of friends. Some kinship carers of not Looked After children can also be eligible for a kinship care allowance that is the same as the local fostering allowance.