Kinship care arrangements can be temporary or long term. There are different types of kinship care arrangements. These can include:
- an informal family arrangement in which a child’s parents have arranged for their child to live with a very close family member, for example an uncle, aunt, grandparent, or step parent, without the involvement of social workers or the family courts
- a private fostering arrangement, where a child is under the age of 16 (or 18 if disabled) and is living with a friend or an extended family member (rather than a close family member like an aunt or uncle or grandparent) for more than 28 days
- an arrangement where it has been agreed by the family courts that a child will live with someone other than their parents, for example, through a child arrangement order or special guardianship order
- an arrangement where a child is formally looked after by the council and is living with a friend or family member who has been assessed and approved to be their official connected carer (also known as kinship foster care or family and friends foster care)