Kinship care
Family and friends
When a child is unable to live with their parents, where possible, we will look to find a suitable relative or close family friend to care for them.
These people are called ‘connected carers’ or ‘kinship carers’. They are usually an extended family member to the child like a grandparent, aunt, or family friend.
Connected foster care is when a family member or friend becomes a child’s official foster carer. You may have been ‘put forward’ by the children’s birth parents or approached by the child’s social worker to care for the child long term, and Hull Fostering must assess and approve you as suitable before the child comes to live with you.
Even though you may be the child’s relative, in the eyes of the law, the child is still considered ‘looked after’, which means as an approved connected carer, you will share parental responsibility with the child’s parents and Hull City Council.
If no one is identified or assessed as suitable from the child’s extended family and friends network, a mainstream foster carer is needed to look after them.
Connected persons foster carers have their own dedicated team within Hull Fostering to support them.
Connected persons foster carers are assessed in a similar way to mainstream foster carers. You will attend foster care training and be offered the same level of support as a mainstream carer. The only difference between a mainstream carer and connected carers is, usually, a connected carer already knows the child. Or you might be related to the child, and you have agreed to care for the child or young person long term.
