• Are you a Kinship Foster Carer for a relative child?
• Are you caring for them under a Care Order after being approved at Panel?
• Are you receiving all the allowances that you may be entitled to?

Helen Moody is a specialist kinship care solicitor in the public law department. She acts on behalf of kinship carers who are in the midst of current care proceedings or in circumstances where there are no proceedings. She has a particular interest in kinship fostering allowances and the misconception that if you are a relative carer for a child, you are not entitled to receive the same allowances as a mainstream foster carer.

“I was recently contacted on behalf of an Aunt who, after only receiving the basic fostering allowance for her niece and nephew for 3 years, contacted me about additional allowances. I wrote to them asking them to confirm what the Council’s allowance rates were and argued that the Aunt should have been receiving them on top of the basic allowance”.

It transpired that the aunt should have been receiving an additional allowance of £237 per week per child. This meant that the Aunt had missed out on an additional £474 per week on top of the basic allowance she had always received. The Council agreed that they had made an error and that a back dated payment was due to the Aunt of almost £91,000”.

A case involving Tower Hamlets in 2013 set a precedent in law that kinship carers should not be discriminated against on the grounds of a pre-existing relationship with a child. All Local Authorities should adhere to this however, many often do not. If you would like some further information about what you might be entitled to, please do not hesitate to contact Helen Moody on 0800 8 60 62 65.

Helen Moody – Kinship Care Solicitor