Shona saw a poster about extra help for kinship carers at the GP surgery. She looks after Kylie, her six-year-old niece. The adviser at her local CAB gave her information about the allowances she might receive from her local authority. And she got help to fill in a Disability Living Allowance form for Kylie, who has care needs.
All across Scotland, thousands of people care for children, because their natural parents can’t do so for a variety of reasons. These carers – known as “kinship carers” – are often grandparents, aunts and uncles but can also be family friends, and it is thought that there are more than 13,000 of them. Around 1 in 70 children in Scotland are estimated to be looked after either formally or informally by a kinship carer.
Advisers at every Scottish CAB can provide detailed advice on kinship care and can access additional specialist advice for complex cases. If you can’t get to your local CAB, get on the phone. You can call the confidential Kinship Care Helpline on: 0808 800 0006 . Calls are free from landlines and most mobiles.