3 grandchildren now call this home

Iam64

No need to shout at me Primrose. As implied, I’ve been instrumental in kinship carers being paid as foster carers, and for care plans that set out the support the Carer needs to support the placement.

Shouting at you? 🤔

I think you must be misinterpreting my post. I am saying that grandparents or family who have related children living with them should be paid the same as foster carers are.

As I said my friend gets over £500 a week per child plus lots of add ons and bonuses. I think you get more for teenagers than little ones.

www.thefca.co.uk/fostering-allowances/

Also, in care proceedings for kinship carers legal fees to be paid by the l.a. None of this is new - the Adoption and Children Act 2002 introduced special guardianship and orders.

No need to shout at me Primrose. As implied, I’ve been instrumental in kinship carers being paid as foster carers, and for care plans that set out the support the Carer needs to support the placement.

Backtomum do you have a legal help and advice section included with your house and contents insurance, we have with ours.

(My husband used it when he needed to take action against a builder. The legal advisor gave him specific information about his rights and which were the relevant acts to quote).

They might be able to tell you your rights and what you are entitled to.

Backtomum Happy to hear you have contacted the Family Rights Group they are good and helpful. I get the idea that you went to court and managed to get the grand-children. These cases are all different and there seems the fact the children were on child protection order when an incident happened and there was certainly some form of proceedings as S.W.s were involved and yourselves as grand-parents were put forward as family members to get the children. From your case it does not sound like you had any assessment through Social services which usually happens ( all explained by F.R.G.) this can set you up with the allowance same as a foster carer although at some point the S.W.s would want you to apply for the S.G.O if the children were to be with you long term. I am not understanding how you got parental responsibility as the parents sound to be still alive and also have parental responsibility and in general they mostly put up a fight to hold on to that. I am no expert by any means but usually there are several court dates to go through as the parents will also be seeking some form of contact. Get as much advice as you can. Primrose 53: I put in a post yesterday in regard of financial payment to foster carers and perhaps the weekly payment differs for the area where people live. I have information in regard of South region and without making this about my story or experience a close family member was involved with kinship care. I did see all her paperwork for the case as she struggled and I helped her deal with things. I stated the weekly amount for one child as being £160s which is what she got plus the same amount for the two other children weekly. That was to feed and clothe them and any other things they needed weekly. The school let them go to after school clubs free and they could get a free holiday in U.k. once a year. No school uniforms were provided and had to come out of weekly allowance. As I say all that paperwork I saw. I thought £160 per week was fairly good. Perhaps there are higher rates for disabled children I do not know. Good luck whatever you are doing you have saved the grandchildren being put with strangers which likely would have happened.

I have no practical help to offer but when I was a Senco I worked with two sets of grandparents who took on full responsibility for their grandchildren to prevent them being taken into care, and it was very, very hard for them, emotionally and financially.
I would suggest professional legal /financial advice to discover what, if anything can be claimed and also protecting their savings; they will be fighting social services all the way. Also, consult your MP; the lack of support for grandparents in this situation is appalling.
Meanwhile the parents made no contribution whatsoever.

Iam64 and so they should! If foster carers can be paid around £500 a week per child then so should grandparents or other family. It costs a lot just to feed another three hungry mouths, let alone clothes, shoes and everything else they need.

They are very fortunate kids to have such caring grandparents but those grandparents sound like they need help to do this.

Hello Backtomum, it’s so common that care proceedings are avoided for the reasons you give. Avoiding the cost and stress is important to families. Local authorities are so cash poor, huge increase in safeguarding means they will also avoid proceedings. The down side is things can drift, also without a Judge/Children’s Guardian financial and practical support avoided. I don’t want to over detail here but if you want to discuss I’ll respond to a pm. Thank you for stepping in, you’re part of an often invisible army of kinship carers.
The govt is looking at treating kinship carers like foster carers.

No change of schools as we moved towards them as we were so concerned about safeguarding issues. They are subject to child in need plan having just been removed from child protection plan as things were going well then within days there was an incident where we had no choice but to go to court, with social services support. It’s been a roller coaster for years tbh but they’re safe now.
Iam64, we’ve never been advised about a legal guardian and have avoided legal representation due to potential cost where the money is needed for all the usual requisites of 3 growing boys.
This is so helpful, thank you all so much. Any other thoughts, keep them coming!

Well done for taking this on.
It won't be easy. Teenagers eat a lot and then there are the clothes!
Could the oldest one think about a paper round ?
We are in a situation where we heavily support 2 grand children.
Could you do crowd funding?
Are they moving area and schools?
Keeping their friends if possible .

Granny to many - SGO financial and practical support can and should be paid to kinship carers who are formally, not informally, recognised. The parents do not have to have died, but found to be unable to offer safe appropriate care that meets the needs of the children.

OP everyone has given you good advice. One thing you may not have thought of as you are busy trying to see what financial help you can get.

But because of your ages you will need to decide who will look after the children if you die before they are 18 and who will have guardianship of them. I know this is the last thing you want to add to your list of things to do but it will have to be done sooner than later.

Your grandchildren are very lucky to have you both to look after them. 💐

From what you’ve said I think it unlikely that you will be eligible to claim anything other than child benefit but it would be as well to look at one of the benefit calculators like the one below and see what result you get. You need to be very accurate and honest with the details you put into it though. It’s all anonymous.

benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/

I believe that Guardian’s Allowance is only paid when a family member is looking after a child whose parent or parents have died.

Presumably you went into the financial aspects before seeking parental responsibility?

I do understand though that sometimes circumstances drive decision making and there seems to be only one tolerable way forward. We had two younger grandchildren living with us for almost 10 years.

Why don’t you try another Citizens Advice, they do have very individual ways of working. Some will only deal with people in their post code but many are more flexible.

but it doesn't sound as though in this case the GPs have been awarded any financial support, hence her query.

welbeck

but OP said the parents still have parental rights, so unlikely the children were the subject of care proceedings/public law.

If relative carers are given Special Guardianship Orders, the share PR with parents. Care proceedings are often the route by which SGO’s are made and often give kinship carers the best support via a final care plan including payments like those foster carers are given

yes, it's a lot to take on, esp with the younger ones, at your ages.
all power to your elbow.
will they have to change schools?
some schools and their parent groups can be a good source of advice/information.

Backtomum - what a lovely thing to do . Your grandchildren are blessed to have you. I have no advice or knowledge but I wish you, your husband and the children, all the best in the world

but they will already be in receipt of state pension, presumably, being over 70, so NI credits are not really necessary.
imp for younger GPs though.
some seem unaware.

I don't know if this helps but I do hope you can find someone who can help directly.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/grandparents-childcare-credit/

but OP said the parents still have parental rights, so unlikely the children were the subject of care proceedings/public law.

Good to read you are in touch with FRG
My long experience was that local authorities, strapped for cash, tried to avoid care proceeding, working on a ‘voluntary’ basis with parents and alternative famiky carers. If your grandchildren are subject to public law/ie care proceedings they should be legally represented by their Children’s Guardian. That individual should be ensuring that your legal costs dare paid bring the l.a and that there is a Care Plan identifying the support yiu may need, particularly the funding foster carers would get -

3nanny6

When I said £160 per week that would be for one child and subsequent children also £160 per week so it is a fault in the government that family taking in children do not receive anything like those monetary allowances and really struggle.

I think foster carers get a lot more than that. My friend fosters teenagers and is paid about £500 a week for each plus the kids are provided with school uniforms, laptops, phones, money for activities etc.

I’ve contacted frg, family right group and social services are 8nvolved with this. Thank you for these suggestions, I’ll look into everything.

Primrose has sent you the link I was going to send. Hope it helps.
I doubt it from the information you have given, but might you qualify for Pension Credit now you have the three children?