Private fostering and Kinship foster care
Private fostering occurs when a parent makes arrangements for their child to be cared for by someone other than themselves for more than 28 days.
This includes extended family (for example a cousin, a great aunt or great uncle, a great grandparent) or a family friend. It does not include close blood relatives such as a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) or a step-parent.
We would need to complete a private fostering assessment through our Fostering Service.
Find out more about Private Fostering
Kinship foster care
Kinship foster care is when a family member or friend becomes a child’s approved foster carer. It is sometimes called family and friends foster care or connected person foster care.
If you want to foster a family member or friend’s child, you will need to be approved and assessed as a temporary foster carer. You will need to complete an assessment known as a viability assessment which will be carried out by a social worker. This will allow us to decide whether to recommend you as a temporary foster carer.
Find out more about kinship foster care
In Rotherham, our Fostering Rotherham will undertake all fostering assessments of kinship carers. You will have a dedicated social worker allocated to you from our team.
