Family and Friends Care Guidance

However, current government statistics estimate that between 200,000 and 300,000 live with family or friends. The government's 2007 white paper Care Matters: Time for Change pledged to introduce a statutory framework for carers that are friends or family, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families is now consulting on draft guidance that will ensure young people living with friends or relatives receive appropriate safeguarding and welfare support.

This guidance sets out the requirement for every local authority with responsibility for children's services to publish a comprehensive policy for its approach to family and friends care. Many friends and family care arrangements are informal and can take the form of private foster care or special guardianship orders, and like formal foster carers, informal carers should be entitled to support from their local authority. It also seeks to bring uniformity to the support available to family and friends carers from local authorities, as the level of provision currently depends on the area. The statutory guidance makes it clear that access to this support should be based on the child's needs.