Becoming an Approved Moray Carer

A kinship care assessment helps us understand your personal history and experiences to see if becoming a kinship carer is right for you and for the child.

We’ll ask you to fill out an application form and link you with a social worker from the Kinship team who will meet you regularly at your home.

We’ll ask for your medical history including a medical check, a criminal history check, Local Authority check, four references, and a home safety check.

Kinship assessments help us to clearly and carefully consider the needs of the child alongside your ability to meet their needs now and in the long-term. Your assessing social worker will explore your own strengths, vulnerabilities and support needs along with those of family members who live with you.

We look for important qualities and capabilities like adaptability, emotional awareness, motivation, commitment to the child, and ability to work alongside other professionals for the benefit of the child.

Be as honest as possible with us during your assessment. It’s important we have a clear picture of who you are, your life experiences and how you can meet the needs of the child. You’ll need to show you’ve come to terms with any previous difficult experiences, challenges or loss.

Once we have all the information we need, we’ll write an assessment and share it with you. You can discuss it with the assessing social worker before it goes to the Kinship Panel. It takes around 12 weeks from the application form being signed to presenting it at a Kinship Panel.

The Panel reviews the assessment report and recommendation of your assessing social worker. We’ll write to tell you if you have been approved or not.