Private fostering - are you looking after someone else's child?

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• Are you looking after a friend's child while they work away from home?
• Has your neighbour had trouble coping with a new baby and asked you to look after him/her for a few weeks?
• Have friends from abroad asked you to let their child stay with you while they attend school here?

The council has a responsibility to secure the welfare of all privately fostered children. We therefore carry out a number of checks to make sure children are being cared for properly and to allow us to provide you with any advice and support you might need.

Responsibilities of parents and guardians
If you are a parent or guardian and you intend placing a child under school leaving age in someone else's care (who is not a close relative or an approved foster carer) for more than 28 days, this is what you should do:

• At least two weeks before the placement begins, you should contact our social work service and let them know what you intend to do,
• If your child has been placed in someone else's care in an emergency, you should contact social work within seven days of the emergency, and
• You should give social work certain information in writing, including: details of where your child will be placed; who will be responsible for their care; and any other information which social work needs from you.

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Responsibilities of carers
If you're planning to take someone else's child into your care for more than 28 days, and that child is under school leaving age and not closely related to you, this is what you should do:

• At least two weeks before the placement begins, contact our social work service in writing and explain what you intend to do;
• If the child is placed with you in an emergency, you must let social work know within seven days of the placement;
• If you change address while caring for the child, you must inform social work in the area you are moving from and the area you are moving to; and
• If the child dies, or is removed from your care, you should inform the local authority social work service within 48 hours.

The Scottish Executive has produced a leaflet which contains further information about private fostering and the responsibilities of parents and carers:

Are You Looking After Someone Else's Child? (pdf - 393 Kb)

If you would like more information or advice, you can contact us by:

email: childcare@renfrewshire.gov.uk
phone: 0141 842 5159
call in or write to us at:

Renfrewshire Fostering and Adoption Services
Social Work, 3rd Floor
Renfrewshire House
Cotton Street
Paisley PA1 1TZ

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