On Friday 25th August COSLA Leaders agreed to the introduction of a Scottish Recommended Allowance for Foster and Kinship carers. The introduction of this policy and £16m of funding from the Scottish Government is an exemplar of how both organisations have committed to work together through the Verity House Agreement.
COSLA recognises that providing allowances for foster and kinship carers is not a new policy; all local authorities currently provide these. However, the introduction of a Scottish Recommended Allowance is new.
Cllr Tony Buchanan, COSLA Children and Young People Spokesperson said:
“COSLA is pleased to have agreed the Scottish Recommended Allowance for our foster and kinship carers. We realise this has taken some time and are grateful to The Fostering Network, the Association for Fostering, Kinship and Adoption Scotland and Social Work Scotland for supporting COSLA and the Scottish Government in this area.
COSLA is absolutely committed to The Promise and we realise this is an important milestone in supporting foster and kinship families.”