Kinship carers will receive over £20,000 in additional funding to allow young people to remain with them until they are 18.
East Lothian Council has agreed to extend funding which normally comes to an end when a young person in care turns 16, for those in informal kinship care placements.
It will mean carers will be able to continue support as their charge continues in school or further education.
Kinship carers are relatives who a child or young person lives with when their parents are not able to care for them.
A virtual meeting of the council’s cabinet this week approved the extension of the scheme which brings the local authority in line with other councils in Scotland.
Cabinet members were told that previously the council stopped payments at the same time as kinship care orders stopped when the young person turns 16.
However they were told that taking away the financial support from the council before the young person is able to claim state benefits leaves them particularly vulnerable.
Another option is to make payments directly to the young person after they turn 16 however the council said it would result in placing the onus of responsibility for managing finances on them at too early a stage, when they, along with their peers, still need support and guidance.
The newly-agreed proposal will see an extension to the length of time allowances are paid to some carers with a kinship care order beyond the young person’s 16th birthday to their 18th birthday (or date of leaving school if later), providing they are not in full-time employment.
It was estimated the cost would be an additional £11, 206 a year per young person.
Councillor Fiona Dugdale, Cabinet Spokesperson for Education and Children’s Services, said: “The importance of kinship carers cannot be over estimated.
“This will have many benefits and enable continuity of relationships as they care for and support young people during one of the most challenging transitions in their lives.”
