When the parents or usual carers are unable to look after their children, other adults can support the children by offering one of several types of care.
Most of these types of care involve adults looking after someone else's children in their own home. There are many reasons why a child or young person may need to be looked after by other adults. For instance, the child's safety may be threatened, a family may be experiencing a breakdown, there may be unbearable stresses in the family, or illness may prevent a child being cared for adequately.
Support for the child, through whichever care option, can last for days, months or even years. Most of those children looked after away from home return to their families within six months, but others may be looked after on a long-term or permanent basis. Permanent refers to a relationship for life and can include adoption. There are a number of different care options that the City of Edinburgh Council provides.