Kinship carers are having to give up the children in their care due to the cost of living crisis
(Picture: PA Wire)People who have been taking in relatives’ children as a way to keep them out of care now fear having to give them up, as the cost of living crisis soars, says the charity Kinship.
In England and Wales, most kinship carers get less financial support than foster carers, and some have warned they are now struggling, says the charity.
Ministers say that they are working to see how they can best improve support.
Here’s everything you need to know about the scheme.
What is kinship care?
Kinship care is when a child lives full-time or most of the time with a relative or friend who isn’t their parent, usually because their parents aren’t able to care for them.
That relative or friend is called a ‘kinship carer’, and it’s estimated that around half of kinship carers are grandparents, but many other relatives including older siblings, aunts, uncles, as well as family friends and neighbours can also be kinship carers.
There are lots of different types of kinship care, and if you’re a kinship carer, you might find that as circumstances change the type of kinship carer you are changes too. Kinship care includes children who may be:
- living in an informal arrangement made by their parents
- on a Child Arrangements Order or Special Guardianship Order
- ‘looked after’ by the local authority and placed with kinship foster carers.
Kinship carers are also often referred to as ‘family and friends carers’ or ‘connected people’ by local authorities and in official documents.
Why are kinship carers in crisis?
Last month, an independent review of England’s council-run children’s care services urged changes, including better financial and emotional support for carers.
The exact amount of kinship carers in the United Kingdom is unknown, as they are a protected group, but between them, they care for more than 162,400 vulnerable children in England and Wales, which is more than double the number of children in foster care.
- Almost nine in 10 struggled to make ends meet, highlighting problems with rising heating bills, the cost of food, children’s clothes, and rent or mortgage payments
- Just under a third feared severe financial strain could prevent them from continuing to care for their children
Kinship wants family members who care for relatives’ children to receive a universal, standard, non-means-tested allowance in line with the minimum amounts paid to foster carers in England and Wales, which vary from £137 to £240 a week, according to location and the children’s age.
The financial support currently offered is “inadequate and patchy”, says the charity.
“Pushed into poverty, the financial strain means many kinship families are worried they may have to give up the care of the children,” says Kinship chief executive Dr Lucy Peake. “This would be a massive tragedy that is entirely preventable.”
A spokesperson for England’s Department for Education said: “Kinship carers often make sacrifices to give vulnerable children and young people permanent, loving homes.
“Local authorities can offer discretionary financial support to kinship carers and, later this year, government will respond in full to recommendations suggested by the independent care review, including how we can support kinship carers further.
“In recognition of rising costs, the government is also providing over £37bn to help families, targeted to support the most vulnerable.”
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “We greatly value the care and support that foster and kinship carers provide. We are currently undertaking a review of support available to them in Wales.
“Any kinship carers that are experiencing difficulties or require advice and guidance should approach their local authorities directly to discuss and establish what advice and support they can access.”
Why are children in the kinship care programme?
Most children are in kinship care because their parents aren’t able to care for them. Research carried out by the charity shows that around half of children (52%) are in kinship care as a result of parental drug or alcohol misuse, although other reasons include bereavement, imprisonment, parental abuse or neglect and parental ill-health.
Almost half of children in kinship care have some kind of special needs (49%), most commonly emotional and behavioural difficulties.
What are the benefits of kinship care?
The charity argues are clear benefits to children being kept within their family network, which offers them increased placement stability, as opposed to children in local authority care.
Research shows that children in kinship care benefit from increased placement stability compared to children in local authority care, and are able to maintain family relationships.
Despite this, children who live with kinship carers have often had very challenging starts in life, and their behaviour is greatly affected.
