What is Kinship Care?

Kinship care is where a child lives full-time or most of the time with a relative or close family friend, usually because their birth parents are not able to care for them. Research estimated that ‘Kinship Care’ arrangements account for more than 180,000 children within the UK.

The Kinship mechanism often allows for a greater potential for contact to be maintained, this can include contact between the child and their parents, grandparents and even siblings.

The Process Of Becoming A Kinship Carer

Before an order is made to approve such an individual as a ‘Kinship Carer’, the Local Authority must first, as far as reasonably practicable, obtain specified information about the proposed carer, including full personal details, details of those in their household, their religious persuasion and ability to care for a child of an any particular religious persuasion, racial origin or cultural linguistic background, their capacity to care for their own children and their motivation and references. The Local Authority will then carry out an assessment of the suitability of the individual to care for a child and whether to approve the individual as a kinship carer.

The Local Authority must be satisfied of the following points before a final decision is made.

• The Placement is in the best interests of the child;
• The placement of the child with the particular kinship carer is the best interests of the child;
• The kinship carer is a suitable person to care for the child. Based on the Local Authority’s assessment of them;
• The Local Authority has taken into account all the information available to it which is relevant to performing its duties towards looked after children;
• The kinship carer has entered into a kinship carer agreement with the Local Authority regulating its relationship with the Local Authority; and
• The kinship carer has entered into a kinship placement agreement with the Local Authority, setting out the responsibilities of the carer and the Local Authority in respect of the particular placement.

Is Kinship Care an afterthought?

An analysis of new government data on the number of children in kinship foster care across England and Wales suggests family and friend care options are too infrequently explored and not supported in many Local Authorities.

The charity ‘Family Rights Group’ working with the ‘All Party Parliamentary Group on Kinship Care’, has gathered data on the wider population of children within the care system.

• Only 15% of the 83,840 children in the care system in England are being raised by kinship foster carers.
• Despite the raising numbers of the children within the care system, the number in kinship foster care in England has remained below 13,000 in the last three years.
• In Wales, 23% of 7,210 children in the care system, are being raised by relatives or friends.
• Between Local Authorities 2% of Kinships in London Borough of Hounslow, 6% in Peterborough, 27% in Leeds and 31% York.
• Both England and Wales have much lower kinship foster care when compared to New Zealand, Australia and the Unites States, where between a third and a half of the children are being raised by kinship carers.
• Across the UK, East of England is the lowest proportion o children in care being raised by relatives at 10%, in contrast with Wales being 23%.

Family Rights Group’s recommendations

The Family Right’s Group believe that Kinship Care should be clearly defined within primary legislation to maximise the chances of all children being raised in their family. This can be done by offering a family group conference when there are welfare concerns. Families should be able to access free, independent and specialist advice to help put themselves forward as kinship carers. The group recommends that every Local Authority should have accessible, up- to-date local kinship care policies and the national kinship care strategy should go further and faster to provide the practical, emotional and financial support that all kinship families need.

Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive at Family Rights Group

Ms Ashley states that there is wide variation between Local Authorities in how they prioritise and support exploring a child’s family network. Many families are not offered a family group conference and a third of Local Authorities do not have an up-to-date kinship care policy, as suggested above.

This allows for children to feel isolated without support when they leave care due to not remaining within their family, which is also impacting the increasing financial pressures on Local Authorities.

Cathy Ashley commented upon children having a right to be raised within their family and their chance to do so should not depend on which part of the country they are born, owing to the different percentages amongst the Local Authorities. The group are calling for the government to bring forward a Children’s Bill to deliver change in every part of the country.

Andrew Gwynne MP, Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group

Mr Gwynne stated that there is clearly some way to go before kinship care is consistently prioritised for children and families across the country, when they cannot remain at home. There are thousands of families where an option of Kinship is not explored properly or supported. Opportunities to safely ensure children can remain in the family are missed.

The All Party Parliamentary Group is working hard to change this.

Written By Georgia Livingstone – Trainee Solicitor, Family Law Department