Kinship Care presentation by Joan Hunt

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL POLICY AND SOCIAL WORK

Kinship care

Joan Hunt Senior Research Fellow Oxford Centre for Family Law and Policy

A multiplicity of arrangements



Fostered by kin approved as foster carers



Special guardianship or adoption



Residence order



Privately fostered



Informal

Numbers



6900 in approved foster placements in 2008 (16% all foster placements; 12% all looked after children)

+ 

11646 ‘children in need’ in 2005

+ 

? 18000- 28000 others



Total guesstimate 200,000-300, 000 (1.7% to 2.5% child population) (Richards and Tapsfield, 2003)

Kinship carers are typically grandparents 

62% children placed with kin through care proceedings (Hunt et al, 2008)



45% children looked after (Farmer and Moyers, 2008)



42% children in need (Broad, 2001)



Guesstimate: 100,000 grandparents caring for children under 13 (Richards and Tapsfield, 2003)

The reasons for care Survey of grandparent carers (Richards 2001) 

24% parental inability to care, including abuse, neglect and domestic violence



23% parental desertion, a substantial proportion resulting from drug/alcohol abuse



16% family breakdown



13% parental illness, often mental illness ;



10% parental death, often also involving substance abuse, mental illness or violence

Children’s prior experiences similar to those in unrelated foster care Prior adversities

Kin %

Unrelated %

Multiple separations from main carer

59

64

Physical abuse

35

38

Neglect

68

61

Sexual abuse (actual or suspected)

24

27

Exposed to domestic violence

52

52

Parental drug or alcohol abuse

60

51

(Farmer & Moyers, 2008)

Potential benefits for children 

Continuity of experience & relationships



Security and belonging



Fewer placement moves



Less stigmatising?

Many children do well in kinship care 

Hunt et al, 2008 

47% no problems at all  81% problems in only one or two areas of functioning 

Farmer and Moyers, 2008 

Children doing as well as those in unrelated care  52% both groups behavioural/emotional difficulties  78% improvement since placement (77% unrelated)  68% positive view of themselves (63%)

Carers need support 

Challenging children



Challenging circumstances



High levels of stress



May need as much, or more help than unrelated carers



Usually get less

What carers need 

Readily accessible information and advice



Financial support



Practical help



Professional help with and for children



Peer support

Conclusion 

Through kinship care the extended family makes a vital contribution to the welfare of children who cannot remain with their birth parents



This contribution is ‘officially’ recognised and ‘promoted’



Policies and systems to support this unique form of care have been slow to develop.



Government have promised a ‘new framework for family and friends care’

How to support kinship carers more effectively: recommendations from the Kinship Care Alliance 

The uniqueness of kinship care needs to be recognised 

Cross-departmental working group to develop policy  Guidance to LA’s on promoting and supporting kinship care  Collection of statistics on children being raised by relatives 

Systems need to be developed to meet both the short and long-term needs of carers. 

Right to assessment of need  LA statutory duty to establish/commission support services  Government funding to resource this 

Financial support