Kinship Care
What is Kinship care?
The term ‘kinship’ care describes a type of care and living arrangement for a child who has to live away from his or her parental home, and is cared for full-time by a member of the child’s extended family or friend. A kinship care arrangement is one either initiated by a local authority or via a relative or friend, and could involve some sort of assistance or arrangement, including making decisions about legal orders, financial and social work support.
The main reason for people becoming kinship carers is to avoid their loved ones’ children being taken into the care of the local authority.
This, for the kinship carer, is something that has not necessarily been planned or even wanted, but never the less been done out of love, devotion, duty, commitment and all the right reasons for the child’s best interests.
Kinship Care difficulties:
- Feeling isolated, not knowing anyone else in their situation, not fitting in with peers
- Being unsure about benefit entitlements and being reluctant to ask for help
- Finding information, advice and advocacy services
- Needing assistance with their relationship with their own child (parent and grandchild) as well as other family members
- Coping with strain on relationship with your own partner
- Feeling estranged from own age group and not fitting into resources for parents e.g. mother and toddler groups etc.
There are many more difficulties, questions and emotions attached to kinship care.
Hetty’s appreciate and understand the demanding emotional, physical, practical and financial implications of becoming and being a kinship carer. This has led us to providing a specialist kinship care worker, support package, (available on request) and this information leaflet.
All of this combined is offered to you to hopefully:
- Lighten the load a little
- Alleviate some of the stress
- Answer some of your many questions
Give us a call for an informal chat or to book an appointment with our Kinship Care Worker.
