• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Kinship

Kinship

The kinship care charity

  • For Kinship Carers
    • What is kinship care?
    • Advice and information
    • Free workshops
    • Connect with other kinship carers
    • Join our Kinship Community
  • For professionals
    • Commission our services
    • Resources to support special guardians
    • Refer a kinship carer
    • Research
    • Join our Professionals Network
  • News & stories
    • Kinship news
    • Kinship stories
  • Get involved
    • Campaign with us
    • Volunteer
    • Research
    • Kinship Care Week 2023
    • Fundraise
    • Donate
    • Kinship Friendly Employers
  • About us
    • Why we exist
    • What we do
    • Policy and influencing
    • Our people
    • Media
    • Jobs at Kinship
    • Our partners
    • Annual report and accounts
    • Contact us
  • Donate
  • Need Advice
Home / Breaking Point: kinship carers in crisis / Key findings: keeping families together

Key findings: keeping families together


Key findings: local authority support

Case studies

Jump to:

Risk of family breakdown | Sibling separation

We’re concerned that kinship carers are being pushed to the brink. Only 13% of respondents said they were ‘mostly doing well’ when asked to describe their family’s status during 2023. The majority (60%) said they were ‘facing some challenges but managing’. Over a quarter (26%) said they were ‘facing severe challenges’ or ‘at crisis point’.

Although not directly comparable, a recent survey of adoptive parents found that, whilst they were slightly more likely to say they were ‘facing severe challenges or at crisis point’ at 31%, they were much more likely than kinship carers to be ‘mostly doing well’ (25%).[1]

Kinship’s own advice service has seen the level of need and complexity of cases increasing over the last year as inflationary pressures, rising child poverty and the continued crisis in children and adolescent mental health support in particular takes its cumulative toll on kinship families’ ability to cope. We are deeply concerned that the urgent need for change is not being recognised sufficiently by Government and local authorities given the devastating consequences which kinship family breakdown would have for children’s experiences and outcomes, and for the state.

Risk of family breakdown

Although nearly all kinship carers consider their arrangement to be long term or permanent – 95% in last year’s survey[2] – and evidence shows that kinship arrangements often have low rates of disruption[3] and deliver greater stability and permanence for children compared to other care options[4], the increasing financial pressures on kinship families and lack of support for carers and their children risks some kinship arrangements failing.

The likely alternative for the vast majority of children in kinship care would be local authority care. For nearly 9 in 10 (88%) children represented in this year’s survey, respondents said they would have remained in or gone into local authority care had they not stepped up to look after them and a further 7% said they didn’t know. For those who didn’t think they would have, this was typically because they expected another family member would have become their kinship carer instead.



12%

were concerned they may have to stop caring for their kinship child.



More than 19,000

children are at risk of entering local authority care as a result.

12% of kinship carers who responded to our survey told us they were concerned they may have to stop caring for their kinship child (or children) in the next year if their situation did not improve. A further 11% said they didn’t know.

“We are burnt out but feel that we could have carried on with better support or could have shared care with their mother if there had been support to explore this. That would be better for the children but is looking unlikely. We are very broken and despairing about the situation.”

Grandparent with child arrangements or residence order

Again, these worries were more common for kinship carers going it alone (14%) than for those carers with a partner or spouse to support (10%). Responding ‘yes’ to was also strongly correlated with those experiencing significant financial insecurity: a quarter (25%) of those who had run out of food in the last two weeks and were unable to afford more said they were concerned about their ability to continue caring for their kinship child (or children). Health of the carer also appeared to be a significant influencing factor: one fifth (20%) of those who reported their health to be ‘very bad’ or ‘bad’ feared having to give up compared to only 8% of those with ‘very good’ or ‘good’ health.

“I had to give up work to care for [child’s name]. Initially we was given the pittance of SGO allowance but now that has stopped. I am trying to re-claim however this has taken forever. That’s 500 a month we are down and now our landlord has upped our rent another 100 a month. I am now on PIP my husband has heart issues and arthritis he is working but it is crippling him. I don’t know how much longer we can go on.”

Grandparent and special guardian

Of those who felt they may have to give up caring for their child in the next year, 35% of accompanying responses explicitly mentioned financial concerns.

“Due to rising costs and limited support financially it may come down to have [sic] the children removed to local authority care. I have recently been told that because the children did not go into LA at all then we are not eligible for a lot of the financial help. If the children were in foster care then those carers would be being paid a fair wage, Just because they are related why should families be penalised?”

Aunt and special guardian

“My wife has given up work to focus on meeting the care needs of our SGO. She was the diagnosed with stage 3 heart failure in December 2022 so she now cannot meet their needs. We have had to put them into breakfast clubs, after school clubs and holiday play schemes. These have taken the financial burden to another level and whilst I receive a good wage, the cost of living and additional childcare cost has pushed us to breaking point. There are no benefits we can claim for them. My wife has a claim for PIP that is awaiting award.”

Uncle and special guardian

“The children’s allowance is currently up for a review and it really helps us. If we lose that to support the children, we have said we might have to give the children up.”

Aunt and special guardian

“If financial help is stopped, we simply won’t be able to afford to have the children… the financial support should be mandatory until the child finishes education. It should NOT be means tested either, this should be irrelevant, we have worked hard all our lives, why should we find ourselves living in poverty. What good is that for the children?”

Step grandparent and special guardian

39% mentioned challenges with (often violent) behaviour and difficulty accessing support for their kinship children’s mental health and special educational needs. In last year’s annual survey report, over half of carers said their child had behaviours which were difficult to manage and a quarter had experienced child-on-carer violence in the last year.[5] Many spoke of their family’s need for respite care to give both them and their kinship child (or children) a break.

“Lack of a support network as extended family not interested in helping. Overwhelmed dealing with SEMH [social, emotional and mental health] issues of child. Woeful lack of respite care options and us in burnout mode. We need family counselling, financial support and respite so we can resource ourselves somehow.”

Grandparent and special guardian

“Child’s behaviour is causing relationship problems within both the immediate and wider family group. This is also directly impacting on both my and my wife’s health. Need to be able to obtain respite care to enable breaks from caring and emotional support for both the child and immediate family members.”

Step grandparent and special guardian

“I had 2 grandchildren in my care, but due to behavioural difficulties I had to revoke my order for one of my granddaughters. This has left a huge impact on our lives. More so for my granddaughter. All because social services failed us as a family.”

Grandparent and special guardian

Other respondents spoke about housing pressures and overcrowding, as well as their own health and ability to physically continue caring for children at an older age.

“We live in our own 2 bedroom property with 5 people my husband and me sleep in the living room and my grandchildren boy 10 and girl 4 share a room. We live on top of each other.”

Grandparent and special guardian

“In the past 2 ½ years my physical health has deteriorated considerably. My husband is also finding it harder and without him I would be unable to cope physically without extra help.”

Grandparent and special guardian

“I have a very small 2 bedroomed house. My adult son has one room. My 18 year old special needs granddaughter has the other. My next two granddaughters have beds in my lounge and I have to sleep in a chair also in lounge. We are so over crowded.”

Grandparent currently being assessed as a family and friends foster carer

This level of uncertainty risks more than 19,000 children across England and Wales who are currently living within their family networks instead entering the already overstretched care system. This avoidable tragedy would lead to significant detrimental impacts for children, families and the public purse. Evidence suggests that educational, health and employment outcomes for children who have grown up in kinship care are often better than for those looked after by unrelated carers in foster or residential care.[6] Kinship’s own commissioned research has found that, for every 1000 children raised in kinship families rather than in local authority care, the state saves £40 million and increases the lifetime earnings of those children by £20 million.[7]

Sibling separation

Maintaining relationships with siblings can be a significant protective factor for children growing up in kinship care.[8] The UK Government’s recent response to its Stable Homes strategy consultation in England also highlights the views of children and young people who fed into the consultation who were particularly concerned about sibling separation and wanted the maintenance of these relationships to be prioritised.

Despite kinship care options offering additional opportunities to ensure brothers and sisters can be cared for together within their family network, nearly 1 in 5 respondents (18%) told us they had at some point been unable to take on the care of a brother or sister to a kinship child already in their care.



Nearly 1 in 5

were unable to take on the care of a brother or sister.

The most commonly given reasons for this included a lack of space at home (49%), the carer’s ability to manage the child’s social, emotional or mental health difficulties (46%), concerns about their own health and wellbeing as a carer (45%), and financial worries (44%). Other reasons given included the local authority refusing to support, a lack of paid leave from employment, age of the child or carer, and concerns around difficult family dynamics and ongoing contact.

“Asked to take newborn sibling but I was working full time and there is no maternity, or equivalent leave for SGO.”

Aunt and special guardian

“At the point we were asked we were facing severe challenges with existing child, no support offered to help her so we could take on her brother. It was clear that if we didn’t jump at the chance (rather than ask for support) they were moving straight onto adoption which is what has happened. Existing child has not forgiven us, me particularly.”

Step grandparent and special guardian

“Concern that, as we grow older, we may not have the energy to give two children a sufficiently stimulating life – especially given the demands of the health issues facing our first kinship child.”

Grandparent and special guardian

Assuming the pattern of responses in our survey held for the whole cohort, as 20,000 children may have entered the care system unnecessarily over the last decade. Many of the reasons expressed by kinship carers for being unable to take on additional children could be solved or tackled through appropriate support; it is completely unacceptable that so many children have been denied the opportunity to live alongside their brother(s) or sister(s) in kinship care.

[1] Adoption UK (2023)

[2] Kinship (2022a)

[3] What Works for Children’s Social Care (2023)

[4] Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (2020)

[5] Kinship (2022a)

[6] Wellard et al (2017), Sebba et al (2015), Sacker et al (2021)

[7] Nicol Economics (2020)

[8] Wellard et al (2017)


Key findings: local authority support

Case studies

Looking for more?

Discover more reports, briefings and responses, and keep up to date by checking out our kinship care policy tracker.

Policy and research

Primary Sidebar

Contents

Summary

Foreword

Introduction

Kinship households: our 2023 annual survey cohort

Key findings: kinship carers’ wellbeing

Key findings: finances

Key findings: local authority support

Key findings: keeping families together

Case studies

Recommendations

References

Spotlight on Wales

Footer

Join our kinship carer community

Sign up

Accessibility   Terms & Conditions   Contact  Complaints Policy  Privacy Statement Cookie policy Careers

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Kinship is the working name for Grandparents Plus, which is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under number 4454103 and registered as a charity under number 1093975

Registered office: The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of all cookies.
We’ve updated our Privacy Statement. Please view our Privacy Statement here.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.

Read our full cookie policy here.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
__stripe_mid1 yearThis cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any patment information on a server.
__stripe_sid30 minutesThis cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any patment information on a server.
AWSALBCORS7 daysThis cookie is used for load balancing services provded by Amazon inorder to optimize the user experience. Amazon has updated the ALB and CLB so that customers can continue to use the CORS request with stickness.
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_23461102_11 minuteThis cookie is set by Google and is used to distinguish users.
_gat_UA-23461102-11 minuteThis is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.
Others
Other uncategorised cookies are those that are being analysed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
AWSALB7 daysAWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB.
CONSENT16 years 6 months 2 days 9 hoursNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertising1 yearThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertising".
FORMASSEMBLYsessionNo description available.
give_campaignsessionNo description available.
give_contentsessionNo description available.
give_mediumsessionNo description available.
give_sourcesessionNo description available.
m2 yearsNo description available.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverNo description available.
yt-remote-device-idneverNo description available.
Advertising
Advertising cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.
YSCsessionThis cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo