Grandparents Plus’ new support service for kinship carers, Kinship Connected, has now been commissioned by a quarter of London boroughs.
Run by national kinship care charity Grandparents Plus, Kinship Connected will provide one to one support and develop peer support groups for Special Guardians and kinship carers in Barnet, Bromley, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Southwark.
Ade Adetosoye OBE, Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Education, Care and Health Services for the London borough of Bromley, said:
We’re very excited to be commissioning the ‘Kinship Connected’ service through Grandparents Plus to bring support to people in Bromley who look after family members under Special Guardianship orders. Here in Bromley, we are focused on finding permanent homes for children and we already know how crucial Special Guardians are to this mission. So, supporting our kinship carers really makes sense. We’re committed to making sure that Special Guardians are seen in the same light as foster carers and adopters – caring for and keeping our children safe. Generally, they need similar support and we believe that Kinship Connected can offer that support to help Bromley children get the best out of life, no matter their circumstances.
Kate O’Brien, Director of Programmes and Business Development at Grandparents Plus, said:
It’s fantastic that Kinship Connected will soon be available in a quarter of London boroughs. We’ve been working with kinship carers for over 15 years, and we know that while there’s a desperate need for more support, local authorities aren’t always in the best position to provide it. By partnering with local authorities, we can offer kinship carers support that’s proven to help them and start to break down barriers between carers and public services.
If you’re a kinship carer, you can get involved with Kinship Connected by getting in touch here.
