Kinship families struggling to buy Christmas presents

A new poll of our community of kinship carers has revealed that 6 in 10 kinship carers are worried about being able to afford Christmas presents for the children in their care.

Christmas will be especially difficult for those raising the children of family members and friends, who, unlike foster carers, do not usually receive financial support to help them cover the costs of raising a child in need of a loving home.

The results of the poll were also published in the Metro on 21 December along with Fiona and Rebekah’s kinship care stories about how they are struggling this Christmas.

In the poll of more than 1000 kinship carers, almost 1 in 5 told us they think they will use food banks over the Christmas period and almost half said they are likely or very likely to fall into debt to pay for Christmas.

Lisa Watch, Kinship’s Director of Policy and Communications said:

“It is heartbreaking that so many kinship families are struggling to afford presents and food during the festive season, Despite having stepped up to care for children who have experienced trauma at a moment’s notice, most kinship carers do not receive financial support to help cover the cost of the children in their care like foster carers do, which pushes many kinship carers, and the children they’re caring for, into unnecessary poverty.

“That means that right now, there are many thousands of kinship carers wondering how on earth they are going to buy the children in their care a Christmas present or buy the ingredients for a Christmas dinner.

“This Christmas, kinship carers will provide the home, stability and love that more than 141,000 children across England and Wales need, but it shouldn’t be this hard for them. We’re calling on the government to introduce financial support for all kinship carers, all year round, on a par with what foster carers receive.”

Read the Metro article here.