Scandal of kinship carers sleeping on sofas and floors to keep children out of care, new Kinship report reveals

Kinship carers and children are being forced to sleep on sofas, chairs and floors to give kinship children a place to sleep and keep families together. 

A new report from Kinship, reveals the shocking daily sacrifices made by cash-strapped kinship carers, including grandparents and single kinship carers who step up to raise more than 141,000 children in England and Wales when their parents can’t. 

Kinship’s annual survey of nearly 2,000 kinship carers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings, reveals that nearly 1 in 5 kinship carers report that either they, their kinship child, or another child in the family sleeps in unsuitable conditions due to lack of space and support. This includes sleeping on a sofa, chair, floor, sharing a bed/bedroom, or giving up their own bedroom. 

Half of those surveyed are over 65 and one in three (34%) are raising two or more children. More than 6 in 10 (63%) took in children under four and more than one third (36%) are caring for children on their own. 

Unlike foster carers, most kinship carers are not entitled to a financial allowance, emotional or practical support leaving many impoverished, exhausted and abandoned. 

The survey reveals: 

• 4 in 10 (44%) are using savings to cope with the high cost of living compared to 30% of the population  
• 1 in 5 (18%) had a direct debit, standing order or bill they couldn’t afford to pay in the last month – three times the national average (6%) 
• nearly 1 in 3 (28%) are using credit more than usual, such as credit cards, loans or overdrafts, to provide for their children, nearly twice the national average (15%) 
• more than 1 in 8 (13%) remain concerned they won’t be able to continue caring for their kinship children in the next year, citing poor health, lack of support and financial worries

Grandmother kinship carer Rebekah, 63, from Kent who stepped up to raise her two grandchildren now aged 7 and 13 after the death of their mother, sleeps on the sofa in the lounge next to her granddaughter who sleeps in a large chair. Her adult son and grandson have a bedroom each. 

She said: “We’ve had to sleep like this for six years as we only have 2-bedrooms. We desperately need more room. I’ve had my name down on the list for a bigger housing association property, but nothing has come up. 

“Life is difficult. I have difficulty paying bills, so we keep the heating off as much as possible in the winter. I have to use food banks and when something breaks down, I can’t afford to replace it. As kinship carers we need to receive support to help us raise the children we love who would otherwise be in the care system. 

Kinship Chief Executive, Lucy Peake said:  

“It’s outrageous that kinship carers including grandparents are having to sleep on floors and sofas so the children they love have somewhere to sleep. 

“Many are spending savings and pensions, going into debt, and making daily sacrifices to raise children who have experienced trauma, separation and loss.  

“The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care recommended a bold plan to ensure that more kinship children could grow up in well supported kinship families, who receive financial support, legal aid and paid leave from work. 

“But the government has failed to deliver this – the reforms they have committed to are insufficient and our new evidence shows they could be exacerbating some of the most dysfunctional aspects of our kinship care system, encouraging more families into a system that isn’t set up to support them. Many kinship families are still only receiving a few crumbs of support, leaving many worrying whether they can continue to look after their kinship children. 

“Although we welcome the government’s commitment to pilot financial allowances and to reviewing employment leave entitlements for kinship carers, they shouldn’t have to wait years for the findings of these when the evidence couldn’t be clearer that this is desperately needed to keep families out of poverty. 

“We look forward to working again with the new Children’s Minister, Josh MacAlister, who has championed kinship care and understands what needs to change for kinship families.” 

Read the full report