Kinship Care Lynn Chesterman Chief Executive The Grandparents - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Kinship Care

Lynn Chesterman Chief Executive The Grandparents’ Association

The Grandparents’ Association

• Established in 1987 – originally because of

adoption issues.

• Only national charity working for

grandchildren and grandparents in public and grandchildren and grandparents in public and private law and on issues of kinship care, contact and childcare.

• Approximately 8,000 calls per annum to the

helpline 0845 434 9585

The Grandparents’ Association

• 2 million hits per annum on the website

www.grandparents-association.org.uk

• Input to 58 support groups and rising.

Offices in Harlow, Leeds, Portsmouth and

• Offices in Harlow, Leeds, Portsmouth and

London delivering national and local services.

• Delivering some specialist services – eg

London’s crime project.

• Staff will reduce in April 2011 to 14 (most p/t)

The Grandparents’ Association

• Helpline:
• From April, 1 staff member and 18 volunteers
• Core hours 10.00 – 16.00 Monday to Friday
• Average call lasts 11 minutes

24.2% referred by other agencies (mainly CAB)

• 24.2% referred by other agencies (mainly CAB)
• 22.05% of calls followed media involvement
• 5.1% personal recommendations
• 48% contact and family feud
• 8% adoption
• 38% kinship/family and friends care

The Grandparents’ Association

• Helpline ctd...
• Staff spent 3120 hours on calls
• Volunteers spent 1560 hours
• Accredited by THA and LSC.
• 72% of callers stated that they would recommend the

service and felt that it had helped them with their relationships with their grandchildren.

The Grandparents’ Association

• Unique welfare benefits system for kinship

carers (p/t)

• Calls increased by 48% in last year to 439
• 18 kinship carers received individual grants or holidays

18 kinship carers received individual grants or holidays

• 1 received a new computer via government grant
• Member of HMRC benefits group
• Top agency for holidays
• Over £300,000 of benefits claimed – an increase of

£56,500 over the last year.

The Grandparents’ Association

• Membership, Lawyers, Social Care
• Executive member of Kinship Care Alliance
• Chair of Alliance on Family Contact

Support groups:

• Support groups:
• An average of 128 grandparents receive regular

monthly support

• Grandparent and Toddler groups.

Kinship Care

• Kinship Care or Family and Friends Care?
• New government guidance on family and

friends care introduced April 2011 Still different levels:

• Still different levels:
• Informal carers
• Foster carers
• With Special Guardianship Orders
• With Residence Orders

Kinship Care

• How many?
• Approximately 200,000 – 300,000 children live with

friends and family because they are unable to live at home. Many of these children would be in the care of the

• Many of these children would be in the care of the

state if they were not within their extended family.

• Only around 7,000 children living in such placements

are know to the local authorities.

• Most receive little support – especially financial –

hence referrals to Nigel increase!

Kinship Care

• What we know:
• Family and friends placements are more stable than

unrelated care placements

• 3 out of 4 carers experience financial hardship
• One third are lone carers and 1 in 3 live in overcrowded

conditions.

• 3 out of 10 have a chronic illness or disability.
• 60% of children being cared for by family and friends

had been exposed to substance misuse.

Kinship Care

• A recent briefing on behalf of the Kinship Care

Alliance by Family Rights Group also added:

• Children feel loved and report higher levels of satisfaction.
• Children placed within their family can more easily maintain

a sense of family and cultural identity. a sense of family and cultural identity.

• Contact with family members is more likely to be

maintained than when placed in stranger foster care.

• Children placed with family and friends appear to be as safe

and their behaviour perceived to be less problematic when compared to children in unrelated foster care

Children’s Voices

• In 2010 The Grandparents’ Association

published Children’s Voices – listening to young people living with their grandparents. Here are some of their comments: Here are some of their comments:

Children’s Voices

• I just want to be like everyone else. I don’t

have anyone to call Mum or Dad. If I call my grandparents this then I wouldn’t have anyone to call Grandma and Grandad. to call Grandma and Grandad.

Children’s Voices

• What happens when they are dead? They are
• ld people. I get scared and have nightmares. I

don’t know what happens when they are dead? dead?

Grandparent’s Voice

• Drugs and alcohol still carry stigma. Children

are taunted at school and do not get invited in to other children’s homes. I also feel isolated and am not welcomed into a lot of circles with and am not welcomed into a lot of circles with friends my own age.

Children’s Voices

• I tell my nana that she needs more help. I wish I

could help with money.

• My grandparents need help to bring me up. It can

be hard for them when I am angry. I don’t get enough help as I am only 14 years old

• I don’t get enough help as I am only 14 years old

and I am a young father now. My partner is 14 years old too.

• We don’t have holidays and I don’t get much

pocket money even my nanny has to get my uniform.

Children’s Voices

• My nana did not get financial help until I was

the age of 14/15. It wasn’t enough as I needed a lot of things at that age.

• On friends:

On friends:

• I would like to meet others because you can

come to know them and find out why they live with their grandparents.

• I would like to meet at a youth club or centre –

NOT SCHOOL

Children’s Voices

• I get the mick taken out of me at school
• Having their views heard:
• No one asks my views. I live with grandparents

because my mum can’t look after me properly. because my mum can’t look after me properly.

• It makes no difference. I said I wanted to live

with my grandma. No one listened.

• It would be nice if you carry on helping young

children living with grandparents as it is very tough.

Grandparents’ Voices

• Would you like to be a foster carer for

.........shire? This advert should make you all apply!

• This advert should make you all apply!

The Grandparents’ Association

Moot House The Stow Harlow, Essex CM20 3AG 01279 428040 01279 428040 Helpline: 0845 434 9585 Welfare Benefits: 0844 357 1033 www.grandparents-association.org.uk Lynn.chesterman@grandparents-association.org.uk