Research by children’s charity Buttle UK, which provides grants to help vulnerable children in the UK, and the University of Bristol, shows that around 173,200 children were being raised by family members in 2001, approximately one in every 77 children in the UK. This figure is likely to have increased significantly in the last ten years, claim the authors.
The Spotlight on Kinship Care report, the first phase of a two-part study funded by the Big Lottery and based on data from the 2001 census, revealed that cities had higher rates of kinship care, with one in every 59 children in Bristol being brought up by a relative. Forty-four per cent of kinship families were living in the poorest areas of the country.
According to the study, more than 90 per cent of kinship care arrangements in each region, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, were informal arrangements between parents and relatives, which meant carers were not entitled to any financial support from social services.
The figures also show the majority of kinship carers in 2001 were grandparents, with the highest rate of grandparent care in Wales, where 40 per cent had a longterm illness or disability. In contrast half of all the kinship care children in Northern Ireland were being cared for by a sibling.
Gerri McAndrew, chief executive of Buttle UK, said, ‘Our analysis provides a snapshot of the issue in 2001, but the number of children affected is already significantly higher partly due to changes to the nature of the family, increasing levels of problem drug and alcohol use, and legislation that encourages the placement of children with family. Kinship care is a positive solution for many children and it is vital that local authorities plan for the needs of these children to improve their life chances.’
Buttle UK is now calling on local authorities with responsibility for children’s services to use the study to inform their families and friends care policies,
which they are legally required to have in place by the end of September.
Commenting on the report, Sam Smethers, chief executive of Grandparents Plus, said, ‘We want to see local authorities implementing new statutory guidance in full, and ensuring that the children being brought up in family and friends care and their families are given the support they need.’
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