How to contact us for advice
We provide advice to parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and kinship carers who are involved with children’s services in England or need their help. We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.
Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.
To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). For Textphone dial 18001 followed by the advice line number. Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.
Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.
Our get help and advice section describes the processes that you and your family are likely to go through, so that you know what to expect. Our webchat service can help you find the information and advice on our website which will help you understand the law and your rights.
In 2013 Family Rights Group was one of eight voluntary organisations that conducted the Care Inquiry.
The 2013 Care Inquiry found that the greatest failing of the care system and associated child welfare procedures is that they too often break, rather than build, relationships for children in or on the edge of care. That was the driver behind the development of Lifelong Links.
Family Rights Group has developed Lifelong Links in collaboration with key stakeholders including local authorities, young people in care and care leavers, families and foster carers. We spent a year developing the Lifelong Links approach and then, in 2017 conducted a three year trial of Lifelong Links with 13 local authorities in England. We are midway through a five year trial in Scotland with five local authorities.
Children and young people in 23 local authorities in England and Scotland are now being offered Lifelong Links.
Family Rights Group are the leading experts on Lifelong Links. Local authorities who would like to introduce Lifelong Links are able to commission a bespoke training and consultancy package from us.
Further details on the Lifelong Links training and consultancy package for local authorities new to Lifelong Links can be downloaded here.
Further details on the Lifelong Links service development package for existing Lifelong Links local authorities can be downloaded here.
If you are interested in exploring how Lifelong Links could be introduced to your local authority or how your existing Lifelong Links service can be developed and sustained then please get in touch with Lucy Hutchinson lhutchinson@frg.org.uk.
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