How to contact us for advice

Find out more

Telephone Handler
Close form

Our advice service

Are you a parent, kinship carer relative or friend of a child who is involved with, or who needs the help of, children’s services in England? 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.

Telephone Handler

By phone or email

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). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.

Discuss on our forums

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.

Advice on our website

Our get help and advice section has template letters, advice sheets and resources about legal and social care processes. On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, you can use our webchat service to chat online to an adviser.

 

Exit
Family Rights Group
Cover Your Tracks
Generic filters
Exact matches only

Improving racial equality in kinship care through access to Family Rights Group’s Advice and Advocacy Service

Sharon McPherson is co-founder of Families in Harmony, a charity which supports kinship carers from African, Caribbean or Black Mixed heritage. Many of the kinship carers supported by Families in Harmony feel unable to contact other charities and organisations for fear that they would not be understood or engaged with as well as they would want to, because of their race.

Families in Harmony often access advice from Family Rights Group’s Advice and Advocacy Service on behalf of the kinship carers they support. They then report back to the kinship carers, often assisting in taking matters further with the local authority.

In this sound clip, Sharon explains more about the importance of Family Rights Group’s advice line to Families in Harmony.

Listen to Sharon talk about the importance of advice:

Read what Sharon said:

“As co-founder of Families in Harmony, a charity supporting kinship carers from African and Caribbean heritage, we know our networks having access to Family Rights Group’s national advice line has been an essential element of improving access to vital information.

Many of our network kinship carers do not feel safe due to broken trust divulging their personal information to professionals. Therefore, having the option of Families in Harmony accessing this vital information on their behalf has led to an increased number accessing essential support and advice relating to things such as adoption, support fund, financial hardship and housing.

These requests have sometimes come when the kinship care arrangement is at a point of breakdown. Family Rights Group advice line has provided assistance through information that has led to the kinship carers being more confident to approach their local authority from an informed perspective, leading to better engagement and outcomes.

Ongoing support and funding for Family Rights Group advice line is a crucial part, we feel, of improving racial equity in kinship care.”

Get advice

Family Rights Group is an independent charity and we are not connected to your local authority’s children’s services department. We offer free, independent and confidential advice for parents, kinship carers, relatives and friends of children who are involved with children’s services in England or need their help. We support families to work with social workers and understand the law, their rights and options.

Our Advice and Advocacy Service includes:

February 2025

People pie chart

Our funding means we can currently only help 4 in 10 people

Your donation will help more families access expert legal advice and support from Family Rights Group.

Donate Now