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.
Over 104,000 children and young people are currently being raised in the care system in the UK. The highest number in over 30 years. The child welfare system is under huge pressure.
Most are living with unrelated foster carers or in residential care away from their family network. In England, only 15% of these children are being raised by relatives or friends who have become their foster carers (kinship foster care) and the proportion varies significantly between local authorities. In Wales, 22% of looked after children are in kinship foster care, and in Scotland, 31% of all looked after children are placed formally with kinship carers.
This new polling data shows that the vast majority of the public would prefer their children to be raised in kinship care, by relatives or friends, if they were unable to remain at home.
38%
Grandparents
14%
Aunt/uncle
11%
Brothers/sisters
21%
Other relatives
New government data from parliamentary questions submitted to the Department for Education by Helen Hayes MP shows huge variation between local authorities in England in the likelihood of a child being placed with family or friend foster carers, compared to unrelated foster carers and residential care.
For example, 29% of looked after children in Leeds are in kinship foster care compared to only 7.5% in County Durham.
In Wales, 22% of looked after children are living with kinship foster carers. This ranges from 9% in Casnewydd to 30% in Abertawe (Data provided by Y Bont).
When compared internationally, the 15% of children in care in England in kinship care is much lower than a third in the US, just over half in Australia and nearly two thirds in New Zealand.
Family Rights Group, alongside the All Party Parliamentary Group on Kinship Care and the Kinship Care Alliance, have called for kinship care to be explored as the first point of call when there are concerns about a child’s welfare.
Alongside children in kinship foster care, there are many more children who are not in the care system but are being raised by kinship carers under other types of legal arrangement. In total, more than 180,000 children across the UK are raised in kinship care. Many have experienced similar adversities to those in the care system but they and their carers are entitled to much less support.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Kinship Care has been campaigning for paid employment leave for kinship carers and the extension of legal aid to cover legal advice and representation for current and prospective kinship carers. Conservative MP, Katherine Fletcher, also has an upcoming Private Members’ Bill on kinship carers leave.
“Kinship care should be the first thought not an afterthought for children who cannot remain with their parents. The new polling data finds that the vast majority of us would want our child to be raised by a family member or friend, if we couldn’t care for them. We overwhelmingly prefer this to our child going into unrelated foster or residential care or being adopted.
“Research also bears out that children raised in kinship care report feeling loved and secure, and overall do better than other children in the care system. Kinship carers often go above and beyond for the children.
“Unfortunately, just 15% of children in care in England are being raised by relatives or friends, compared to nearly a third in the US and nearly two thirds in New Zealand. Moreover, there is huge variation between English local authorities in the chances of a child in care being placed with a family member, with nearly 30% of looked after children in Leeds in kinship foster care compared to only 7% in County Durham.
“All children should have the right to be raised within their family, where it is safe. Their chance to do so shouldn’t depend on which part of the country they are born.”
All percentages have been calculated based on the exclusion of ‘don’t knows’ and rounded to the nearest whole number. Polling was UK wide and carried out between 29th November and 2nd December 2021. Full data tables can be viewed here.
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