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.
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.
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.
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 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.
It is estimated that 200,000 children in the United Kingdom who cannot live with their parents are being brought up by grandparents, older siblings or other wider family members or friends. These family and friends carers are also known as kinship carers.
There are many benefits to kinship care, including better outcomes for children compared to other areas of the care system, the kinship carers’ dedication and love for their children, and the fact that children in kinship care can maintain ties with their family networks, improving their sense of identity and belonging.
However, many kinship carers face unique challenges while caring for their children. Three out of four kinship carers experience severe financial hardship, with half of kinship carers having to give up work to raise their children, many of whom require a lot of love and support due to the adversities they have faced. Many carers also go through stressful and expensive legal proceedings to secure their child’s future.
At Family Rights Group, it is our mission to ensure the child welfare and family justice systems support children to live safely and thrive within their family. Together with other organisations, we are part of the Kinship Care Alliance which lobbies for greater rights and support for kinship carers at Westminster, Cardiff, and in local councils.
We helped to develop best practises on kinship care internationally, with dedicated sessions on the topic at The Kempe Centre International Virtual Conference 2022. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to learn from and share our expertise with over 3,000 academics, practitioners, and people with lived experience from across the world – and hopefully improve the support available for kinship carers worldwide.
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