In February, Gillian Keegan MP, the Education Secretary pledged to “unlock the potential of kinship care” so that “children who cannot stay with their parents are cared for by people who know and love them already”.
With David Johnston OBE taking on the job of Children’s Minister last week, this is the Government’s opportunity to rise to the scale of the challenge facing the children’s social care sector. This must involve Departments across government taking kinship care seriously.
If the Government’s strategy were to address these six areas of concern for kinship families, it would help ensure that kinship arrangements remain viable for families across the country who take on responsibility for children in need, often at great personal cost.