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Time To Define Kinship Care
Kinship care is when a relative or friend raises a child who cannot live with their parents. In April 2026, kinship care was defined in law in England for the first time, in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. Family Rights Group’s Time to Define campaign called for this definition. This page explains what it means for kinship carers, children and practitioners, and what we are still campaigning for.
What is kinship care?
Kinship care is when a family member or friend steps in to raise children who are unable to live with their parents. Such situations often arise out of tragedy or trauma. Often the children would otherwise live with strangers in the care system.
Kinship care can take different forms including kinship foster care, special guardianship, child arrangements orders, private fostering or private family arrangements.
Why do we need a definition of kinship care in law?
A single definition of kinship care in law can improve recognition for all kinship families. Without it, there has not been a clear understanding across society of what kinship care is. This means kinship carers can face many challenges, including not being recognised in their parenting role by hospital services, schools, or employers.
It also means kinship care is interpreted in different ways by government, state agencies, services, and the public including kinship carers themselves. Families then face a postcode lottery in the support available to them locally. For many, there is little or no support for the child or themselves, particularly those with informal arrangements. This has prevented children from receiving the support they need to live safely and thrive in their families.
How can a legal definition of kinship care lead to a more effective support system?
Family Rights Group has proposed the definition should cover all the different types of kinship care arrangement. It should be applied across national government and all parts of public life at a local level. From school admissions forms to DWP benefits assessments. From the NHS to local authority services.
Meeting the definition could automatically passport kinship carers and their children to a minimum level of support and services. All kinship children, regardless of the type of arrangement they have, should be able to access crucial support to live safely and thrive in their family.
That support should include access to free legal aid and advice, paid employment leave akin to adoption leave, improved financial support, practical help including peer support, and educational and therapeutic support for kinship children.
Caroline Lynch, Legal Director, Family Rights Group
“Without an agreed definition, kinship carers can quickly run into a myriad of confusion and misunderstanding. At the very moment when the child they are caring for needs stability and support, kinship carers find they are having to constantly explain who they are and what they need.”
Kinship carer, Clare Walsh, faced problems when taking her nephew to hospital:
“If a legal definition had been in place, my nephew and I would still have had the usual scary experiences of early childhood illness – but we wouldn’t have had the extreme stress and fear that was forced on us because we had no legal status. I know so many carers who have experienced this, and we all felt the same fear and panic.”
Campaign timeline
Our campaign has gathered support from kinship carers, practitioners, politicians and organisations from across the sector, including:
Local Government Association
“We support the recommendation of the review to develop a new legal definition of kinship care, building on work by the Family Rights Group, to ensure that those caring for children in a range of circumstances are able to receive the support they are entitled to.”
Rt Hon Alan Johnson
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Kinship Care
“National government should ensure kinship care in all its forms is recognised and understood including in national and local government policy making, by legislating for a universal definition of kinship care. It is time to define kinship care.”
Kinship Care Bill
In July 2022, Liberal Democrat MP and Education Spokesperson, Munira Wilson, introduced the Kinship Care Bill in the House of Commons. The Bill would provide a statutory definition of kinship care and make it easier for kinship carers to access support.
More information about our proposals
Read our full proposal
The proposal has been informed by the views of thousands of kinship carers including members of our kinship carers’ panel and those who contact our specialist national advice service every year. It has also been influenced by research, and the policy and practice insights of Family Rights Group and other members of the Kinship Care Alliance.
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How kinship care could be defined
Our second paper considers what the legal definition of kinship carers could look like. We have drawn on our unique combination of legal and social work expertise, and direct work with families, to devise this draft definition. Kinship carers from our panel have helped us to think through language and practicalities.
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