Nigel Minns, Chair of the ADCS Health, Care and Additional Needs Policy Committee, said:

“We recognise the love and dedication of family or friends who step in to provide children with a loving, stable home when they can’t live with their birth parents. Kinship care or extended family care enables the continuation of existing relationships with family members or friends while children navigate their early childhood experiences. The number of children in our care continues to rise, as has the use of kinship care arrangements, so it is crucial that the system provides the right support for the children and the families involved.

“The varying way in which kinship arrangements have been developed in local authorities so far will be linked to levels of funding, amongst other things. Above all else, it is important that the needs and best interests of each individual child always remains at the heart of decision making. The kinship care strategy offers a blueprint to change the way we work with and support a significant number of children for the better. We await new government guidance on kinship care for local authorities, however, this will need to be backed by sufficient government funding to ensure all children and families get the same access to the financial and practical support they need to thrive.”

ENDS