Transforming Support for Kinship Carers: developing policy and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transforming Support for Kinship Carers: developing policy and practice in Australia and the UK

Lucy Peake Chief Executive Grandparents Plus lucy.peake@grandparentsplus.org.uk @drlucypeake @GPlusInfo

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Presentation overview

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About Grandparents Plus Where are we now? Some challenges

• Kinship care in the UK and Australia
• The children and the carers
• Policy and practice context

Where do we want to get to? Some opportunities

• Emerging practice - Kinship Connected
• Awareness raising - Kinship Care Week
• Legislation – towards a Kinship Care Act?

Grandparents Plus is the only national charity (England & Wales) dedicated solely to supporting all kinship carers

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We want to transform support for kinship families by:

• Raising awareness
• Influencing policy and practice change
• Developing support for every family

Transforming Support for Kinship Carers: developing policy and practice in Australia and the UK

Free national advice service - independent, confidential and non-judgemental. Key issues: legal options and financial support – 2,000+ enquiries/year Someone Like Me – kinship carer volunteers support our advice service, offering emotional and practical peer support Digital information hub in development

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Advice and information

Transforming Support for Kinship Carers: developing policy and practice in Australia and the UK

Kinship Care Network

Our national network of 5,500+ kinship carers makes us unique Carers join to connect with each other and us (free family events, partner offers, training, campaigning, research and policy) We’re building a kinship care community of individuals and support groups - a movement for change

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Kinship care programmes

Our tried-and-tested programmes are delivered in collaboration with local authorities and kinship carers, including: Kinship Connected - 1:1 support and peer support group development Kinship Ready - prep workshops for special guardians Kinship Active – intergenerational health and activity programme for kinship families

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Children raised by relatives in kinship care, England (2011 census)

153,000 children - 1 in 74; increasing faster than child population More prevalent in non-white ethnic groups – 1 in 37 children in black ethnic group in kinship care More prevalent in the poorest areas - 76% children in kinship care growing up in deprived household 2 x more likely to have a long-term health problem/disability than children growing up with at least one parent Source: Bristol Kinship Study (2017)

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Children raised by relatives in kinship care, England (2011 census)

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[PERCENTAGE] [PERCENTAGE] [PERCENTAGE]

% of children with

Grandparents Siblings Other

Kinship care terminology

(closest equivalents)

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England & Wales Australia Kinship/family & friends/ connected person foster care Statutory or formal kinship care Looked after child Child in care Special Guardianship Order (SGO) Permanent Care Order (PCO) – Vic Residence Order Child Arrangements Order

Support is determined by legal order

90-95% of children in kinship care are in informal arrangements Special Guardianship is on the rise – increasing focus on need to support these children – but limited to previously looked after children with SGO (eg ASGLB, Adoption Support Fund, Pupil Premium Plus) Increase in number of children in care – kinship foster care rising faster than non-related

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Children in kinship care and foster care, England & Wales

(2011 data)

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12–15 September 2017 London

Our survey – the carers

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• 1,139 responses – largest UK survey of kinship carers
• 85% are working age: 76% are aged 45-64; 15% are 65+
• 89% women
• 79% grandparents (mostly maternal), 11% aunts/uncles
• 61% married/living with partner; 34% single carers
• 43% have a disability or long-term health condition
• 59% raising one child, 28% raising two children, 13%

raising three or more

• Over half (57%) have an SGO, 16% have a Residence

Order, 5% a Child Arrangements Order

• One-third have multiple caring responsibilities

Our survey – children’s prior experiences

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• Half (51%) experienced parental drug/alcohol

misuse

• Half (54%) experienced abuse and/or neglect
• One-third (31%) lived in a home where there was

domestic abuse

• 7% brought up by relatives because a parent had

died

• 4 in 10 kinship carers stepped in because a parent

was ‘unable to cope’

Our survey – children’s needs

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Over half (54%) of the children have special needs. Of this group:

• 85% have emotional or behavioural issues
• 34% have a learning difficulty/disability
• 26% have autistic spectrum disorder/Asperger’s
• 13% have chronic health issues
• 11% have foetal alcohol spectrum disorders
• 7% have a physical disability

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ADD INFOGRAPHIC

Transforming Support for Kinship Carers: developing policy and practice in Australia and the UK

Unmet support needs

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• Over a third (36%) say they find it difficult to make ends

meet financially (despite 66% getting a financial allowance)

• Only 11% of kinship carers get the information they need

from their local authority

• Just 11% of kinship carers say they get the emotional

support they need

• 26% say their physical health has been worse and 52%

say their mental health has been worse since being a carer

• One-third (32%) of carers are worried about their

mental & physical health & ability to carry out their kinship care role

‘Once the child is no longer under a local authority care order, unless you fight for help, finance or information, you and the child don’t exist.’ (kinship carer, 2018) ‘We are the forgotten. Once you get the

• rders nobody is interested.’ (kinship

carer, 2018) ‘We have to end the dump and run approach.’ (social worker, 2019)

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Benefits of kinship care

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Outcomes generally better for YP in kinship care than those in care

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Continuity

• Prior relationship with carer reduced disruption of move

into kinship care and contributed to placement stability

• Two-thirds went into kinship care with at least one sibling
• Relationships with wider family ongoing

Stability

• Three-quarters lived continuously with their carer until

independence Close relationships with carers

• YP felt close to carers and could confide in them

Educational attainment (GCSE outcomes) and care arrangements, 2013 (Sebba et al, 2015)

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Why invest in kinship care

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Kinship Connected

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Tailored 1-1 support Peer support group development Specialist advice

• Delivered by Grandparents Plus since 2013
• 1-1 support for over 1,000 kinship carers
• 46 sustainable and kinship carer led support groups
• Replicable model, commissioned by 15 local authorities
• Evaluation underway with control group – report due 2020

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Kinship Connected Theory of Change

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Kinship Connected impact

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• High level of service satisfaction: 100% of special guardians

rated the quality of the support they receive good or excellent

• Data indicates positive impact on special guardian wellbeing

and other factors, such as:

• Increased positivity regarding children’s health & wellbeing
• More able to deal with the children’s behaviour
• Reduced financial concerns
• Feeling more supported
• Feeling more optimistic about the future
• Better family relationships

Evaluation based on Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (Starks

Consulting & Ecorys, 2019)

Transforming Support for Kinship Carers: developing policy and practice in Australia and the UK

Impact for local authorities

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• Improved kinship carer confidence, engagement and trust in

local authority – improves relationships, increases uptake of training, requests for support

• Crisis prevention – reduces need for costly intervention /

children entering care

• Cost savings – estimated cost saving of £1/4m in local authority

budgets across north east 2014-17 – reduced number of children

• n child protection plans and children in need plans
• Social action approach: 91% want to join a peer support

group; delivers impact and reduces reliance on LA services ‘There’s a big gap within the local authority in terms of support for kinship carers. This project is a lifeline.’ (Local authority commissioning service)

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An economic case for investment?

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More consistent, better resourced support for kinship carers can help deliver better outcomes for children and carers and has potential to reduce the current 75,000 children in the care system in England by:

(a) increasing children on SGOs rather than in kinship foster care (b) supporting a shift into kinship care for some children in non- related foster care (c) ensuring that kinship carers are supported properly and are able to continue to care for the children rather than some placements breaking down and children entering the care system.

Transforming Support for Kinship Carers: developing policy and practice in Australia and the UK

Awareness raising & influencing change

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• Kinship Care State of the Nation annual survey
• Kinship Care Week – 5-11 October 2019
• Kinship Care Parliamentary Taskforce
• Kinship Care Alliance
• Kinship care aware policy making

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Policy and practice change (UK)

Kinship Care Professionals Group Strategic boards, eg ASGLB Social worker training

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The dream for children in kinship care in the UK and Australia

Recognition for all kinship care families (informal & formal) in national social policy, and in benefits and support services.

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Conclusions and commitments

Lessons learnt Where we want to get to… Our quick wins… Our long term goals… Message to myself…

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Let’s transform support for kinship families together

www.grandparentsplus.org.uk @GPlusInfo Lucy Peake, Chief Executive lucy.peake@grandparentsplus.org.uk @drlucypeake

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