Kinship Care Week is running from 5 to 11 October 2021, and is our chance to celebrate kinship families and raise awareness of the role of kinship carers.
Kinship care is when a child lives full-time or most of the time with a relative or friend who isn’t their parent, usually because their parents aren’t able to care for them. That relative or friend is called a ‘kinship carer’, and it’s estimated that around half of kinship carers are grandparents, but many other relatives including older siblings, aunts, uncles, as well as family friends and neighbours can also be kinship carers.
There are lots of different types of kinship care, and if you’re a kinship carer, you might find that as circumstances change, the type of kinship carer you are may change too. Kinship care includes children who may be:
- living in an informal arrangement made by their parents
- ‘looked after’ by the local authority and placed with family and friends foster carers
- on a Child Arrangements Order or Special Guardianship Order
Kinship carers are also often referred to as ‘family and friends carers’ or ‘connected carers’.
If you have any questions about friends and family foster carers or would like to find out more information about how you can foster for us and inspire a child’s future, please visit the Fostering Devon website or call us on 0345 155 1077.