Kinship Care Week webinar: A day in the life of a kinship carer
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Kinship Care Week is an opportunity to recognise the selfless work of kinship carers, raise awareness of kinship care in the community, and promote best practice among kinship care professionals. In this webinar, we will hear first-hand from Frances Rowan about her experience of becoming a kinship carer and the struggles and triumphs her family faced. For more information, go to http://mentoruk.org.uk/kinshipcareweek/
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Kinship Care Week webinar: A day in the life of a kinship carer
- 1. A day in the life of a kinship carer #KinshipCareWeek
- 2. • Introduce Mentor • Define kinship care • Outline Kinship Care Week • Hear Frances’ story • Explore what kinship carers’ needs are Today’s webinar
- 3. Mentor’s mission To promote the health and wellbeing of children and young people and prevent alcohol and drug misuse.
- 4. Research Programmes Policy Develop life skills that build resilience to risk in children & young people How we do it
- 5. Mentor-ADEPIS is publicly acknowledged as the leading source of evidence-based resources for alcohol and drug education and prevention for schools. Mentor-ADEPIS
- 6. Kinship care is an arrangement for a family member or close friend to care for children whose parents are unable to look after them. What is kinship care?
- 8. The most common reason for children entering kinship care is parental drug and alcohol abuse (67%). Reasons for kinship care
- 9. Mentor’s kinship care work
- 10. Our experience shows that kinship carers play a vital role in keeping children safe from drugs and alcohol. Their attitudes and behaviours can help shape young people’s views and help keep them safe. The role of kinship carers
- 11. A recent study found that 77% of kinship carers have asked for professional support... Why are we here today?
- 12. Practically? Emotionally? Financially? What do kinship carers need:
- 13. • Knowledge about the child’s issues • Advice on how to talk to the children • Education and training • Knowing what to do if they’re concerned about their child • Peer and one-to-one support • Help lines or a point of contact • Resources and further information Practical needs
- 14. • Empathy and gentleness • Encouragement and positivity • Knowing they’re not alone • Assurance that they can make a positive difference • A non-judgmental, non-blaming attitude • Awareness or understanding of their situation Emotional needs
- 15. • Understanding what kind of carer you are and what support is there • Child Benefit? Tax Credits? Kinship Carer Allowance? • Paying for food, clothes, school supplies, toys • Supporting yourselves as well Financial needs
- 16. • One-to-one support • Peer support groups • Couples’ therapy • Family group conferencing • Drop-in sessions • Educational groups • Respite services Types of support
- 19. Kinship Care Guide for Scotland
- 21. #KinshipCareWeek For more information visit mentoruk.org.uk/kinshipcareweek
Notes de l'éditeur
- Our mission is two-fold: to promote young people’s health and well being, and to prevent drug and alcohol misuse.
- Who we are For 17 years, Mentor has developed specialist knowledge and experience in programme delivery to prevent and reduce risks, particularly from alcohol and drugs. This helps build our evidence base of ‘what works’ for prevention – we draw on the best international scientific research available to inform our work and to help influence public policy related to the prevention of drug and alcohol misuse in the UK.
- Building our evidence base Evidence is crucial to our work, as it helps ensure programmes are effective at protecting children and young people from the harms of drugs and alcohol. The Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service is a platform for sharing information and resources aimed at schools and practitioners working in drug and alcohol prevention. ADEPIS is funded by Publich Health England and the Home Office.
- This is where professionals such as yourself can help
- Mentor launched Kinship Care Week in order for us to recognise the selfless work of kinship carers, raise awareness of kinship care in the community, and promote best practice among kinship care professionals. The week will culminate in a BBC Radio 4 charity appeal broadcast, presented by Baroness Susan Greenfield.
- We know that parental substance misuse has a great impact on children in kinship care. The children of alcoholics are four times more likely to become addicted to drink and are at a higher risk of drug problems than the rest of the population. This also includes a range of other factors which can effect a child's, physical, psychological and emotional mind.
- That's why, as part of our work to prevent harms from drugs and alcohol, Mentor provides personalised support, information and advice, as well as peer group opportunities for kinship carers and young people they care for. These services improve family relationships, build confidence and help kinship families be more positively integrated within their local community.
- They are parental figures, standing in for their parents and taking responsibility for their child. HOWEVER...
- ... But only a third of them got the help they needed. These figures need to be improved, as we are doing a disservice to vulnerable families who do not know where to turn to.
- We need to be thinking about how we can recognise and address a range of needs. Kinship carers should access the same level of emotional, practical and financial support as foster carers, as they are caring for children with the same level of need.
- Practical support, such as training and respite care, should be made available to all kinship carers. 53% of kinship carers state that they have other long-term health problems. For those looking after a child later in life, this can present different challenges from when they raised their own children, for example the rise of the internet can leave some older kinship carers feeling lost about how to keep their kinship child or children safe online. –education, jargon for education It is clear that kinship carers need access to the same levels of support that foster carers receive to be able to fully support the children in their care. It is recognised that many LAs have a Family and Friends Care Policy. However, the policies across regions vary, with some offering more support, or easier access to different levels of support.
- In terms of emotional support, children who are looked after by kinship carers due to parental drug or alcohol use may have also been subjected to other traumatic experiences, such as domestic violence, abuse, neglect, parental imprisonment or bereavement. A 2014 report by Grandparents Plus highlighted that 48% of all kinship carers are raising children who have emotional or behavioural difficulties and 35% stated that they faced significant challenges supporting children to cope with past trauma or abuse.
- Practitioners working in drug and alcohol family support services recognised that the biggest barrier for services supporting kinship carers is funding. Whilst services do support kinship carers within the family support structures already available, it is recognised that the lack of funding has been a major barrier for providing specific kinship carer support. Understanding type of care - informal vs formal kinship carer, foster parent, special guardian, etc. – and what support is available Further barriers include a difficulty in attracting kinship carers to groups that are running. This can be associated with the stigma that surrounds having a drug or alcohol user in the family, which is often difficult for families to overcome. 80% of kinship carers stated that they felt stigmatised or discriminated against for being a kinship carer.
- Practitioners who support kinship carers recognise that there should be a variety of support available to this group according to their needs.
- Grandparents Plus also has the Kinship Care Guide for England, a vital resource written for kinship carers. It is also designed to be useful for social workers and others who work with special guardians, family and friends foster carers and other kinship carers. The guide provides detailed guidance on: - what the law says, and the different types of kinship care and legal orders - what help is available to kinship carers.
- This guidance leaflet, written with the help of kinship carers, offers advice and information to carers based on their own experiences. Available from Mentor’s website under ‘Info + advice for kinship carers’
- Mentor first published its Kinship Care Guide in 2009 and it has since become a vital resource for both kinship carers and professionals. It provides a definitive account of responsibilities, legal rights, financial rights and support for all kinship carers in Scotland, and offers step-by-step guidance on each of the processes that kinship carers may be involved in.
- Legal, social or just someone to talk to in order to see what ones rights are. Adfam, addaction, action on addition Frank, WNFO Coram, CAB, FRG