A Greater Manchester
grandmother bringing up her grandchildren has highlighted concerns over what
she believes is a lack of substantial state support for kinship carers.
Linzi, who cares for a
relative’s two 10 year olds and is one of 200,000 kinship carers in the UK,
claims that local authority support available for them is often confusing and
not always easy to find.
Kinship carers, also known
as family and friends carers, are the grandparents, other relatives and close
contacts of children at risk of being taken into care who agree to look after
them for a substantial amount of time.
Some, including Linzi,
whose grandchildren are within the remit of Stockport Council, are now voicing
their concerns that the amount of financial and other support they are entitled
to is not always as substantial and as clear cut as what foster carers receive.
Foster carers are paid an
effective wage paid by councils who consider foster care a self-employed,
working role. In Stockport, for example, they can receive up to £345 per week plus additional allowances for
birthdays, Christmas and holidays per child. However, no
standardised, equivalent payment system exists for kinship guardians.
Whilst foster carers are
not eligible for child tax credits, which other guardians including kinship
carers can receive, they are eligible for other payments such as working tax
credits due to being recognised as self-employed by local authorities. They are
also entitled to respite, carer and child trips and training courses.
The lack of a substantial,
easy to understand nationwide policy for kinship carers has resulted in a
situation of payments and services available at the discretion of individual
local authorities. Most kinship carers get no help at all from their local
authority. This has also led kinship carers to be informally referred to in the
UK as “hidden” or “invisible” families.
This situation persists
despite the fact that, according to the Grandparents Plus charity, these families
are often in great need of state help.
The charity has published
numerous reports to back up its campaign to ensure better and more standardised
support systems be put in place for kinship carers. The reports have revealed
that most kinship care families say they have experienced financial hardship
due to bringing up relatives’ children, with two thirds reporting low household
incomes. A large proportion has had to cut their working hours or give up their
jobs entirely due to child care responsibilities. 85% of children in kinship
care are also reported to have emotional difficulties when they move in with
their carers.
Linzi, 50, who has cared
for three of her grandchildren along with her husband, is amongst those
attempting to raise awareness of kinship carers’ struggles in the UK to ensure
that they all have access to substantial and easy-to-navigate support services
within local authorities.
She said: “We do the same
job as foster carers but we don’t always get the same support and what help we
do get is generally means tested. We are also not entitled to parental leave
despite having the same role in our children’s lives.
“I’ve had to give up my job
to look after the children so I’m not entitled to JSA, income support and my
partner and I don’t qualify for working tax credits because neither of us works
the minimum 24 hours per week and as kinship carers we are not recognised by
the government as self-employed carers like foster parents.
“I get £129.15 a week
kinship allowance which is the maximum that they will pay for my two children and
£33.70 in child benefits. I also get annual child tax credits but that is all
the income support our family gets. It’s just not enough to compensate for the
changes that we’ve had to make such as buying a bigger house and taking out
another mortgage to have room for us all. It costs a lot to raise a child,
especially when it’s the second time around. I think there are many kinship
carers out there who feel like they’ve been left in limbo when it comes to
getting support from local authorities.
“I don’t think many kinship
carers would say they would prefer their grandchildren to be placed in care but
at the same time it is a very demanding task. I’ve already had my own children
but now I’m in a situation where I’ll be 60 and my partner almost 70 when my grandchildren
will probably be still living at home. It’s a lot of commitment at that age but
being a kinship carer is something that is hardly talked about in public.
“Just because we are all
family that should not imply that we can easily afford to look after them; that
a link has been made between the two is ridiculous. The government has not
taken into consideration that most kinship guardians don’t expect to find
themselves looking after their grandchildren so haven’t put any money aside. It
seems like emotional blackmail to me.”
Only 36% of carers are
currently working despite almost 3 quarters being in employment before taking
on the children. Over 65% have been described as living in poverty,
with around 41% of kinship carers predominantly dependent on welfare benefits.
Linzi said: “The amount of
time it takes to look after the children means I’m unable to get regular
employment yet I’m not treated as working by caring for them fulltime like
foster carers can be. A lot of kinship carers really struggle to make ends
meet. Sometimes you just feel like you’re really on your own.”
Sarah Wellard, policy and
research manager for Grandparents Plus, said: “The whole entitlement system for
kinship carers is a complete nightmare and varies widely from council to
council. Most kinship carers get no help at all, either practical or
financial, from their local authority. Often they are given poor information and
are sometimes misled.
“The whole system of
support from local authorities is incredibly complicated, and where kinship
carers do get support, this is usually discretionary and means tested.
“We need whole system
reform to ensure fairness in access to financial and practical support
based on children’s needs. We also want to see carers able to get proper advice
and information so that they are fully aware of what they are
entitled to. Many are left in the dark about services, benefits and support
that does exist out there for them.
“Some kinship carers are even
hesitant to contact social services to ask for help out of fear their child
will be taken away from them. The government must do more to reassure families
around this issue.”
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