CYP Now - Standing shoulder to shoulder with kinship families

There are over 150,000 children growing up in kinship care in England today, and with the publication of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care last month, we finally saw some real national recognition of their experiences, needs and strengths – and those of their carers too.

Sally Rowe is director of children’s services at Walsall Council. Picture: Walsall Council

The Review noted that the “thousands of grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters who care for their family members” have for too long existed as a “silent and unheard majority” in children’s social care and now deserve “far greater recognition and support”.

I wholeheartedly agree.

My interest in and support for kinship care is personal as well as professional - having direct experience in my own close family as some of you will know. A decision, made as a result of an unexpected situation many years ago, which continues to reverberate through our family as it does for many others. That said it isn’t something we would have changed and I know that to be the case for many of the kinship carers I have met in my director of children’s services role.

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