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Kinship care children ‘overlooked and ignored’ for trauma support

2 mins read Social Care
Children living in kinship care arrangements are being “overlooked and ignored” for support to help them recover from abuse, neglect and bereavement.
A survey of kinship carers found half of the children they look after have mental health problems. Picture: AdobeStock
A survey of kinship carers found half of the children they look after have mental health problems. Picture: AdobeStock

A survey of more than 1,600 kinship carers found that half of the children they look after have mental health problems. Meanwhile, just under half are struggling at school to cope with trauma.

But only two in five children in such arrangements with extended family or friends have accessed emotional or therapeutic support.

Children are also missing out on support with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), which has a higher prevalence among those in kinship care than their peers not in care.

Almost half of children in kinship care have a SEND, however, only one in six have an education, health and care plan in place for support. This is half the proportion of other children with a plan in long term local authority care or identified as a child in need.

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