Majority of children in kinship care live in deprivation

Analysis of census data by the University of Bristol found that 76 per cent of children in kinship care are living in a "deprived household".

An estimated 152,910 (1.4 per cent) of the 11.3 million children in England in 2011 were living in kinship care meaning that around 116,000 are living in deprivation.

Of children in kinship care living in a deprived household, 40 per cent were living in households located in the poorest 20 per cent of areas in England.

Under kinship care arrangements, relatives or friends look after children who cannot live with their parents. It can be a private arrangement or formalised through a legal order.

The University of Bristol study found that children in kinship care were also almost twice as likely to have long-term health problems or disabilities compared with their peers.

The highest prevalence of kinship care was found in the black ethnic group, with one in 37 children being cared for by relatives, compared with one in every 83 white children.

Researchers also found that the number of children being brought up by relatives or family friends is increasing.

There was a seven per cent growth in kinship care between 2001 and 2001, compared with a  two per cent increase in the population of children across the country.

Dinithi Wijedasa, the study’s lead author from the University of Bristol's centre for foster and adoption studies, said: “As well as showing a significant increase in the number of kinship care households, the findings highlight that children growing up in the care of relatives face significant poverty and deprivation compared with children growing up with at least one parent.

"Given that a large majority of these children and their families will be not known to the local authorities, it is imperative that measures are taken to enable them to receive adequate support.”

Separate research on kinship care by the charity Family Rights Group found that almost half (49 per cent) of kinship carers have had to give up work permanently to care for the child, and a further 18 per cent had to give up work temporarily.
 
The research found that 22 per cent of kinship care households had three or more children aged 18 or under and nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of these households currently receive child tax credit. 

Cathy Ashley, chief executive of Family Rights Group, said government must introduce a period of paid leave for kinship carers, similar to adoption leave, to enable the children to settle in without their carers being forced to give up work.

Lucy Peake, chief executive of Grandparents Plus, said many children in kinship care are "doubly disadvantaged" due to abuse and neglect or other serious problems they experienced before moving in with their carers.

“The government’s proposals to cut child tax credits and reform welfare benefits threaten to make their situation even worse," she said.

“We are calling upon the government to ensure children in kinship care get the help and support they need, and to protect them from the impact of welfare reform.”