Kinship care: Lack of legal support has ‘devastating consequences’

Almost four in 10 kinship carers had not received any legal advice about their rights and options for their kinship child, according to a new report from the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on kinship care.

Some 82 per cent of kinship carers did not feel they knew enough about their legal options to make an informed decision about the best options for their kinship child, the report adds.

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It highlights “devastating consequences” for both kinship carers and children caused by a lack of legal support.

“The APPG heard from hundreds of kinship carers across England and Wales, and found evidence of instances where, rather than supporting family and friends who wanted to give children a safe and loving home, the system made the process so confusing and stressful it seemed designed to actively discourage them,” the report states. 

Prospective kinship carers also face high levels of debt and stress due to the cost of legal proceedings, it adds.

More than a third of kinship carers had made personal contributions to the costs of legal advice, court fees and legal representation, according to the APPG.

Of those carers: 47 per cent had costs up to £1,000; 27 per cent between £1,001 and £5,000; 16 per cent between £5,001 and £10,000; and nine per cent in excess of £10,000.

For those who had experience of court proceedings in relation to their kinship children, almost a third had to represent themselves at least for some of the time, the report adds.

Cross-party MPs and peers say evidence received from prospective kinship carers points to “a broken child welfare and family justice system that does not sufficiently support relatives and friends to step in to prevent children entering the care system and be cared for by strangers”.

They are calling on the government to increase support for kinship carers through the introduction of a clear legal definition of kinship care as well as the release of “adequate funding for not-for-profit independent legal advice, information services and advocacy services specialising in child welfare and family court law and practice”.

Local authorities should review their family and friends care policies to clearly set out local arrangements for funding legal support, the report adds, noting that there should also be improved monitoring of the family justice system’s approach to kinship care.