The first national guide on kinship care, designed to help local leaders in children’s services support kinship carers and keep children within their family networks, has been published.
There are more than 164,000 children living in kinship care with relatives or close family friends in England and Wales, more than twice the total number of children in foster care.
However, research commissioned by Foundations, has found evidence-based practice is not consistently embedded in local authorities’ culture or leadership in children’s services.
The Kinship Care Practice Guide sets out key recommendations to local authority leaders to improve outcomes for children and kinship families.
These include giving kinship carers specialist support to navigate what is on offer for them and providing structured parenting support programmes for kinship carers.
The guide also recommends making Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) available for kinship carers where children display behaviours that challenge their carers.
Dr Jo Casebourne, chief executive at Foundations, said the guide ‘signals a new era in evidence-led practice in kinship care.’
Cath McEvoy-Carr, director of Children, Education and Skills in Newcastle, and chair of the North East Association of Directors of Children's Services, said: ‘As a Director of Children’s Services, I know that local authorities' want to use the highest quality evidence when they develop and commission kinship care services.
‘Foundations’ new Kinship Care Practice Guide marks a step change in the quality, rigour and accessibility of evidence available to us.’
Janet Daby, Minister for Children and Families, added: 'The Kinship Practice Guide will play a key role in driving best practice in local authorities and ensuring kinship carers have clear routes to accessing the help they need.'
