Key findings
The findings reinforce existing evidence that living with family and friends can be a positive experience for children who cannot remain with their birth parent.
Julie Selwyn & Linda Briheim-Crookall (2023) 10,000 Voices insight paper – The views of children and young people in kinship foster care on their well-being, Rees Centre, Department of Education, University of Oxford and Coram Voice.
Just over a quarter of children in foster care (27%) live with a relative or friend. The 10,000 Voices insight paper – the views of children in kinship foster care on their well-being – explores their experience of care.
Well-being
“I draw beautiful pictures for nan and grandad. They really take care of me a lot. They bring the chocolate circles upstairs.” 4-7yrs
- Most reported moderate to high well-being. About one in nine young people (11-18yrs) rated themselves as having low well-being in comparison with one in seven in unrelated foster care.
“I just want someone to look after me properly. Properly means look after me more.” 4-7yrs
- The kinship young people also reported more positively that the things they did in life were worthwhile.
- Some children were anxious about the future and concerned that their carer might die soon, leaving them alone.
Seeing family
- Larger proportions in kinship foster care compared with those in unrelated foster care had contact with family members and felt their contact arrangements were ‘just right’.
“I have just the right amount of time. I face time my mum and dad most nights.” 8-10yrs
- However, there were also those that reported that they felt unsafe or unhappy with seeing family members.
“I don’t want to see my parents until they stop taking drugs, but they come round to my house.” 11-18yrs
Good friends and pets
- A higher proportion reported that they had a good friend, compared with those in unrelated foster care. But, fewer had opportunities to have a pet.
Relationships with carers and trusted adults
- Children in kinship foster care also reported more positively on confiding in carers regularly, feeling they had a trusted adult in their lives
“Nanny and Grandad help me with my worries, and they know when I’m sad.” 8-10yrs
School and bullying
- In comparison with peers of the same age in the general population, a larger percentage of those in kinship care liked school ‘a lot/a bit’ and felt their carers were interested in what they did at school.
- Yet one in four reported being afraid to go to school because of bullying, compared to with one in six of their peers.
Finance and space pressures
- In comparison with foster care, a higher percentage in kinship foster care disliked their bedrooms and there were complaints of overcrowding.
- There were also children in kinship foster care who talked about their carers having financial difficulties.
“I would like a house. There is not much space. I am sleeping in the living room and don’t even have my own bedroom.” 11-18yrs
“There is not a lot of money to go on holidays … I would really like to have a bike so I can go to places and see my town.” 11-18yrs
Relationships with social workers
- While there were examples of very good relationships with social workers, relationships with social workers were complicated. Some felt the worker was only visiting to support their carer, and some did not know they had a social worker.
- As reported for all children in care, those in kinship care also did not know their right to speak to their social worker in private and many did not always feel included in decision-making or know why they were in care.
“I don’t feel like she’s my social worker, as my Nan is the one who contacts her.” 11-18yrs
Placement changes
It was surprising that only half of those aged 11-18yrs were placed directly with their kinship carer. More than a third (35%) had lived in 2-4 previous placements, and nearly one in ten (9%) had five or more placements before moving in with their kinship carer.
Recommendations
The findings reinforce the importance of making sure that children and young people feel heard and informed about their care. As in our previous 10,000 voices report on the views of children in care on their well-being, this report also clearly shows the importance of not treating all children in care as if they are the same. It is important to be mindful of where children live having an impact on their care experience. Based on the findings the researchers make the following recommendations:
1. Try to make sure that a child’s first placement is their only placement by searching for and assessing relatives or friends as quickly as possible.
2. Make sure that every child knows who their social worker is, how to contact them and that social workers visit regularly and see children on their own.
3. Ensure children and young people have an age-appropriate understanding of why they are living with a kinship carer and support carers around how to talk sensitively to children about their past and the reasons why they are not living with their parents.
4. Review contact plans regularly with children and young people and make sure they know where to turn if they are unhappy with how often they are seeing key people in their lives.
5. Talk to children about how they feel about their homes and bedrooms and explore creative solutions to make things better if they are unhappy, e.g. funding space saving furniture.
6. Support kinship carers with income maximisation and ensure they receive all the benefits and allowances they are entitled to.
7. Work with the kinship carer(s) and the family network to create a plan for the child’s care in case the kinship carer became unable to continue care, reassuring children that adults have planned and will keep them safe.
8. Work with schools so that children and staff become more aware of the needs of children in different types of care and consider how they can support children in kinship care with bullying.