1,000 signatures reached
To: Edward Timpson MP - Minister of State for Vulnerable Children and Families
Equality for Kinship carers and Kids
Kinship carers should receive the support and services they need in order to care for a child in their care, regardless of the child's legal status.
Support should include the same things given to foster parents, such as: Support groups, Respite, Training, Financial, health, housing and Educational support to enable a safe and secure environment in their family setting, and promote care in the child's social network where possible.
Why is this important?
Kinship carers are family members (aunts, uncles and grandparents etc) that take care of children whose parents, can no longer take care of their children.
This may be due to the parents having drug or alcohol dependencies, being abusive or otherwise unable to cope with parenting.
Kinship carers are often the preferred choice by social services when they need to re-home a child because it maintains the children's connections with their families. However kinship careers and the children they look after receive very little or none of the support given to those in foster homes or care.
Kinship carers alter their own lives to care for family members children and this is a sacrifice that needs acknowledgement. I know first hand the struggles associated with kinship care and many families including my own are left with little or no support.
We are driven by love for the children and a huge commitment to improve an often poor early life. due to legislation children that are not "looked after" by local authority are not able to easily access support services and this needs to change.
Our children have suffered the same emotional heartache and turmoil as any other child in care. They need to be counted and acknowledged too.
