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A new survey by the charity Kinship finds four in 10 kinship carers had under an hour to decide whether to raise a relative's child. Carers in England and Wales describe joy, exhaustion and a lack of support.
Four in 10 kinship care rs were given less than an hour to decide whether to take in a child, according to a new survey by the care charity Kinship.
A further fifth had less than 24 hours to make the decision. The findings highlight how informal kinship care remains across England and Wales. Kinship carers are normally relatives, or family friends, who step in to prevent children whose parents can no longer look after them from entering the care system. Twice as many children enter kinship arrangements as are fostered.
Yet the arrangement receives few of the practical, legal and financial supports that come with fostering or adoption. Clive vividly remembers the day he became a kinship carer without warning. He was a 32-year-old primary school headteacher when children's services called him at work. He assumed the call was about one of his pupils, but it concerned his six-week-old niece, Savannah.
He was asked whether he would take her into temporary care as a family member. Clive said yes, expecting a couple of days to prepare. Instead, he was told she had to be dropped off at four o'clock that same day. He asked what would happen if he did not say yes that day.
He was told they would have to come up with other options. He panicked at the thought of her going into foster care or adoption, so he said yes and dealt with the consequences later. Clive went home and waited. He said it was bizarre because he did not think he had ever been home at 3.30pm on a school day before.
Uncle Clive faces sudden care responsibility
Social care arrived, dropped Savannah off, and that was that. He described the moment the social worker left. Savannah was lying in a carry cot wrapped in a pink blanket, looking calm and comfy, oblivious to what had just happened. There was an eerie silence in the house.
It was just him, her and a little suitcase of belongings. He burst into tears. He said his teacher training did not prepare him for looking after a baby. He did not know how to change a nappy.
He had no pushchair, no cot, and no idea where she would sleep. He had nothing. Clive admitted he was naive about the consequences of the decision that changed his life. Nine years on, the temporary stay has become permanent.
Uncle Clive is now Savannah's legal guardian, though she remains in regular contact with her birth parents. She still has the pink blanket. He adores her, and theirs is a heartwarming kinship success story. But he says the path, while joyful and fulfilling, has not always been smooth.
Alan and Julie take in disabled granddaughter
He said he would do it all again and that it is the best thing that could have happened for his niece, but at times it has been isolating and exhausting. Alan and Julie, both 65, were given just 10 minutes to decide whether to care for their severely disabled grandchild, Ella, then 10 months old. They had just returned home to Leeds after a holiday when social services called.
Alan recalled being told the place closed in 10 minutes and that they needed to know if they were prepared to take the child on. Otherwise she would go into local authority care and they would probably never see her again. He said it was a no-brainer and they took her on straight away, as they would any of their grandchildren. Almost all kinship carers report that the snap decision changes their lives profoundly.
The ramifications are broad and not always immediately appreciated, and official support can be patchy or nonexistent. Overnight, there is an extra person in the home to feed and clothe, who may have suffered trauma and have special needs. Many kinship carers give up work, often at the request of social services. Clive was terrified he would have to abandon his career.
He worried he would not be able to pay the mortgage, and that if he lost the house Savannah would be taken into foster care. He was lucky. His school was incredibly supportive and allowed him to work flexibly. He recalls bottle-feeding Savannah while delivering a staff training session.
Leasa and Oly fight for support
He also has a strong network of friends and family. But he knows from support groups organised by Kinship that other carers are not so fortunate. Leasa, 56, and Oly, 57, from Acton in west London, made a snap decision to care for their nephews, Jake and Luke. They then had to fight for support they expected would be automatic.
With their own son at home, five people were suddenly crammed into their tiny two-bed flat, but the council did not seem interested. Oly recalled that he had once enquired about becoming a foster carer but was told he stood no chance because his home was not big enough. That did not seem to matter when it came to kinship care.
Couple faces housing association unsympathy
When he asked his housing association landlord about moving to a bigger flat just before his nephews arrived, there was little sympathy. He was told: Why are you making your house overcrowded? Leasa and Oly are still in the flat. For the past five years they have slept on a sofa bed in the lounge.
The room is crammed with storage boxes, and it is also where the couple's nephews do their homework. The arrangement works partly because Oly works night shifts and Leasa, who is a nanny, works.
England And Wales Kinship Charity Survey Children's Services Carer Support
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