Partner at Morecrofts, Eleanor Cockrell, talks about Kinship Carers week and why it’s so important to have awareness of carers and what they do.
October 7 – 13 is kinship carers week – a week to raise awareness of all those unsung heroes who have stepped up to care for children in their family when the parents are unable to do so for whatever reason at that time. It may be a short-term arrangement, or it may be for the majority of their childhood.
We are talking about grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings and others. These people are providing children with the chance to remain in a family placement rather than moving to foster care. This has the enormous short term benefit of allowing the child to remain in the care of someone familiar to them and research shows that they tend to also have better outcomes later in life since they have benefited from stability and ongoing family connections which has supported their emotional wellbeing and sense of identity.
Raising awareness
Kinship Carers Week is an annual event, designed to raise awareness of the challenges these kinship carers face and to highlight the crucial role they play. The aim is to highlight the need for better recognition, resources, and legal support for these carers who will often have taken on the role at short notice or at a time in life when they did not anticipate having those responsibilities.
As well as providing care to the child who may have been exposed to substance abuse, poor parental mental health and/or domestic abuse amongst other issues, the carers may also have the challenge of managing contact between the children and their parents who aren’t always fully supportive of the role that their relative has taken on.
Getting the right support
Despite the critical role kinship carers play, they often aren’t getting the right support and don’t know what is available to them.
Over the years, our specialist family team has helped carers to make sure they have everything in order. It can be an overwhelming and lengthy process, and we’re proud to have one of the largest and most respected legal teams in the region.
If you are providing kinship care we recognise that the role you play is essential and we’re here to make sure you are getting the best support available.
For more information about how Eleanor and the team can help you, contact us via our real-time online form.
For more information about Kinship Carers, visit www.kinshipcarersliverpool.co.uk