Message to Kinship Carers National Awareness Week (England & Wales) 7-13 October From Global Women’s Strike, Single Mothers’ Self-Defence and Support Not Separation

The Scottish Kinship Care Alliance (SKCA) is part of our network and told us they were travelling to join your celebration and meet up with Kinship Carers Liverpool, the biggest group in England, to support your #valueourlove campaign. 

We agree with you: politicians must increase support for kinship families. You make visible the huge contribution of kinship carers (mostly single grandmothers) to keeping 141,000 children (disproportionately children of colour) in their families and out of the ‘care system’ when parents are unable to look after them, and you expose the financial, health and emotional support kinship carers are blocked from getting.

You say: ‘8 in 10 kinship families aren’t getting the vital support they need from their local authorities to meet their child’s needs. As a result, nearly 1 in 8 kinship carers have told us they are concerned about continuing to care for their kinship children if their situations don’t improve. This unfair system is risking thousands of children’s futures.If kinship carers can’t continue to look after them, they could lose their stable and loving home.’

In Scotland, after a long struggle by SKCA, kinship carers are now formally recognised by the government and can be paid a kinship carers allowance. However, this allowance is not always protected by law within local authorities: ‘Only looked after children and formally looked after are legally entitled to kinship payment in the ruling we won. But due to pressure from us they added “At risk of becoming looked after” which is at their discretion.’ 

In England and Wales most kinship carers are not recognised formally and get Special Guardianship Orders; allowances are discretionary.

We support SKCA’s campaign for kinship allowances and services to have parity with foster carers money and services – this should apply across the UK. ‘The (Scottish) national allowance should pay every carer the same rate. It should also be law not guidance as guidance means local authorities can do as they please. Some local councils stop the allowance for what they term “voluntary arrangements”. For example, when bereaved carers lose an (adult) child to mostly addiction or domestic abuse and take over the care of a grandchild, social services claim this is “voluntary” and deny any support!! Absolutely barbaric to impoverish a grieving mother/grandmother who is following her natural human instinct.”

In England and Wales, we also campaign for mothers to get the support we are legally entitled to but often denied, and, along with other primary carers, to get a care income in recognition for our caring work. Section 17 of the Children Act (1989) instructs local authorities to assess what resources they should offer ‘children in need’, including financial and other support for mothers and primary carers so we can keep our children safe in the family. Kinship carers should also be entitled to this money. Mothers and other carers are scrutinised when we ask for this help, especially if we are single, of colour, disabled or were in ‘care’ as children. Asking for help is often used as an excuse to take our children from us. Our children are then put in state ‘care’ which is not scrutinised and where they suffer abuse of all kinds at the hands of private companies making obscene profits from our children’s pain.

‘Getting central and local authorities to prioritise the financial support that mothers and other primary carers need and are entitled to is essential to ending the neglect and abuse of our children and the corporate stranglehold that is bankrupting councils.’

As part of the Support Not Separation Coalition, SKCA also defends the rights of grandchildren to return to their mothers when the time and circumstances are right. ‘Kinship leaves the door open for those children who can eventually be returned to their mums or dads. This means there is a second chance at a family life with their mums. Foster care and adoption cannot provide this, only kinship care can.’

Our sisters in the United States are also struggling like us.

We send greetings to all kinship carers and to all mothers who are struggling to protect our children from being taken from their loving families.