On 14^th March 2019, Helen Moody, specialist Kinship Care solicitor, attended a Parliamentary Taskforce event for Kinship Care in Leeds. Run by Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive of Family Rights Group, it was an opportunity for kinship carers and professionals in the field to get together and provide feedback to raise awareness and support for kinship carers.

The event was attended by approximately 30 kinship carers together with professionals from various Local Authorities including Social Workers, fostering teams, Grandparents Plus, specialist Local Authority HUB workers and other support groups for kinship carers.

Carers were given the opportunity to talk about what they find most rewarding about the carer role and what they found most difficult. Attendees were all then split into groups to discuss the issues that are faced by them in caring for their relative children.

Mrs Moody commented, “It was brilliant to see so many passionate kinship carers from the Yorkshire district and even further afield.

It was interesting to hear stories from a variety of carers who have different Order and what support they receive from their Local Authority. The majority of kinship carers are caring for children who are often traumatised through neglect or other factors and therefore it is important that the right support is put in place for everyone. It should not be a postcode lottery for services however it very often is.

Something that I was extremely concerned to hear was that some kinship carers were treated less favourably that mainstream foster carers. This should not be the case. Related carers should not be treated any different to mainstream carers and are entitled to the same allowance schemes. There is clear case law that prevents this from happening. I would urge any carers in this position to contact us for more information”.

If you would like further information about the Parliamentary Taskforce, please visit the Family Rights Group website. Carers are encouraged to get involved by writing to their MP and completing the survey on the FRG website.