Ten Top Tips for Supporting Kinship Placements

Kinship care, also called family and friends care, has always been with us. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, cousins and close friends have always come forward to keep children in the family when there is a crisis or a breakdown of relationships. How can social workers adjust their approach to kinship care? Can assessments be tailored to meet different needs? How can workers enable kinship carers to explore all the options open to them? How can we work together with family and friends in the firm belief that it is best for children to remain one of the family? This book looks at some of the fundamental positive steps that workers can take to ensure that kinship care is as successful as possible for the children and carers involved. Each of the ten chapters presents a basic “tip” in an accessible and straightforward style, including working with the whole kinship network, recognising the challenges of contact in kinship care, and being aware of diversity and conflicts in the family. Good practice points are included throughout. Kinship care is now emerging as a fast-growing alternative to other forms of substitute care. This guide will help workers to recognise the challenges of kinship care and be better prepared to support kinship placements.

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