Paul Howell MP is proud to share England's first ever Kinship Care Strategy Launches.
This is backed by £20 million, strategy shines spotlight on the incredible extended family members keeping children out of care.
Thousands of kinship carers are set to be better supported as the government today (15 December) launches the first ever national kinship care strategy, ‘Championing Kinship Care’.
The strategy shines a spotlight on the incredible kinship carers - grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and wider family networks - that provide loving homes to children who cannot live with their parents, and who will now receive greater financial stability and support from local authorities and schools.
Backed by £20 million to deliver the strategy, the government has confirmed it will provide an allowance to many kinship carers to match that received by foster carers - currently between £154 and £270 per week, per child. This is being trialled in up to 8 areas of the country and will help ensure that people do not have to choose between becoming a carer and being able to afford to support their families.
It will also expand the role of virtual school heads – education champions within local authorities – to cover kinship care. They will ensure that the education of children in kinship care is prioritised so they go on to have bright futures.
Foster care has also been bolstered today with an additional £8.5 million. This takes the total government investment across this parliament to £36 million, which is the largest ever investment in fostering in England. The funding will ensure there are more foster carers available to step up and look after children by extending recruitment campaigns, simplifying recruitment processes, and providing better support for existing foster carers to even more local authorities.
The new kinship strategy and extra foster care funding are part of a suite of initiatives launched today, which meet commitments set out in the ambitious children’s social care strategy, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, published earlier this year.
PAUL HOWELL MP said:
"No one should suffer because of their start in life, and the amazing people who open up their homes and their hearts to vulnerable children deserve all the support they need to ensure no child gets left behind.
I’m thrilled this new strategy will give Kinship Carers the recognition and financial support they need, while ensuring as many children as possible can get on and get ahead in life and be able to take the opportunities to have a future they deserve."
