Kinship carers - isolated and unsupported

September 15th, 2009

Better support for kinship carers in order for them to look after vulnerable children is something I have campaigned on for a long time.

The wider family and friends who step in to support children when they are no longer able to stay in the family home has become an increasingly common situation.

Our kinship carers play an important role but it is unfortunately undermined by a lack of resources and finances and increased bureaucracy.

It has been a source of deep frustration to me that many carers have been left isolated and unsupported.

So I was glad I was able to reiterate some of the points I have made in their favour during a debate in parliament last week.

Like other local authorities across Scotland, Inverclyde Council cannot identify extra funds from their budget to support kinship carers in the way they would like.

Too many carers assume the status of informal carers because they have been forced to step in early due to desperate circumstances – as a consequence they exclude themselves from much needed support and benefits.

In other cases, many of the carers are grandparents who would qualify for the kinship care allowance but find it can actually impact on their other benefits and results in the household income being reduced rather than increased.

The numbers of children and carers in this situation is massive - they need our support. We need them to be good role models for those children if we are to reduce the negative impact of Scotland’s drug culture.

It is up to politicians at all levels to get serious on this issue.