Policy shift: Expansion of funding for kinship care, alongside evidence-informed guidance for the sector

The UK government recently announced a £44 million pilot of financial allowances for kinship carers, to be trialled in 10 local government areas. This is estimated to be the UK’s highest-ever national government investment in kinship care.

Financial support for kinship carers was a key recommendation of a systematic evidence review compiled by CEI and our partners. This review, completed in 2024, has also underpinned development of the UK’s first national Practice Guide on Kinship Care, advising local authorities how best to support kinship care families.

Commissioned by Foundations, the national What Works Centre for Children and Families, the work was undertaken in partnership with experts Dr Marc Winokur, Director of the Social Work Research Center at Colorado State University (USA), and Professor Aron Shlonsky, from the Department of Social Work at Monash University (Australia).

The evidence shows kinship families have unmet needs. However, the review shows outcomes can be improved with programs designed to support these carers and children.

“With growing numbers of children being placed in the care of family or friends (rather than unrelated foster carers) in ‘kinship’ or ‘connected’ care arrangements, an evidence-informed approach to supporting this form of care is vital,” says CEI Associate Director Dr Ellie Ott.

“Programs that help kinship carers navigate local and national services – so they can more readily access supports available to them – have the strongest evidence, with promising evidence for kinship-specific parenting education, and financial support for carers to take formal guardianship of the children in their care.”

Kinship carers have greater and different needs than other parents and carers. They are more likely to be older, socio-economically disadvantaged, living with long-term health conditions, and from minority ethnic backgrounds.

“These carers take responsibility for children who have experienced early life trauma, and they must navigate often complex relationships with birth parents,” Ellie explains.

“Despite these difficulties, research shows that children in kinship care have better outcomes than those in non-kin foster care – including in general behaviour and wellbeing, in adverse longer-term outcomes like psychiatric disorders, and in the stability of the homes in which they live.”

“Messages from the qualitative evidence were clear for practice. Building trust and engagement with these families is vital. As is designing interventions that are timely, convenient, and that map to the needs of kinship carers and the children in their care,” says Ellie.

“Kinship carers need resources, supports and services if children in their care are to experience permanency and placement stability – with the ultimate result of better life-long outcomes.”

Based on the evidence review, the Kinship Care Practice Guide makes a number of recommendations to local authority leadership:

• Offer kinship carers specialist support to learn about, navigate and access the support that they are entitled to. (Good evidence for this)
• Offer parenting support when a child or young person is demonstrating behaviours that challenge their kinship carer(s) on a frequent basis. (Promising evidence for this)
• Make services available to facilitate peer support groups to improve kinship carers’ wellbeing. (Promising evidence for this)
• Make Cognitive Behavioural Therapy available to kinship carers who have been assessed as in need of therapeutic support because, for example, the child or young person in their care is demonstrating behaviours that challenge the kinship carer. (Promising evidence for this)
• Offer kinship carers training in self-care to support their emotional health, wellbeing and quality of life. (Promising evidence for this)
• Offer financial allowance to kinship carers to increase placement permanency, reduce the likelihood of placement disruption and improve the likelihood of permanent guardianship. (Promising evidence for this)

“The Kinship Care Practice Guide signals a new era in evidence-led practice. For the first time, local authorities now have access to the most rigorous and up-to-date evidence of its kind about what works to support kinship carers, helping to keep thousands of children in their family networks and out of care,” said Dr Jo Casebourne, Chief Executive at Foundations, in launching the new guide.

More on the evidence review

The main aims of the evidence review were to understand:

• how effective different interventions are for kinship families, by summarising the best available evidence from around the world
• what kinship carers and practitioners say they want and their experiences of support programs in the UK

The review included 36 reports, based on findings from 27 studies, including information on kinship support and navigation services, parenting programs, and other supports. There were 21 studies about the impact of what works from around the world, and six qualitative studies on carer and practitioner experiences in the UK.

Five research questions were addressed:

• What interventions for kinship families improve outcomes for children in kinship care (e.g. safety, permanence, and wellbeing) and for kinship carers (e.g. wellbeing, confidence in parenting, relationship with child in care)?
• Are there interventions/programs that are particularly effective with different groups of carers and children (e.g. disabled or minority carers or children)?
• Are there common elements shared by effective interventions?
• What are the enablers and barriers to successful implementation of interventions for kinship carers and children in kinship care in the UK?
• What are the perspectives of kinship carers and children in kinship care on the acceptability and usefulness of different interventions in the UK?

Access the systematic evidence review HERE

Access the Kinship Care Practice Guide HERE

Read more about the Kinship Care Practice Guide in media reports in Community Care, Children and Young People Now and LocalGov.

The systematic review, “What interventions improve outcomes for kinship carers and the children in their care?” was written by CEI’s Dr Ellie Ott, Amy Hall, India Thompson, Dr Katherine Young, Georgina Mann, Emma Wills, Paula Verdugo, Dr Marc Winokur from the Social Work Research Center at Colorado State University, and Professor Aron Shlonsky from the Department of Social Work at Monash University (Australia), commissioned by Foundations, the national What Works Centre for Children & Families.