A Four-Nation Comparison of Kinship Care in the UK: The Relationship between Formal Kinship Care and Deprivation

Citation

McCartan C, Bunting L, Bywaters P, Davidson G, Elliott M & Hooper J (2018) A Four-Nation Comparison of Kinship Care in the UK: The Relationship between Formal Kinship Care and Deprivation. Social Policy and Society, 17 (4), pp. 619-635. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746418000179

Abstract
The practice of extended family and friends helping to care for children when their parents are unable to is an enduring tradition in many cultures. Kinship care provides the largest proportion of out of home care in Western society but many of these carers experience poverty and deprivation, and do not receive comparable levels of support, financial or professional, to other placement types. This study provides UK evidence for the relationship between kinship care and deprivation and examines how the welfare state frames kinship care in policy and practice.

Keywords
Child welfare; looked after children (LAC); deprivation; four nation; kinship care

Journal
Social Policy and Society: Volume 17, Issue 4

People

Ms Jade Hooper

Research Fellow, Social Work