Research has shown that:

Research plays a vital part in our campaigns, because it highlights the needs of children and their family and friends carers and whether these needs are being met, what works and what needs to be improved. We are at forefront of research into family and friends care in England and Wales.

We have just published the following research:

The research is made up of four parts:

i. Hunt J and Waterhouse S (2012) Understanding family and friends care: the relationship between need, support and legal status (FRG/Oxford University Centre for Family Law and Policy). In depth interviews with 95 carer households

ii. Aziz R and Roth D (2012) Understanding family and friends care: analysis of the social and economic circumstances of family and friends carers (FRG). Analysis of Government’s “Understanding Society” carers survey of 77 kinship care children living in 68 households, contrasting them with other families from the same study

iii. Ashley C (Ed) Authors: Aziz R, Roth D and Lindley B (2012) Understanding family and friends care: The largest UK survey (FRG). An analysis of the response to an internet survey of family and friends carers of 495 family and friends carers’ households raising 762 kinship children.

iv. Ashley C (Ed) Authors: Roth D, Aziz R and Lindley B (2012) Understanding family and friends care: local authority policies – the good, the bad and the non existent (FRG) based on a Freedom of Information questionnaire sent in October 2011 and analysed in partnership with Grandparents Plus. The report finds that 45% of English local authorities have still not published a policy over five months after the deadline in the Government’s Statutory family and friends care guidance. It also analyses whether policies that have been published comply with the spirit of the guidance. We are publishing links to local authorities’ policies on our website, so you can easily find out if your own local authority’s has a policy.

We have carried out and published the results of the following research:

• David Roth, Bridget Lindley and Cathy Ashley (2011) Big Bruv, Little Sis (Family Rights Group). This publication sets out the findings from the first research study undertaken in the UK into the experiences of siblings who are raising their younger brothers and sisters. The publication includes in depth interviews with sibling carers, a web-based survey of carers, a chapter setting out the legal framework, as well as findings from an international literature review. Recent research has shown that more than a third of children in family and friends care are being raised by older siblings. Big Bruv Little Sis can be downloaded online or purchased from our on-line shop.

• David Roth, Jo Tunnard, Bridget Lindley, Alexander De Gaye and Cathy Ashley (2011) Managing Contact (Family Rights Group). This study of contact issues in family and friends care arrangements was based on interviews with carers, parents and practitioners, and an internet survey, and includes a comprehensive international literature review and a chapter setting out the legal framework. The report concludes by making good practice recommendations to deal with the issues that have been identified. Managing Contact can be downloaded online.

• Cathy Ashley (2010) The Harsh Reality - a survey on the financial circumstances of family and friends carers (Family Rights Group). A survey of 205 family and friends carers from 23 December 2009 to 13 January 2010 found that 35% of family and friends carers had left their job, lost their job or taken early retirement in order to raise these children, and over a quarter of had reduced their working hours or taken a lower graded job to cope with looking after the children. Another 8% said their partners had reduced their working hours. One grandparent carer stated that “I had to leave a well-paid job, I struggle every day with bills, I go hungry to feed my grandson... we - don’t have holidays, I have to go without any social life to afford to keep him.”

• Family Rights Group and University of Birmingham (2008) Report on Freedom of information survey of local authority policies on family and friends care. We sent a Freedom of Information questionnaire to all local authorities in England and Wales, to find out about their policies on family and friends care and the support they provide. We found that for most local authorities family and friends carers seemed to be a low priority. 69% of local authorities did not have a written, coherent approach to family and friends care, and most did not have any policy for dealing with these arrangements outside the care system. The findings informed the Government’s new family and friends care guidance.

• Mike Doolan, Paul Nixon and Patrice Lawrence (2004) Growing Up in the Care of Relatives or Friends – Delivering best practice for children in Family and Friends Care (Family Rights Group). Written for practitioners, managers and policy makers who want to improve practice and services for children in family and friends care, this book sets out findings from action research in two local authorities that consulted extensively with children, carers and social workers about ‘what works’ with this distinct care type. You can buy this from our online shop. You can be sent a free copy if you are a sibling carer. Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like a copy.

We have also produced the following good practice guides:

• David Roth (2010) Family and Friends Care: A Guide to Good Practice for Local Authorities in England. This guide makes a number of detailed, practical proposals on how local authorities could make sure that their family and friends carers are well supported. It includes chapters on the research evidence and legal framework for family and friends care, and suggests the principles that should form the basis for a family and friends care policy, and how these can be turned into practice. We recommend this guide to all policy-makers and practitioners working with family and friends carers.

• Clare Roskill (2008) Wider Family Matters (Family Rights Group) gives advice to family and friends carers, and the practitioners who work with them, about the practical and emotional issues facing these carers. You can download the guide, or you can be sent a free copy on request if you are a family and friends carer. For anybody else, it is still excellent value at a cost of £8. You can buy this from our online shop.

• Leonie Jordan and Bridget Lindley editors (2006) Special Guardianship (Family Rights Group). Including contributions by Lady Justice Hale, High Court Judge Sir James Munby, Professor June Thoburn, and grandparent carer Robin Derriman, this Family Rights Group Reader analyses the provisions for Special Guardianship and explores its potential use in meeting children’s long term needs when they cannot return home. You can buy this from our online shop.

• Alison Richards (2004) Getting Together – A guide to setting up and running a support group (Family Rights Group). This guide on setting up support groups is based very much on the suggestions of support group leaders. The guide is aimed at anyone who is bringing up their grandchild or young relative or friend's child and will also be useful for anyone who wishes to form a local support group. You can be sent a free copy on request if you are a family and friends carer. For anybody else, it is still excellent value at a cost of £5. You can buy this from our online shop.

We would particularly recommend the following important studies of family and friends care:

• Shailen Nandy, Julie Selwyn, Elaine Farmer and Paula Vaisey (2011) Spotlight on Kinship Care (University of Bristol). This is an analysis of information about the numbers of children living with family and friends carers, based on the 2001 census. It found that there were 173,200, of whom only 9,000 were in the care system. The numbers were particularly high in some areas, such as Newham and Tower Hamlets in London, and Manchester. There were also larger numbers for certain ages and ethnic groups, for example 1 in 9 African boys age 15-17 was found to be being raised by relatives. The report is part of a large study of informal family and friends care, and it is still being carried out.

• Joan Hunt, Suzette Waterhouse and Eleanor Lutman (2008) Keeping them in the family: Outcomes for children placed in kinship care through care proceedings (BAAF). This study followed what happened to a group of children who were placed with family and friends carers as a result of care proceedings. It shows that family and friends carers provide good placements for many abused and neglected children, and recommends that it should be an option that is explored more often, at an earlier stage, for children coming into the care system.

• Elaine Farmer and Sue Moyers (2008)Kinship Care: Fostering Effective Family and Friends Placements (Jessica Kingsley). This study makes a comparison between children being raised by family and friends carers and children being raised by foster carers who were previously unknown to them. The two groups of children had experienced very similar problems before their placements. The family and friends carers had more difficulties than the foster carers, such as poverty, overcrowding, ill health and low levels of social work support. However, the children they were raising were doing as well as or better than the children in foster care. It seems likely that with better support the children could be doing even better.

Other Important Research