Family and friends carers

It is estimated over 200,000 children are being raised by relatives and friends although there are no official statistics. Many of these children are extremely vulnerable and the relatives raising them are older and have health and financial difficulties. These grandparents and other family and friends carers are struggling to survive financially, emotionally and socially, receiving little, if anything, from the state to meet these children’s needs.

Family Rights Group works with children and families, agencies and academics to enable more children who cannot live at home to be brought up safely by relatives who love them and to ensure that these children and their carers get the support they need.

What does Family Rights Group do to promote family and friends care?

We:

• Campaign

We are a leading member of the Kinship Care Alliance, working with other voluntary agencies, local authorities and academics to campaign for increased recognition of the needs of families and friends carers, and the children they are caring for, including the introduction of a national financial allowance to assist carers with the costs of raising a child who would otherwise need to be in care.

• Provide advice

We run a telephone and email advice service for families and publishes advice materials that are designed for family and friends carer, including advice sheets on financial support, and a DIY residence order kit.

• Develop support groups

We run a free telephone consultancy line for family and friends carers who are interested in meeting or talking with others in a similar situation.  If you are interested in starting up a support group or are a carer who wishes to get in touch with others in a similar situation, please ring 01733 751531

• Publish resource materials

We publish materials written for family and friends carers and practitioners working with families, including Wider Family Matters which sets out carers rights, duties and sources of practical as well as emotional support.

• Run popular electronic discussion boards for carers and practitioners

We support a well used electronic discussion board for family and friends carers, providing legal and policy advice and we are launching a new discussion board for practitioners

• Involve family and friends carers

Family and friends carers are involved in all aspects of our work, sitting on advisory groups, speaking at events and contributing to surveys, including electronic surveys.

• Run projects and develop policy and practices

We run projects and work to improve policy and practice, for example we are piloting with a number of a authorities a new assessment process designed specifically to assess relative carers

• Promote research findings on family and friends care

We sit on research advisory steering group, conduct action research and also promote other research findings on family and friends care.

• Run training courses

We design and run training courses to improve practitioner awareness and practice, as well as those advertised, we will also run courses commissioned by individual agencies.

• Hold events for carers, children and young people, policy makers and practitioners

We hold seminars and conferences, that are advertised on the web and also speak at events organised by other agencies.