大象传媒

Louise White asks how hard it is to be a 'kinship carer', talks about the challenges faced by kinship carers and asks if you'd take in a child in your family if the need arose.

Citizens Advice Scotland will soon be publishing a report that will put the issue of 'kinship care' in the spotlight. That's the official term for what happens when a child is unable to be looked after by their own parent, but instead of being 'taken into care' is looked after by a family member. Kinship carers save the Government millions of pounds per year but unlike foster and residential care, most kinship care arrangements are not recognised by the state (the Scottish Kinship Alliance estimates there are over 60,000 children in this situation). Even when they are recognised though there are calls for more support especially when it comes to finances.