The importance of kinship care (WS11)
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Registered Scottish Charity No: SC016092
description
This session will explore what support is needed within the family in order to support kinship care. It will also look at the role of ParentLine Scotland and how it supports families and practitioners. Contributor: Children First
Transcript of The importance of kinship care (WS11)
Registered Scottish Charity No: SC016092
3,403 Contacts• 3,168 Calls• 235 Emails
• 66% of contacts are parents• 78% are female, 22% are male• 28% are single parents
January – December 2012
Who do they call about?
4,824 children and young people
33% aged 12 – 18 years
54% girls
43% boys
What did they call about?
• Behaviour/Discipline27%
• Family Relationships26%
• Contact/Residence 16%• Legal 15%• Kinship Care 15%
January – December 2012
• 365 days a year• Out of hours service
Monday – Friday 9 – 10pm
Saturday – Sunday 12 – 8pm
• Helpline• Email• Website• Ongoing telephone support• Call back facility
• Age Range 13 – 19 years• 25 calls relating to female children and 25 calls relating
to male children • 39 female callers (36 mothers, 1 grandmother, 1
professional, 1 family friend)• 11 male callers (7 fathers, 1 step-father, 1 grandfather, 2
family friends)
50 Call Sample 2012
Key Issues:
Aggression (verbal and physical)
22 callers talked about violence, with 11 mentioning police involvement and 17 worried about issues at schoolSubstance Misuse
5 callers mentioned drugs, 7 mentioned alcohol use
Sexual Activity
3 calls concerned about the safety of daughters
Other – 11 calls
Threat of suicide – Females 4, Males 2
Lying – Female 2, Males 0
Running Away – Females 2, Male 1
Background Information
Loss of a loved one – 10 callers
Divorce/separation – 12 callers
Financial Difficulties – 2 callers
Children being bullied – 2 callers
Quotes from Callers
“My daughter has a Jekyll & Hyde personality” (mum)
“My son is out of control” (dad)
“I don’t know what how to cope with their behaviour “
(kinship carer)
National Kinship Care Service
• Information, Advice and Support Service
– Confidential Helpline – ParentLine Scotland
– Policy Activity
– Outreach and Engagement
– Training and Skills Development
– Family Group Conferences (FGC)
Policy Activity
• Advocating on behalf of kinship carers to
influence and inform national policy agenda on
kinship care
– Children and Young People Bill
– Scottish Government Financial Review
Outreach and Engagement
• Visiting and learning from kinship care groups
• Annual Regional Forums
• Big Day Out 2012
• CHILDREN 1ST AGM 2012 – focus on kinship
care
Training and Skills Development
• Workshop Programme – kinship carers and local
authorities
• Newsletters, Factsheets and Information
• Podcasts and Videos
Family Group Conferences
• Empowering Families
• Drawing on strengths of wider family and friends
in deciding how best to care for a child
• Child Centred
What information and support parents and carers want?
• To talk, be listened to and to be understood
• Reassurance that they are doing their best, they are not bad parents, and are trying to do the right thing
• Sometimes they want to know they are not alone, that other parents have similar experiences
• Often looking for suggestions, hints and tips, strategies
• To be signposted to other organisations who can provide specific information
• They want to help to improve situation for their children and family
• Want to be clear about where to get help when they need it
Contacts
• Lisa Marshall
Kinship Care Policy and Outreach Worker
0131 446 3983
• ParentLine Scotland
08000 28 22 33
