Estimates of the number of children living in some form of kinship care in the UK vary, as does the definition. But the figure could be as high as 160,000 – around twice the number that are looked after by local authorities. In a minority of cases there is overlap, with relatives becoming foster carers. But despite their large number, these households have a lower profile, in policy terms, than more formal care arrangements.
That might be changing. As the local authority care system has become more dysfunctional due to funding cuts, increasing numbers of unaccompanied children arriving in the UK and the damaging effects of marketisation, it is being suggested that kinship carers could offer a solution – or at least part of one.
