The need for supporting kinship families in Scotland

Key findings include a significant rise in children in kinship care, increasing from 16% of children in care in 2008 to 29% by 2019. Two out of five of these children experienced no other form of care, such as foster or residential care. The report also noted that while educational outcomes have improved, additional support is still needed, especially in areas of deprivation where kinship care is more common.

The research also highlighted regional differences in the likelihood of children being placed with kinship carers and raised concerns about children in unofficial kinship arrangements, for whom there is limited data.

The study calls for further research into these unofficial arrangements and ongoing support for kinship carers, who often care for children with complex needs. It emphasises that timely and updated data is essential to fully understand the challenges and to ensure appropriate support is in place for all kinship families.

The full report and accompanying Data Insight are available online. ADR Scotland has also funded an info-comic and GIFs (one, two, three) as part of their work to make research findings more accessible to young people.

Read the full story on the SCADR website.

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