Family carers discrminiated against for raising relatives’ children
Nearly half of the UK’s 200,000 grandparents and kinship carers who are bringing up relatives’ children in traumatic circumstances face stigma and discrimination, often from public officials, with their children bullied and excluded from activities and many carers forced to give up their jobs, according to the first survey of its kind.
The survey Disadvantage, discrimination, reslience: the lives of kinship families reveals that:
*43% of kinship carers report having been stigmatised, discriminated against or treated rudely or differently because they are raising a relatives’ child
* Over a quarter (28%) say they have been mistreated by a social worker, and on in six (16%) say the same about teachers
* 90% say it is more challenging raising a relative’s child than raising their own. 77% of kinship carers have asked for professional help, tho thirds of these did not receive the support they needed – despite 59% bringing up a child with a disability or special neeeds
* 42% have quit their job or stopped working to care for a kinship child; 46% of those who gave up work are now dependent on welfare benefits.
Sam Smethers, Chief Executive of Grandparents Plus said: “Grandparents and family carers are unsung heroes. They do the right thing and step in to care for chidlren, keeping them out of care, usually in very difficult circumstances and at great personal cost. Yet so many experience discrimination by social workers, teachers and other parents.”
Gloria Hunniford, who is presenting the charity’s BBC One Lifeline Appeal on Sunday 14 December said: “When my daughter Caron died of breast cancer I wanted to do all I could to care for her young boys. The family were already living with me and continued to stay with me for some months afterwards. The truth is tragedies like this can happen to anyone
“Some of the experiences in this survey are truly heart-breaking. These famlies have been through enough trauma already. They deserve our support and understanding.”
