A growing number of relatives in England and Wales are stepping in at short notice to care for children at risk of entering the foster system, taking on the emotional and practical challenges of kinship care without prior preparation. One carer recalls the sudden moment he became responsible for a young child, left alone with the infant after a social worker departed, highlighting the abrupt and often overwhelming nature of the decision. The experience has brought both profound joy and significant hardship for those who choose this path, reshaping their lives in an instant. For those curious about the personal and systemic pressures behind kinship care, the full account offers a rare glimpse into the unplanned realities of family-based child protection.
Those who have stepped in to keep young family members from going into care in England and Wales say the decision has brought them joy and hardshipClive vividly remembers the day when, without warning or time to work out what he was really letting himself in for, he became a kinship carer.“The social worker left, the door closed and Savannah was lying there in a carry cot, wrapped up in a pink blanket. She looked so calm and so comfy, absolutely oblivious about what’s just happened. Continue reading...
