Cost of kinship care pushed grandma 'to the brink'

A Greater Manchester grandmother, who has been looking after her two grandchildren since 2019, is one of around 5,000 kinship carers set to receive financial assistance from the government as part of a pilot initiative.

Maura Jackson, from Bolton, first took over the care of her grandchildren, then aged one and eight, at the age of 48.

While the children are thriving in her care, the increase in financial pressure initially pushed her to the brink of a nervous breakdown.

"Of course you're going to [look after them]... because you love them. But you're working full-time, and you've got all these commitments. How do you financially make this happen?" she said. "It's really hard."

Kinship carers are adults who step in as the primary caregiver, to provide a home for children in their family whose parents are unable to care for them full-time. They are often grandparents, aunts, uncles or family friends.

Unlike foster carers and adoptive families, currently kinship carers do not receive regular financial support.

Bolton has been named by the Department for Education (DfE) as one of seven areas taking part in a pilot program, and will benefit from a share of £126m over the next two years.

The money will be split across 5,000 families from all over England, as part of the biggest government investment of its kind in kinship care, the DfE said.

Other local authority areas taking part in the trial include Bexley, Newcastle, North East Lincolnshire, Medway, Thurrock and Wiltshire.

Sam Turner, from charity Kinship, welcomed the funding package, adding it showed the government had recognised that the support currently available for kinship families was not sufficient.

However, he said the funding "will only reach about 4% of all children in kinship care across the country".

"In my opinion, I think the financial support needs to be standard," echoed Jackson, while welcoming the additional help.

"Some families literally cannot afford to feed another mouth."

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