Ten top tips on supporting kinship placements

The Ten Top Tips series considers some of the fundamental themes in child care practice in concise, practical guides ideal for busy practitioners.

Kinship care is now emerging as a fast-growing alternative to other forms of substitute care. How can social workers adjust their approach to kinship care? Can assessments be tailored to meet different needs? How can workers enable kinship carers to explore all the options open to them? How can we work together with family and friends in the firm belief that it is best for children to remain one of the family? This guide will help workers to recognise the challenges of kinship care and be better prepared to support kinship placements. It looks at some of the fundamental positive steps that workers can take to ensure that kinship care is as successful as possible for the children and carers involved.

Who is this book for?

This user-friendly guide contains expert advice for all workers involved with moving children on to other adoptive placements, or other forms of permanency. Both social workers new to this area of work, as well as established practitioners, will benefit from the practical advice on settling children into stable, enduring and permanent families.

What you will find in this book

Each of the ten chapters presents a basic “tip” in an accessible and straightforward style, including:

• Considering kinship care as the first choice for stability
• Getting to know the child
• Considering all the options
• Knowing the law and minding the guidance
• Working with the whole kinship network
• Widening horizons
• Being aware of alliances, conflicts and diversity in the family
• Being prepared to support kinship placements
• Recognising the challenges of contact
• Promoting continuity and openness for permanence or reunion

Good practice points are included throughout.

Author

Hedi Argent is an independent adoption consultant, trainer and freelance writer. She has written and edited many books for CoramBAAF including Adopting a brother or sister, Dealing with disruption and a guide for children about kinship care, Kinship care: what it is and what it means.

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