We are asking these questions… to understand more about the kinship carers and kinship families that are represented in our survey cohort. We want to ensure we’re reaching as representative and diverse a group of kinship carers as possible, and these questions help us find out how well we’re doing this and where we need to improve.

These questions also allow us to analyse survey responses based on age, ethnicity and other personal characteristics – this helps us to identify groups of kinship carers who might be facing particular challenges and target new services and policies to help support them. For example, based on findings from previous surveys, we established a specific online peer support group for kinship carers caring on their own. 

We are asking these questions… to understand more about the circumstances and structure of your kinship family. As with the previous section, this enables us to delve further into how experiences of support differ between families with different types of kinship arrangements and backgrounds.

We are asking these questions… because we know from our advice and support services that many kinship carers struggle with their health and wellbeing, and too many families are struggling to access the right mental health support for their kinship children. We’re particularly keen this year to understand kinship family experiences accessing therapeutic support through CAMHS and the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF), where applicable.

We are asking these questions… as we want to generate a clear picture about how kinship families are coping with ongoing cost of living pressures in order to push local authorities and the government to deliver better financial support. Some of these questions mirror those asked in large, national surveys carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – by asking the same questions, we’ll be able to compare the financial experiences of kinship families directly with other groups and highlight any key differences.

We are asking these questions… as kinship carers tell us that housing is a major challenge for their families, and they want to see improved local authority support with finding and funding appropriate accommodation. These questions will allow us to compare how kinship families and their living situations compare to other groups and to illustrate how taking on the care of a kinship child impacts on experiences of housing. 

We are asking these questions…  to understand more about how kinship families are receiving ongoing support from the local authority and elsewhere, and to push local authorities to improve the advice, information and support they provide to kinship carers. This will also help us identify areas of good as well as poor practice across the country, and track how things change year-to-year.

Please respond to the questions below with reference to the local authority you have had most engagement with or support from. If you are looking after a child and they were previously looked after by a different local authority to the one you currently live in, this may likely be the former local authority. 

We appreciate some of the questions below might feel uncomfortable to think about, but it is vital we present an honest picture about the urgent and significant needs of many kinship families in order to convince decision makers in local authorities and government to change things. Remember – you don’t have to answer any questions you’d prefer not to, and we’re here at Kinship to support you and your family at any point.

We are asking these questions…  to understand your experiences with accessing advice and support about kinship care and getting involved with Kinship’s work, and what you’d like to see us focus more on in the future.