The Essential Guide to Kinship Care
You might just have been told that someone needs you to care for a child or have been caring for a child for quite some time. Maybe you know the child, perhaps you are their grandparent? Or maybe the child is connected to someone in your family, but you hardly know them.
You may have a lot of conflicting feelings. Maybe you are relieved that the child is with you, or perhaps you feel resentment at the interference of others? It might all be rather overwhelming, even if you have been a kinship carer for quite some time. Whatever the situation, when Kinship Care is sought, it can often come out of the blue.
Sarah Naish and Enza Smith provides the answers to all of your burning questions. Dip-in dip-out sections help you with the immediate hurdles you might face, such as bereavement, issues with drugs or alcohol, child abuse, and more as well as challenges which may arise later in your kinship care journey. This book fills the information vacuum of support and ensures you always have an easy-to-access comforting friend within its pages.
You may have a lot of conflicting feelings. Maybe you are relieved that the child is with you, or perhaps you feel resentment at the interference of others? It might all be rather overwhelming, even if you have been a kinship carer for quite some time. Whatever the situation, when Kinship Care is sought, it can often come out of the blue.
Sarah Naish and Enza Smith provides the answers to all of your burning questions. Dip-in dip-out sections help you with the immediate hurdles you might face, such as bereavement, issues with drugs or alcohol, child abuse, and more as well as challenges which may arise later in your kinship care journey. This book fills the information vacuum of support and ensures you always have an easy-to-access comforting friend within its pages.
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Reviews
This book is an excellent resource for all those affected by kinship care. It is written in an accessible and informative format, making it suitable for kinship carers and practitioners alike. It helps individuals navigate their way through the complicated legal processes and emotional challenges that may occur within kinship care, always keeping the needs of the child central. The book includes a helpful focus on therapeutic parenting; helping carers to understand and respond to the emotions of the child and building a strong and supportive bond. The kinship carer's own wellbeing and self-care is also rightly prioritised. Kinship carers and multi- agency practitioners who read this book, will wonder how they ever coped before it was published!
Like a reassuring arm around your shoulder, resolutely on your side, this is the book all kinship carers will want to read. Its easy to dip in and out of format makes it an essential guide for families and individuals at all stages of their kinship journey as it shares advice about navigating the initial impact of becoming a kinship carer, followed by the potential hurdles and changing relationships along the way. It demystifies legalities and jargon and offers both practical and emotional help, enabling kinship carers to anticipate challenges, plan for the future and feel more in control.
Kinship carers are incredible. Far too often they are wholly unsupported at every step. There are few people actively working harder to change this than Sarah and Enza, and so I am very pleased the authors have written this book. It will be a valuable resource to anyone beginning their journey, and to those already experiencing the highs and lows. Becoming a kinship carer is giving a child the most incredible gift. It is a gift of your time, your understanding, and your love. Let this wonderful book guide you forward.