Kinship Care NI secure £219,045.98 for kinship carers and their children

The 'Caring for Kin' Project offers a free telephone helpline service as well as advice, information and support to grandparents raising their grandchildren and other kinship carers raising their family/friends' children.

Staff member Michelle, a qualified solicitor specialising in family law ensures kinship carers are aware of and receiving their full entitlement to financial support for the children in their care.  Financial support includes Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Guardian's Allowance, Residence Allowances, Foster Care Allowances and Pension Credit.  Too often, kinship carers think because they are not the biological parent they cannot claim financial support for the children they are caring for.  Other kinship carers feel too proud or embarrassed to ask for financial help because they do not want to draw attention to themselves or risk losing the children they are raising.

Across Northern Ireland, over 8,600 children are being raised by family members and friends because they cannot be cared for by their own parents. Children in kinship care are twice as likely to live in poverty compared to children living with their own parents and many kinship carers struggle to afford the most basic necessities for the children in their care.  

We are absolutely delighted we are making a difference to kinship carers and their children by helping take children in kinship care out of poverty and keeping families together.

For more information on our 'Caring for Kin' Project and the range of services available, contact us free on 0800 022 3129 or email [email protected] 

Our Caring for Kin Project is funded by the Big Lottery Fund under the 'Reaching out Connecting Older People Programme'.