Narey, Adoption & Good Old Common Sense!
July 14, 2011
After reading an article in Community Care today I was surprised to see a new found optimism on the part of Martin Narey for kinship care, alongside an element of frustration at the Court system for involving family and friends when a child is about to be adopted, when ‘at a glance (family and friends) are completely unsuitable’.
It makes me smile when I hear or read comments or remarks made about kinship carers and their suitability to raise their relative’s children. Not too long ago I overheard a conversation where kinship carers were described as ‘rough and ready’. But do kids really care about first impressions and appearances? I don’t think so. Children instinctively know what lies beneath and can see beyond what people like Martin Narey can see.
There are over 173,000 children living in kinship care in the UK. These children and their carers receive little if any support, and yet the kids do remarkably well and the carers thrive knowing they have avoided their relative’s children from being taken into care.
Can you imagine if these kinship carers received support – my goodness I think we could cut the number of kids in care by 20%. But the reality is that many family and friends carers do not feel as though they could look after their relative’s children because there is no support that would enable them to do so. Perhaps that’s were the answer lies.
I left care 19 years ago. When I look at the care system now little if anything has changed. The care system is broken, and always has been broken. We have patched it up with legislation, guidance and all the rest of it but it is and will always be broken. All Martin Narey is trying to do is patch up another hole and that might work for the system but it won’t work for the children within it.
I don’t agree with Martin Narey and his approach (or lack of approach) when it comes to keeping children within their own families. But then Martin Narey hasn’t experienced an upbringing like mine and so many others, so how could he understand.
Lets hope good old common sense prevails. It usually does.
Read Community Care http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2011/07/14/117179/adoption-tsar-martin-narey-answers-his-critics.htm
I am afraid good old common sense often does not prevail which is why we need organisations like Kinship Care Northern Ireland to raise awareness of the issues that need to be addressed in the care system.
Surely what we need is for Kinship Carers to receive support from the statutory sector so that more youngsters can be brought up within their own extended families rather than being put in the care of the State.
Good article but I do question the courts and trusts when deeming people unsuitable, does N Ire still have the bonus pot for hitting adoption targets?
John and Mat, thank you both for your comments.
I have no idea if Northern Ireland operate a bonus system in meeting adoption targets, but I would like to think freeing orders are used when all other options have been explored and it is in the child’s best interests.
The number of children in care in Northern Ireland is in and around 2,500, much less than other places. Of these around 800 are living in residential care and the rest in foster care and kinship care.
We don’t have Special Guardianship here in Northern Ireland, although we have a new Adoption Bill going through at the moment which makes provision for Special Guardianship Orders (SGO). This, I think will help since SGO’s work quite successfully in England in promoting and supporting family and friends care.
I agree John kinship care families require a great deal of support, and statutory sector organisations need to step up to the mark and make this happen. However, like you I don’t think kinship care children should have to fall within a ‘care system’ for this to happen.
I suppose the prospect of policy makers using their common sense is to some extent wishful thinking on my part. But it is perhaps a good place to start.