Grandmother Faces Financial Hardship After Becoming Grandchildren’s Carer

Sophie* promptly assumed care for her two grandchildren following their mother’s mental health breakdown. Nearly four years later, she reports being on the verge of poverty, having continued as their primary caregiver without receiving any financial assistance. Birmingham Children’s Trust categorized this arrangement as a family placement, even though it established plans stating the children “should not be removed” from Sophie’s care. Sophie stated, “I’m left in a situation where I can’t afford the children so am left to struggle – but I can’t put them into a care home.” A charity indicated that Sophie’s predicament is widespread across England and Wales, where thousands of family members encounter financial difficulties while caring for young relatives due to the absence of a specific allowance for which they can apply. A kinship carer, also referred to as a family and friends’ carer, involves a private agreement between parents and a relative or friend, or it can result from children’s services involvement. In contrast, a kinship foster carer is a family or friend carer evaluated to provide care for a child on behalf of children’s services. In the latter scenario, the local authority shares parental rights with the parents, and the carer receives a standard foster care allowance. Sophie is currently seeking to be recognized as a kinship foster carer, but Birmingham Children’s Trust has denied her request to date. Sophie’s daughter developed post-natal psychosis following the birth of her second child, leading to police temporarily removing both children from her care in December 2020. The children resided with their maternal aunt and grandmother for two weeks before social workers determined they could return to their mother’s home. However, by February 2021, their mother’s condition worsened, prompting her to make a distressed 999 call requesting her son and daughter be removed from the residence for their safety. A referral was subsequently made to social services, who were already familiar with the family, and a social worker contacted Sophie to inquire if she could provide care for the children. Sophie recounted, “I agreed to looking after them both for the night, but I didn’t confirm a long-term arrangement as I knew my life would change.” She added, “But as I watched them sleep overnight, I knew I couldn’t give them up.” Child protection plans from the trust, reviewed by the BBC, specify that the children, who were one and six years old at the time, “should not be removed” from the grandmother’s care without prior agreement. Sophie ceased working for a year as she adapted to becoming a single parent. She described this as “a path [she] never anticipated,” which resulted in her incurring debt, relying solely on Universal Credit and child benefit for financial support. She stated, “They came to me with nothing and only the clothes on their backs,” noting the children had few possessions at home. Sophie explained, “I had to provide new clothes, baby bottles, new beds, bedding, everything you can think of – I even had to reorganise and decorate my house, so it was suitable for the children and to their needs.” She further commented: “I struggled providing food and paying bills to the point where I did not eat myself.” Rhiannon Clapperton, from the charity Kinship, asserted: “If a social worker has asked you to care for a child informally, outside of kinship foster care arrangement, but are also saying it is not safe to send the child home, then it is not an informal care arrangement.” She added, “You should be assessed, supported and paid an allowance as a kinship foster carer.” West Midlands Police confirmed the children’s removal occurred under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, a provision that mandates children’s services to provide accommodation for children unable to reside with their parents. A spokesperson for Coram Children’s Legal Centre informed the BBC that they have observed multiple instances where local authorities actively participated in placing a child with a family member or friend, yet subsequently deemed it an informal, private arrangement. They stated, “This frequently means that carers do not receive adequate financial assistance and support, and the children do not receive the protections and support to which they are entitled as ‘looked after children’.” The Kinship charity’s Make or Break report, published in October, indicated that 47% of kinship carers assess the financial support information provided by their local authority as poor or very poor. In the West Midlands, approximately 15,437 children are being raised by a family member or friend. A comparable situation in September resulted in a complaint being upheld against Lancashire County Council. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman determined that the council had failed to classify the complainant’s grandson as a child in care. Had it done so, it would have been obligated to provide both financial and other forms of support to both the grandmother and her grandson. A spokesperson for Birmingham Children’s Trust stated they were unable to comment on specific cases but affirmed that they “recognise the significant contribution that children’s wider family networks play.” They further added, “Staying in their family networks, if safe and appropriate to do so, leads to better outcomes for children.” Earlier this year, the trust informed Sophie, who is now 47, that it bore no formal responsibility for placing the children in her care. Previously, it had only provided her with a single £100 payment to assist with clothing expenses. A letter indicated that the plan had been “formulated in conjunction with mother who was still deemed to have capacity and also continued to exercise her parental responsibility making decisions in respect of the children and their care.” Sophie’s daughter received an official diagnosis of post-natal psychosis in April 2021 after being sectioned. She was subsequently diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and has remained housebound for three years. Sophie maintains her conviction that the children, currently aged 10 and four, should not have been categorized as residing with her under a family arrangement. To manage her finances, she works part-time and continues to claim Universal Credit. She remarked, “The kids weren’t allowed to return home – and now we’re in a situation where nobody wants to help.” She concluded, “I took them on because I love them to bits, not for the money – but practical side of it is I need the financial support.” *Names have been changed Individuals affected by this account or seeking support can find organizations offering assistance and information via the BBC Action Line. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding its approach to external linking is available.