Kinship Symposium at EuSARF Conference 2025

Last month, I attended the EuSARF conference in Zagreb, Croatia. Along with some of my colleagues at the Rees Centre, we presented various strands of work currently being conducted. Teresa Williams and I presented research as part of the Kinship symposium. The kinship symposium entitled ‘Challenges and Advances in Kinship Foster Care from an International Perspective’ provided an opportunity to share the different ways kinship carers are recognised and supported in countries around the world. Our presentation focused on our published work about the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers in England (the Raised by Relatives project), setting the context for kinship care in England. We were joined by colleagues from Spain, Australia, Switzerland and Canada.

Each presenter shared the challenges of kinship care within their countries. All presenters agreed on the benefits of children living with family members; however, there was a clear difference in how kinship care is perceived across countries. In England, although kinship care is more widely recognised as an option for children who can no longer be cared for by their parents, the number of children in kinship care remains unknown due to difficulties in recording instances of informal kinship care, as highlighted by the recently published Kinship Strategy and guidance. Dr Juliette Borenstein (La Trobe University, Melbourne) reflected on the increase in the use of kinship foster care in Australia; however, policy and practice are still primarily aimed at non-related foster care, which often does not adequately reflect the needs of kinship carers. In Switzerland, Prof. Daniela Reimer (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) concluded her presentation of three case studies by highlighting the dearth of much-needed research in kinship care in Switzerland. Dr Nuria Fuentes-Peláez (University of Barcelona) presented on the prevalence of kinship foster care compared to non-related foster care, as well as a study exploring the use of evidence-based tools to enhance support for kinship carers, highlighting the importance of strategies/policies to increase available support. And finally, Joannie Laporte (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Université de Montréal) described the research the team in Canada had done to understand long-term stability in kinship families. This snapshot provides an overview of the current status of kinship care in these countries.

At the end of the session, the audience had the opportunity to pose questions to the panel. One question that stuck with me was ‘If you could choose one change/recommendation for kinship carers, what would it be?’ Despite the differences between countries in the way that kinship families are recognised and supported, we were all in agreement that, aside from financial support, all carers need to have access to support from services – a dedicated team who can advise and respond to queries throughout the process of becoming and being a kinship carer. Kinship carers are a vital source of support to the children that they care for. Recognising the work that they do is essential to ensuring that they can continue to provide stable homes for their children.

Written by: Priya Tah