Jane Aldgate

Living in Kinship Care: A Child-Centred View

Jane Aldgate describes findings from a Scottish research study on kinship care. Her article is drawn from a commissioned study which informed a government review of children looked after by local authorities in Scotland in 2006. The article presents the perspectives of the 30 children in the study on living in kinship care. It explores childrens understanding of the reasons for their placements and their views on the future, as well as on the roles and tasks of social workers. Children speak of both the negative and positive challenges of living in kinship care, including maintaining contact with parents and siblings. Childrens everyday lives, including experiences of school, peers and activities are recounted. The article ends by describing the Scottish Governments new policy for improving services for children in kinship care.