A campaign is calling for crucial protections to support those who step in to care for children when parents cannot.
Nusrat Ghani, MP for Sussex Weald, has been backing the campaign alongside Hailsham resident and kinship carer Wendy Turner, with whom she recently attended a parliamentary event to celebrate progress toward securing paid employment leave for kinship carers.
Kinship carers are relatives or close family friends who care for children unable to remain with their birth parents.
There are over 141,000 children in kinship care across England and Wales, including more than 160 in Sussex Weald.
Ms Ghani said: "Becoming a kinship carer is a life-changing situation and can be a very isolating experience.
"I am immensely grateful for everything that Wendy and our kinship carers across Sussex Weald do to enable children to continue living safely within their family.
"I continue working with Wendy and making representations to Ministers on behalf of our local kinship carers, and I have met with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed to highlight their work and stress the need to recognise the contribution kinship carers make and their inclusion in provision for paid employment leave."
Unlike adopters or foster carers, many kinship carers do not receive financial support or benefits such as paid employment leave.
Ms Ghani has worked with Ms Turner, who is raising her grandchildren and runs support groups in Hailsham and Heathfield, to advocate for greater recognition and support for kinship carers.
She has raised the issue directly with ministers, urging them to ensure kinship carers are included in policy decisions around paid leave.
Ms Ghani said: "I have regular catch ups with our kinship carers to discuss the support available locally and nationwide and what more can be done.
"It was great to catch up with Wendy again in Westminster and support the fantastic work she does to champion kinship carers."
Ms Turner continues to lead support groups for kinship carers in both Hailsham and Heathfield.
The campaign calls for greater awareness of the challenges kinship carers face and formal recognition of the vital role they play.
The original article is available here.
