Kinship Care and Relative Carers
Kinship Care supports grandparents as parents and relative carers in Newcastle and the Hunter region.
Relative or kinship care is a type of care where a child or young person lives with a relative or someone they already know, when circumstances mean they are unable to live with their parents. Caring by relatives is a common practice across cultures, but the term kinship care can have different meanings for different cultural groups.
In Australian Indigenous communities, kin may be a relative of the child or young person or someone who shares a cultural or community connection.
The Samaritans Kinship Care program provides a number of services to support kinship and relative carers in their very important role:
- Case Work Support – the Kinship Care Caseworker can help with information and advice, linking up with other services such as Centrelink, support groups, childcare, schools, counselling, disability services and programs to support children and young people.
- Training and Workshops – these run regularly on topics such as child development and effects of trauma and supporting teenagers.
- Peer Support Groups – friendship groups that run weekly in 11 different locations across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Hunter region and Port Stephens. Groups are often supported by volunteers from Anglican Parishes and provide a welcoming space for sharing information, lots of laughs and supporting one another.