Grandparents Plus is a national charity which supports grandparents and the wider family in children's lives - particularly when they begin to care for the children during difficult family circumstances, such as when a parent is sent to prison. Grandparents Plus provide a support network for the wider family raising children. Whilst providing the love, care and support these children need, the carers themselves can often feel isolated and stigmatised, ignored by government policy and practice. Grandparents Plus have a Families of Prisoners section on their website which provides information, advice and details of other organisations, specifically for grandparents and kinship carers looking after children when their parents have been sent to prison.
They also provide an advice and information helpline for the wider family that cares for children: 0300 123 7015 (open Monday - Friday, 10am-3pm).
The Grandparents Plus Support Network brings together Grandparents who are raising their grandchildren and other kinship carers to give them a voice, share experiences, find solutions and tell the government, children's services, and other agencies what needs to change. This is carried out by running local, regional and national events for all kinship carers, through their newsletter Kinship First, through their website and by joining forces with other groups to ensure Grandparents voices are heard. Grandparents Plus have produced The Kinship Care Guide for England which is a vital resource for Grandparents and other family and friends (kinship carers) who are raising children who cannot live with their parents. The guide can also be useful to social workers and other professionals who work with special guardians, family and friends, foster carers and other kinship carers.
E: advice@grandparentsplus.org.uk
T: 0300 123 7015 A: Grandparents Plus, 18 Victoria Park Square, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PF
W: http://www.grandparentsplus.org.uk/
