Aberlour's response to the Scottish Government's 'Vision for Kinship Care' consultation

In 2020 Scotland made a pledge to children, young people and families to do all we can to keep families together and where this is not possible, to provide the best care so all children can thrive. 

Aberlour Children's Charity is committed to delivering The Promise, ensuring all children and young people across Scotland experience being safe and loved. We provide care and support for children and families, helping them to overcome challenges in their lives. Wherever possible we help families to stay together and flourish. When a child is unable to live with their family, we ensure they are nurtured within safe and loving homes.

We support incorporation of the UNCRC. Our approach to supporting people is built on ensuring children and young people’s human rights are fully realised. We are committed to making rights real for the children, young people and families we support and are unwavering in our ambition to ensure all of Scotland’s children have an equal chance to thrive.

Ending child poverty is Aberlour’s central mission. We believe eliminating poverty ensures a fairer and more equal society. Poverty can contribute to and, often, be a cause of the multiple and intersecting challenges in families’ lives – contributing to poor physical and mental health, low educational attainment, addiction and domestic abuse. At Aberlour we believe all children have a right to grow up and live free from poverty.

We believe in tackling the root causes of poverty and disadvantage, such as inadequate income, lack of affordable housing, and limited access to education and employment opportunities. We also support reducing levels of debt as this can trap families in poverty. Increasing family income helps families to flourish and is a positive investment in Scotland’s children and communities.

In response to this consultation, we have provided insight from our work supporting kinship families and reflected the views and experiences of children, young people and families with experience of kinship care.