Three grandparents raising grandchildren in southern England say they should have had more support.
They are known as carers – or surrogate parents – who acted as guardians for their grandchildren when their own children were not coping.
Fran and her husband became guardians of their twin grandchildren 18 years ago because their son and partner were struggling with alcoholism and mental health issues.
David became carer to his three teenage grandchildren eight years ago because his daughter was too vulnerable and her father was an alcoholic.
Sandra is now the guardian of her two-year-old grandson, who is struggling with episodes of violence. She has been taking care of him full time since he was 14 months old.
They have been open about what it’s like to be a parent again and say they believe there needs to be more support from local authorities.
A spokesman for the Local Government Association said “increasing demand” from councils means that funding for consanguineous families “is not always as comprehensive as councils would like it to be”.
He added: “We have urged the government to increase funding for relative care and hope that the independent review of child social care will result in improved support to help children in dependent families thrive .”
An Education Department spokesman said: “Councils will get an additional £3.2bn.
Video of Home Affairs Correspondent Nikki Mitchell
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