Children who cannot be looked after by their parents often live with relatives or friends of the family. This care is known as kinship care. Kinship care is acknowledged in global guidance as the first form of care that should be explored for children outside of parental care. It is widely used across the world. However, it is poorly supported in many countries. This guidance explains why supporting kinship care is so important and provides principles of good practice and lessons learnt from across the world. The guidance is aimed at policymakers and programme managers working to improve the care of children. It was developed from a review of the literature, 28 key informant interviews, workshops with 41 policymakers and practitioners, and consultations with 215 kinship carers and 196 children in kinship care across seven countries.
