Across Australia and internationally, growing numbers of grandparents are becoming primary carers for grandchildren, both within and outside of formal state care arrangements. Underlying factors include family breakdown, family circumstances where parents are unable to care for their children, or where there are child safety concerns. Some grandparents report a pattern of initially providing care for grandchildren but then experiencing reduced or lost contact that sometimes is not restored, in turn impacting ongoing relationships with grandchildren. A prevailing concern is the disproportional numbers of Aboriginal children in state care in all Australian states. Reported here are findings from a recent partnership research project focused on optimizing grandparent contact and ongoing relationships with grandchildren after child safety concerns. Qualitative in‐depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with 77 participants. Findings revealed grandparents yearned to maintain a significant role in grandchildren's lives after child safety issues emerged, however, they often felt powerless, unsupported, and sidelined from decision‐making in the best interests of their grandchildren. Participants made strong recommendations for more inclusive processes.

Grandparents are increasingly involved in the care and protection of grandchildren. The qualitative Australian study reported here explored how contact between grandparents and their grandchildren could be optimised after child safety concerns. Interviews and focus groups with 77 participants were undertaken in 2016. In total, 51 grandparents and aunties in grand parenting roles, 12 parents, 6 foster carers and 8 child protection workers participated in this study. Of the 51 participants in grandparent roles, 20 were kinship carers. This article specifically reports on emerging findings regarding grandparents as kinship carers.Key findings reveal that many grandparents were willing to step into the carer role and many wanted to stay connected to grandchildren, however overall, they received little support.Findings identified the stresses and the fragility of the care arrangements and that at times providing kinship care could endanger carers. Overall, findings point to a perceived notion of kinship care implemented as a cost-effective alternative to foster care that leaves grandparents without the required support and resources. It is recommended here that grandparents receive greater recognition as kinship carers, and that child protection systems increase familyinclusive practices that provide better support and resources to kinship carers. Implication statement• Social work practitioners need to work holistically with the extended families to achieve better outcomes for children in child protection• Grandparents as kinship carers need to be supported and resourced to undertake this complex task• When grandparents are not able to be kinship carers their involvement in decision making can benefit children in care KeywordsChild protection; grandparents; grandparents as carers; kinship care Emerging literature suggests that kinship care increasingly is sought as a care option for children, often in light of insufficient foster care and residential placements and to maintain family and cultural connections (Fernandez, 2014). While data is not available for all Australian States, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW] reports that 48% of kinship carers in 2015-16 were grandparents, while 22% were uncles/ aunts (AIHW, 2017). However, the situation is complex. Earlier research reported that, after some grandparents had contacted child protection services to help safeguard grandchildren, one outcome was reduced or lost contact or denied access to their grandchildren (Gair, 2017;Rigby, et al., 2015). Other grandparents experienced a cyclic pattern of maintained contact with grandchildren, followed by limited or lost contact with their grandchildren that, on occasions, was resumed (Gair, 2017).Many grandparents are motivated to take on kinship care of their grandchildren when there are child protection concerns to protect and provide for their family, and for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship carers this role is a part of cultural responsibilities (Milosevic, et al., 2009). This article re...

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This paper throws a spotlight on the systemic disadvantage experienced by parents who have their children removed from their care. With data drawn from the annual reports of the Legal Aid of Western Australia, the child protection agency in Western Australia, and the Productivity Commission, the authors illustrate the disconnection between the agency’s policy to reunify children once removed from their birth parents; the resources made available to support families to overcome their difficulties; and how the gap is further widened when parents without financial means and who are disempowered face legal proceedings on their own. We profile the increasing numbers of infants who are removed, the decreasing numbers of these infants who are discharged from care, and the shortfall of grants of legal aid that are provided to parents when they go to court. For this group of parents, permanent loss of their children is a reality. The aim of the paper is to capture the extent to which there is a fundamental blemish on the principles of due process and fairness, and once statutory processes are triggered, the best interests of the child and the support of parents are contingent, with poverty being the key mediating factor.