Research conducted by ISS members shows that only a very small percentage of children in care have an international family placement option explored and there is a lack of policies to support international family finding. Moreover, there are deep-rooted racial and ethnic biases that contribute to the significant hurdles that children of colour face in achieving permanency with family as compared to their white counterparts.
ISS has developed a set of Equity in Permanency principles for child protection practitioners and decision-makers to prioritise the exploration of family placements, without discrimination of any kind. We seek to empower child protection partners throughout the world to have a child rights approach and ensure all family placement options are explored for any child who can no longer be cared for by their parents.
ISS panel members will describe how effective international kinship care practices create equity in permanency, and explain why this is a viable option for children in care. They will also present ISS’s 7 principles of Equity in Permanency, illustrate them with case examples as well as recommended practices on what ISS believes is needed to obtain the benefits of kinship care when it comes to cross-border placements.

Studies of care proceedings in England have established a rise in the number of children placed with kinship carers at the end of proceedings, and a corresponding fall in the number of children placed for adoption. Coupled with this there has been a concern about children being placed with kinship carers with whom they have little or no pre-existing relationship.

Where a child in need of protection from abuse or neglect has transnational connections, it may be necessary to explore their potential placement with a kinship carer overseas. However, there are clear challenges associated with establishing whether an international kinship care placement is in a child’s best interests and securing a legal framework for any international kinship care placement.

This study draws upon the author’s doctoral research, which constituted a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 100 care cases heard in England between 2015-2018, together with qualitative interviews with professionals with experience of international kinship care. It identifies significant challenges for professionals and courts associated with trying to ‘fit’ cross-border situations into a domestic legal framework. It suggests that these difficulties stem from an approach in care proceedings which fails treat international kinship care as a distinct form of care, with its own potential strengths and challenges. In care proceedings with an international element generally, a micro-focus on law and procedure has the potential to hinder an individualised approach to supporting children with international connections.

This presentation will explore the ongoing tension between the profoundly important practice of international kinship finding and the barriers presented by the varying domestic legal systems throughout the world. The presenter contends that greater international cooperation is urgently required to ensure that children can be placed with family notwithstanding sovereign borders. The presenter also explores the legislative and policy reform which would be required for international family finding to be further prioritised and effectively implemented in common law countries such as Australia. Finally, the presenter will examine the approaches in therapeutic jurisprudence which could assist in repairing or establishing familial relationships, after long periods of dislocation, to fortify international kinship care placements.