Attachment and Resilience in Kinship Care
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Health in Social Science
Abstract
More than a quarter of looked-after children in the UK are in kinship care, and the majority of kinship carers receive minimal training and support from statutory services, reflected in outcomes that are typically as poor as for those in foster and residential care, with high levels of mental health problems, teen pregnancy, homelessness and unemployment. The motivations for becoming a kinship carer are likely to be complex and different from those motivating non-kin foster carers, and may be associated with other psychosocial carer factors that influence the stability and success of placements. These motivations may have differential effects on the success of the placement and wellbeing of the young person, but little is known about this, with a small body of extant research focusing on practical and procedural influences on placement success. Children 1st has, for a number of years focused on work with Kinship care Families as a service delivery issue as well as Policy and Research focus. They have consulted with Kinship Carers on a range of support and financial issues and disseminated these consultation reports to the Scottish Government and to wider interested organisations/bodies as part of their work supporting the development of the Children and Young People (Scotland) 2014 Act and supporting the needs of Kinship Care Families. Their Kinship Care service has been in operation since 2012 and has built up significant connections with Kinship carers (a database of over 900) as well as partner organisations working in the field.
The proposed collaboration aims to build on the work Children 1st has done to address significant gaps in the evidence-base for what works with kinship carers. The collaborators will support a PhD student to identify the motivations for kinship care through qualitative enquiry prior to testing the associations between these motivations, other indicators of carer suitability and wellbeing in the looked after child using a quantitative survey-based design. This second stage will involve the development of a novel measure of kinship carer motivation with preliminary validation achieved through the survey. The findings of this project will add substantial new information to our understanding about how the wider family system can be mobilised to provide alternative care for children who cannot be raised safely in their own homes. This will provide new and invaluable guidance and resources to those who assess the suitability of kinship care arrangements, and the wider community of supports in health, social care and the third sector who provide ongoing support to such families. Children 1st's policy team has been working for a number of years consulting with Kinship Carers about the range of support and other needs they have and the different support needs which are met across Scotland in different local authority areas. The proposed project will provide depth to current findings and direct the work of the policy team with respect to local practice and the outcomes for children and young people.
It is anticipated that the infrastructure support of Volunteering Practices and Policies would be used to involve the student in work/volunteer in services. A National Volunteer Coordinator would oversee the practical details of the student's time with Children 1st, including all training. An induction and training programme would be completed by the Student depending on their role. In any role where contact with children and young people was relevant we would ensure a range of training was accessed such as Safeguarding and Child Protection, Case Recording, Working with Outcomes etc.
The proposed collaboration aims to build on the work Children 1st has done to address significant gaps in the evidence-base for what works with kinship carers. The collaborators will support a PhD student to identify the motivations for kinship care through qualitative enquiry prior to testing the associations between these motivations, other indicators of carer suitability and wellbeing in the looked after child using a quantitative survey-based design. This second stage will involve the development of a novel measure of kinship carer motivation with preliminary validation achieved through the survey. The findings of this project will add substantial new information to our understanding about how the wider family system can be mobilised to provide alternative care for children who cannot be raised safely in their own homes. This will provide new and invaluable guidance and resources to those who assess the suitability of kinship care arrangements, and the wider community of supports in health, social care and the third sector who provide ongoing support to such families. Children 1st's policy team has been working for a number of years consulting with Kinship Carers about the range of support and other needs they have and the different support needs which are met across Scotland in different local authority areas. The proposed project will provide depth to current findings and direct the work of the policy team with respect to local practice and the outcomes for children and young people.
It is anticipated that the infrastructure support of Volunteering Practices and Policies would be used to involve the student in work/volunteer in services. A National Volunteer Coordinator would oversee the practical details of the student's time with Children 1st, including all training. An induction and training programme would be completed by the Student depending on their role. In any role where contact with children and young people was relevant we would ensure a range of training was accessed such as Safeguarding and Child Protection, Case Recording, Working with Outcomes etc.