Kinship care is considered as the best option for foster care yet lacks sufficient support. A review of literature was conducted to determine how kinship care is supported or not well supported to be the best option. It was established that non-related care is better supported as compared to kinship care. It was also found out that there is variety of outcomes in children under that kind of care depending on the support received. The most common problems with children were emotional, physical, and educational problems that hampers their development. It is suggested that individual cases of children should be treated on a personal basis depending on their respective needs. A concern for social workers is that the framework for support in a multi-agency situation does not promote collaboration for quality care and better outcomes. Practitioners and decision-makers need to create programmes to train personnel to ensure collaboration and quality childcare through effective assessment, placement and assistance.
Keywords: kinship care, non-kinship foster carers, support, placements, foster care, looked after children, psychological wellbeing, impact, and family dynamics
Kinship Care: Support and Impact on Family Dynamics
Chapter 1. Introduction
Kinship care refers to children being put under the care of their relatives or friends of their families in cases where they cannot live with their parents. This type of foster care usually encompasses people that are involved in a child’s social network even if they are not related by blood to the child. It can be referred to as family and friends care since those are the people that normally connect with a child in his or her social environment. They are people that a child trusts and knows such as a friend’s parents, close family friends, and good neighbours. With sufficient support kinship carers can positively impact the development of a child in his social environment as compared to unrelated foster carers given that they exist within the same social network as the child.
1.1 Background to the Study
Over the past 20 years, child welfare has seen a rise in the amount of caseloads with more children being placed in kinship care. Children being taken care of by members of their extended family is not a new concept as it has been practiced for many years in several societies across the world. Most cultures of the world consider kin as important in raising children in both the absence and presence of biological parents. According to Berrick, Barth and Needell (1994, 33), kinship parenting is a recognised common practice among the African American community in the United States. In addition, the Hispanic family system involves comadres and compadres which offers care in the same way that a family does hence helping when there are crises. In the United Kingdom, there are two kinds of formal foster care, that is living in private households and being looked after by local authorities (Ford et al., 2007, 319). According to the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (2015, n.p.), kinship foster care is categorised into informal arrangements and formal legalised arrangements.
The Department for Education (2015, n.p.) stated that there were more than 68,000 children in placement care in the United Kingdom with the number expected to rise as from 2015. Furthermore, there were placement orders for about 6,000 children still waiting to be moved to their new families (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2017, n.p.). However, Griffin (2016, 2) pointed out that between 450 and 550 cases of foster family placement had resulted into harmful experiences for children. There have been cases where the supposed care givers have persistently neglected or even abused the children placed under their care. With kinship care, the level of support in terms of assessment, recruitment, supervision, and review is often quite limited hence unlikely to ensure the best conditions for the child (Lawson and Raine, 2013, 14).
According to Berrick, Barth and Needell (1994, 33) the involvement of kith and kin in the upbringing of a child ensures the preservation of family as a unit of the society. Farmer (2009, n.p) stated that kinship foster care has not been well integrated into the legal framework in the United Kingdom. There is an increasing need to address such deficiencies since kin carers find themselves at a disadvantage as compared to non-kin carers (Slade, 2012, 12). Usually unrelated foster carers are provided with support in terms of resources whether financial or professional to help in the upbringing of the child as stipulated by the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 (Baginsky, Gorin, and Sands, 2017, 85). For instance, there are scheduled supervisions from social workers or the local authorities as well as evaluation for placement and financial assistance. Generally, kin carers do not receive as much support as non-kin carers.
Farmer (2009, n.p.) established that there are several similarities between children placed in kinship care and those in non-kinship care. For instance, their development and outcomes with respect to the quality of placement as well as disruption indicated a similarity. According to Farmer and Moyers (2005, 6), kinship care usually lasts longer as compared to stranger foster care. The reason for the longevity of kinship care is because kin carers are persistent with challenging children even when they do not receive sufficient support. Therefore, they often are left strained.
1.2 Problem Statement
Kinship foster care is increasingly becoming widespread in the United Kingdom as an option for stranger foster care in cases where relatives can be traced. However, this kind of foster care is mired by lack of sufficient support as compared to the latter despite the inconveniences incurred on the carer. With most kin carers not following legal guidelines for foster care, they find themselves in positions where they are disadvantaged with limited resources and expertise with regard to looking after someone else’s child(ren). Limited resources impact the children of the carer negatively hence hindering positive outcomes in terms of behaviour and attachment. To the contrary, children placed into foster care develop attachment to the carer but their level of outcomes is largely depended on the carers’ expertise which is limited due to lack of support.
1.3 Justification of the Study
There is the need to address the lack of support to kin carers as compared to non-kin carers since it affects the development of both the children of the carers and those living in foster care. The involvement of kin affects family dynamics in terms of behaviour which should be researched in order to determine the impact on the development of children.
1.4 Research Question
Are kinship carers supported well enough to be the best option for relatives compared to unrelated foster carers?
What impact does kinship care have on family dynamics?
1.5 Aim of the Study
This study intends to determine whether kinship carers are supported well enough in comparison to non-kinship carers and how this kind of foster care affects family dynamics.
1.6 Objectives
i) Compare the support provided to kinship with that given to non-kinship cares.
ii) Determine the impact of kinship care (formal and informal) on the birth children.
iii) Determine the impact on the children that have come into the home.
1.7 Significance of the Study
The research would help to inform on how to make kin foster care effective to ensure positive outcomes among children living with that family system. The study would show the effects of kin foster care on both carers’ children and those living in foster care.
1.8 Scope of the Study
This paper makes use of secondary data and information by dwelling on published academic materials rather than conducting a primary research. It primary looks at kinship foster care with respect to the United Kingdom although in some instances it compares it to other countries especially the United States. The research conducts reviews with respect to British children from the age of 8 to 13 years old. The carers in question are mature adults from 40 years old and above with families of their own.
Chapter 2. Search Strategy/Methodology
The literature used in this paper was retrieved from online archives and books where several published articles can be found. The researcher decided that articles that are as old as 20 years could be retrieved for background information in case there are no updated versions. Those that were published from the year 2007 to 2018 were considered to be used primary literature materials if the authors conducted primary studies on the subject: foster care, impacts, and family dynamics. The researcher restricted the use of literature to only those that were published in English language or had English language versions in cases where they were originally published in other foreign languages. Almost all of the articles retrieved were originally published in English language. The researcher sought to use as many British literature materials as possible because of the need for a UK based outlook. However, a good amount of American literature was also retrieved for the purpose of providing holistic information. Some materials retrieved are Canadian and Australian literature to supplement the others.
The search for literature began with formulation of the key words from the subject. The key words used for this study are kinship care, non-kinship foster carers, support, placements, foster care, looked after children, psychological wellbeing, impact, and family dynamics. To get an overview of the amount of literature available, the researcher executed a simple search engine command into Google which showed that there was plenty of materials available online. With the need for relevant peer-reviewed articles or academic sources, the author decided to retrieve literature materials from online databases. The databases accessed for the purpose of this paper were SocINDEX, ProQuest, JStor, and Scholar. Most of the articles were retrieved from SocINDEX which had a large variety of journals as compared to the other electronic databases. Scholar was effective in showing individual articles then redirecting the user to the source of the article. JStor had some of the oldest articles listed with respect to relevance.
The search for literature was conducted through the use a Boolean search on the databases. The technique involved using the key words together with the functions AND, NOT, and OR to give results that were more relevant. For example, Kinship OR non-kinship care AND support AND Family Dynamics. SocINDEX had the most hits giving more than 200 results for all the combinations. ProQuest had about 30 hits when the functions were used. JStor showed about 100 hits while scholar was not effective when using the Boolean method. Scholar showed more than 50 results whereby most were books and websites. It should be noted that some credible websites such as government’s were considered for use since they are usually authoritative.
Chapter 3. Critical Review of the Literature
3.1 Support for Kin Carers
Farmer (2009, n.p.) noted that most kin carers normally take children to support them without even planning to do so. Being closer to the children’s families puts them in a position where they are the first respondents to the crises children are facing. When they first start to live with the children they mostly do not consider formalisation since they are close relatives. Furthermore, traditionally children could stay with their kin without legal intervention unless serious issues demanding legal attention arose (Wade et al., 2012b, 84). Today, it is not uncommon for parents to send their children over to their relatives for some period of time, especially during school holidays. Take for example the case of Victoria Climbie who was placed under the care of her great aunt that was later recognised by social services but due to lack of support she ended up dead from abuse (Munroe, 2005, 14). However, kin carers have been found to be struggling as they suffer financial problems, conditions in which they live are overcrowded, had health complications, and provide care without support (Wainwright, and Ridley, 2012, 57).
Farmer and Moyers (2005, 4) stated that carers, regardless of kin ties to the child, are satisfied to see children benefit from their care and thrive. Nevertheless, family and friends are able to achieve the positives at a higher cost. Taking care of someone else’s child(ren) without planning for it means sacrifice (Wade, 2008, 42). The children of the carer get divided attention as they have to share resources with an extra child that has not been planned for (Wade and Sanders, 2011, 20). There are some kin carers who quit their employments to look after foster children, thus facing a reduction of income (Welbourne and Leeson, 2013, 25). With a reduction in resources and an increase in responsibilities, the children of the carer find themselves in a disadvantaged position than before. Their personal space of development becomes invaded and divided (Wade et al., 2014, 53). On the other hand, foster children are placed in environments in which they are able to grow. However, they lack professional social support that ensures positive outcome in cases where the carer has limited ability (Wade et al., 2012a, 117).
According to Broad (2007, 60), kin foster carers are often in a disadvantaged position as compared to stranger foster careers. There is usually lack of clear frameworks outlining how and when they can seek and receive assistance during the period of care. Farmer (2009, n.p.) stated that family and friends usually take upon themselves the responsibilities of looking after the foster children under their care without beforehand planning. Broad (2007, 62) defines a kin carer as a person who exists within a child’s social network and is therefore, well recognised and trusted by the child placed under his or her care. The main difference is that formal kinship care involves the local authorities in making arrangements for children to live away from their biological home under the care of members of their extended family on fulltime basis (Rolock and White, 2017, 13).
Broad (2007, 60) examined practice recommendations and policies surrounding kinship care in the United Kingdom. Through the identification of themes arising in the topic it was determined that kinship care is a welcomed concept that lacks ample support. Various reviews conducted by Broad indicated that policies implementation gave much attention to formal foster care through local authorities while denying informal foster care the same amount of support. As Farmer (2009, n.p.) pointed out, most kin carers under the informal category take responsibilities on voluntary basis. This is unlike formal foster care where placement is done after examining and determining how a child would be supported (Wade et al., 2011, 36). According to Broad (2007, 64) the current legal frameworks for kinship care recognise informal foster care but provide support only when it is formalised. According to Farmer and Moyers (2005, 8), the framework for support of kinship carers involves formal application. However, Farmer and Moyers (2005, 9) noted that formalisation is only considered when there are disputes between the parents and the would-be kinship carers.
Family Rights Group (2012, 2) States that under Regulation 24 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, assessment of the kin carer can be carried out while the child is allowed to be placed with the carer for a time amounting to at least 16 weeks. However, local authorities share the responsibility of taking care of the child together with the carer as per the provisions of an Interim Care Order or full Care Order (Wade, 2014., 78) The Children Act of 1989 states that arrangements made for kinship care can be through the duties and powers of statutory bodies as long as they are authorised by the departments engaged in arranging kinship care placements (Department for Education, 2015, n.p.). The act further states that the local authorities have the obligation of making contributions to support the carer who has a Residence Order for accommodation whether he or she is already living or is to live with the child (NICE, 2015, n.p.).
Family Rights Group (2012, 4) outlined that in the Fostering Service Regulations of 2002, Regulation 38 stated that a child waiting approval can be taken care of by the kith and kin for an assessment of the carer to be an authorised foster carer during a period not exceeding 6 weeks. Regulation 28 of the same gives the local authority permission to proceed with immediate child placement with an unapproved adult provided they are satisfied after conducting an interview of the carer and inspection of the household to determine that he or she is related to the child as per the Family Placement Regulations (NICE 2015, n.p.).
Childcare involves local authorities or independent agencies performing the role of facilitation. Kinship carers are related to the children under their care, thus social workers do not pay close attention since they are with family. According to McCormack (2014, 15), The major concern that was reported was the inability of local authorities to provide efficient support with respect to Connected Persons foster care as compared to non-kin foster care. It is important for the support not to be provided on the basis of legal status and resources of child but instead be given depending on his or her specific needs. According to Selwyn et al. (2013, 23), the assessment process should be conducted effectively to determine the needs of a child and whether the household can satisfy his or her interests.
The social work agency conducts interviews and evaluation of households before placement (Wade, 2008, 43). Immediate placements can be carried out in case of emergencies during evaluation but it should be within a 12-week timeframe. It should be noted that the local authorities play a central role in the whole process, thus bringing together all facets of the process (Kidner, 2013, 23). According to Selwyn et al. (2013, 42), the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015 sharing of information where several agencies are involved. It is proposed that every child should have a “named person” with whom public bodies should share information about the child. Furthermore, it is important to consider having a “child’s plan” to be created with the view of providing targeted intervention as the necessities arise. Under this particular legislation, the wellbeing of children in care is sought to be ensured with support being provided to kinship carers and looked after children (Woolfson and King, 2008, 26).
3.2 Impacts of Placement on Child Outcomes
3.2.1 Attachment Theory
The attachment theory was developed by John Bowlby in an attempt to explain how our childhood experiences influenced our problems in adulthood with respect to behaviour and interaction with other people. According to Crittenden and Clausson (2000, n.p.), a child interacts with an adult looking after him or her, thus developing emotional connection in that process. The attachment when healthy enables the child to be confident in the adult responding to his or her needs (Bernier and Dozier, 2003, 356). The common needs of a child can be food to quash hunger, comfort when frightened, and reassurance when tired. The confidence derived from the attachment is crucial for the child to develop a decent sense of self-esteem through exploding his or her environment (Baginsky, Gorin, and Sands, 2017, 40). The child is able to develop into a happy and functioning grown-up as a result of the self-esteem and exploration of the environment.
According to Baginsky, Gorin, and Sands (2017, 39), the reliability of the adult in terms of consistency of providing food, security and attending to the arising needs of the child builds trust between the two individuals. If the child is not able to rely on the care to take care of him or her, then it could result into major problems with respect to development into adulthood (NICE, 2015a, n.p.). Crittenden and Clausson (2000, n.p.) stated that it is also possible for the child to stop all his or her attempts of getting the needs met since he or she is not confident in the adult’s ability to support. Therefore, such an environment does not encourage positive development that can ensure good emotional and social outcomes.
It is important for all parents and carers, whether kinship or non-kinship, to pay attention to the child under their care to identify his or her various needs (Browne et al., 2006, 486). Knowledge of what the interests of the child are is helpful in knowing how to attend to the his or her needs (Cushing and Kerman, 2009, 109). The identification of the needs provides a good opportunity for the responsible adult to determine what he or she can do for the child to satisfy his or her interests (Viner and Taylor, 2005, 896). The decision to remove the child from the care is usually determined by the failure of the child to form a healthy attachment relationship.
According to NICE (2015, n.p.), a child is able to form secure attachment to the carer when he or she responds sensitively to the needs during the first stages of childhood in the event of fear and distress. In the early stages of development, the adult forms a safe foundation upon which children can freely start exploring the environment around them (Gibble, 2016, 115). The main advantages of safe attachment as compared to non-secure attachment are superior outcomes in terms of psychological wellbeing, successful learning, emotional and social development (Leslie et al., 2005, 179). It is usually preferable for the attachment relationships to be developed as early as possible as it helps to nurture capabilities of metallisation, self-control, and stress and psychological regulation as well as enhancing social relations (Millward et al., 2006, 276). Older children have problems developing attachments once placed in foster care, thus attachment difficulties arise leading to various psychiatric challenges and the breakdown of placement (Ford et al., 2007, 324).
The attachment theory led to the conception of an assessment framework known as the Strange Situation Classification developed by Mary Ainsworth (NICE, 2015, n.p.). It is a technique by which individuals can use to observe children behaviour and determine what it means since they have the inability of using speech to express themselves. There are four varying sets of behaviour that were documented: reunion behaviour, stranger anxiety, exploration disposition, and separation anxiety. From the above sets, there are three ways in which children react or attach to the carers: insecure ambivalent, insecure avoidant, and secure attachments (Wood, M. and Selywn, J., 2015, 168).
Children who have established secure relationships with the care exhibit distress when separated from their carers (NICE, 2015a, n.p.). Those with insecure avoidant relationship do not exhibit any distress while those with insecure ambivalent relationship exhibit high levels of distress when the carer departs. Secure children are outgoing with strangers when the carer is around but try avoid in absence. Insecure ambivalent children are afraid of strangers hence avoid playing while the insecure avoidant freely plays with stranger in absence of the carer. When the carer returns the secure child exhibit happiness, the insecure ambivalent moves closer to the carer but refuses to be interact while the insecure avoidant does not even look interested in the carer. With regard to children placed into foster care, those form secure attachments are confident to explore their surroundings within the safety of the carer (Farmer, and Lutman, 2012, 69). Those who forge insecure ambivalent relationships are not comfortable in their environment even when the carer is around them. The children that have insecure avoidant behaviour need emergency attention because they are not mindful of their surroundings.
All the three kinds of attachment influence a child’s senses with respect to others and self as well as relations with others and self. Problems with attachments have significant effects on children when they grow (Farmer, Moyers, and Lipscombe, 2004, 123). Most adoptions that have failed can be explained by these kind of challenges. When it is impossible to forge effective attachment, a child conceives bad images of self and finds it challenging to foster relations with individuals surrounding him or her (NICE, 2015a, n.p.). It is even possible for the child to exhibit aggressive behaviour and care towards the rest of individuals around. When a child is successful in creating better attachment, he or she becomes confident and encouraged to explore with the knowledge that the carer giver is always there to meet his or her interests. Thus, effective attachment ensures self-esteem and assurance of care.
3.2.2 Effect of Kinship Care on Children of the Carer
According to reviews by Targowska et al (2016), most of the placements that have broken down are as a result of instability caused by the birth children. Social workers do not often consider them significant enough to be involved in the evaluation and assessment. All foster decisions made with regard to the household affects the lives of these children, thus they deserve to be heard (Rolock and White, 2016, 422). The children removed from their biological homes establish relationships with those of the carers hence contributing significantly to their attachment process as well as how well they will settle (Moyers, Farmer, and Lipscombe, 2006, 549). Positive involvement ensures progressive outcomes in both sets of children as they spend most of their time together. According to Palacios and Jimenez (2009, 66), most foster carers have withdrawing their care because of the negative outcomes it has had on their birth children. Therefore, it is important to consider finding out the carer’s children’s opinion before placement and during assessments.
Studies conducted by Höjer et al (2013, 23), showed that the most common problems for children associated with placements in their homes were symptoms of anxiety and depression. The severity of symptoms was determined to have been influenced by factors such as child position, age, and gender (Rolock, 2015, 164). It was established that children who occupy the middle position in the family were the most affected (Rolock, and Pérez, 2016, 27). With regard to age, young children from the age of 8 years old and above posed the greatest challenge as they developed conflicts. Twigg and Swan (2011, 12), found out that the levels of depression and anxiety in girls were relatively higher as compared to boys. These factors are important for consideration before placement as its stability and the speed of adaptation of the foster child. Therefore, it is vital to evaluate how a family is structured with the various roles played by each member and how they attach to each other when determining where to place a particular child.
The most challenging part of fostering that also worries carers is the behaviour of foster children and the impact it has on their own children (Barth and Chintapalli, 2009, 94). Some of the children leave disrupting families where it is likely to pick up unwanted behaviour such as lying and stealing (Smyth and McHugh, 2006, 17). When these behaviours are demonstrated in front of birth children, who in this case are not accustomed to the same, it is possible to raise problems. They could have bad influence that would lead to those who are innocent to lose it as they become aware of social vices (Sutton and Stack, 2013, 602). Learning about wrong deeds done by the stranger children could also lead to development of worry and concern as the birth children feel they have to take responsibility (Rolock et al., 2018, 15).
Kinship care could also have significant positive outcomes in the birth children as they learn about how to appreciate and deal with problems (Ridley and Wainwright, 2013, 30). They will be able to appreciate the mere fact that they have a family. Involving children in decision-making helps to develop the spirit of being in a team. Generally, both kinship and no kinship contribute to children learning how to make friends. It could also be a good base to develop positive social skills and attributes such as empathy, kindness, and compassion (Pecora, 2010, 187). Children would be equipped with the ability to understand the misfortunes that befall other people. Their involvement in care greatly contributes to the development of a sense of responsibility. Children would have a feeling that they have a purpose and ensure self-efficacy.
3.2.3 Kinship Care Outcomes on Foster Children
Children in kinship care are normally aware of their relations to their carer given that they have prior knowledge of them before placement. The way that individuals in each family associate and interact with each other is a complex system. Some parents expressed concerns of their children not likely to be treated well as a result of past experiences between the relatives. However, placement in non-kinship care has relatively the least amount of such challenges since there exists no family history. Family systems are varied and work differently, thus need for in-depth analysis for a comprehension of family dynamics and facilitation of operative interpolation (Broad, 2007, 65).
Broad (2007, 66) stated that when children are placed in kinship care after being removed from local authority and non-kinship care, they exhibit feelings of being loved, cared for and supported. It should be noted that the above positive outcomes are usually achieved when there is protective and quality foster care. However, Baginsky, Gorin, and Sands (2017, 176), stated that it is generally possible for children with prior experience in care to exhibit negative impact in terms of their wellbeing, abuse of substances, behaviour that is discouraged, homelessness, employment, education, and mental health. It should be noted that outcomes are largely determined by individual placements with those that are positive stemming from individualised childcare.
House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts (2015, 32) reported that the Department for Education has received criticism in the past from the Public Accounts Committee with regard to education failures. The Department had not conducted an updated evaluation of the newly implemented initiatives targeting the improvement of children’s learning outcomes while they were in care. It had not also supported the betterment of children outcomes in foster homes yet there was sufficient knowledge and information to support such an approach. The monitoring of specific outcomes enables social worker teams and carers to focus resources and effects to particular target areas that would ensure the desired results (Baginsky, Gorin, and Sands 2017, 182).
Varying kinds of experiences before and during kinship and non-kinship foster care affect influence children outcomes. Abuse of drugs and substances prior to and after placement contributes to significant psychological and mental challenges (Munroe, 2005, 385). Such behaviour usually develops where a child is not being monitored properly or the carer is irresponsible. Drugs are known to cause addiction. There can also be anxiety, and aggression and violence. Generally, drugs can lead to poor performance in school among children in care (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2012, 23). When adults use drugs around children they can influence them to imitate and also affect their development. Physical effects of drugs could be the development of diseases, impaired speech, and teeth decay.
Children that have been abused and mistreated while in foster care also develop significant problems in their lives. The most common are psychological and physical challenges. Children who have been through such abuse often find it hard to cope with peopl
