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Securing Stability for Children who Cannot Live with their Parents: children’s & carers’ perspectives on kinship care
Professor Elaine Farmer
University of Bristol
RECENT RESEARCH ON OUT OF HOME CARE IN THE UK – group of studies see Davies
and Ward (Jessica Kingsley, 2012)
Attempts to provide the least intrusive action – means children are often left for too long with maltreating parents before they enter care
Assessments about parental capacity to change are not always realistic
Practice with substance misusing parents by workers who are not specialists is often informed by ‘misplaced optimism’
RECENT RESEARCH ON OUT OF HOME CARE IN THE UK
‘Last res
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Most attention is given to children under 6 - from that age onwards cases are less well managed, there is less focus on planning or on securing their futures and more unstable outcomes
The research shows
Current practice in the UK (especially with children over the age of 6) is compromising children’s life chances including their chances of achieving stable settled placements in out of home care
Parents’ needs are being prioritised over children’s needs – and in the process children’s rights to safety are being ignored
Challenges to our understanding about outcomes for children in care
Pre-care adversity is linked to poor outcomes for children in care ie what happens before they go into care drives many of children’s difficulties in care
Maltreated children in care do better than those returned to parent/s
More timely decisions and more timely planning for permanence planning is therefore needed
Out of home care
Biehal et al (BAAF 2010) ‘Belonging and Permanence in Long-term Foster Care and Adoption’ show that long-term foster care can provide emotional security and a sense of permanence to children but may not provide much stability
In contrast, kinship care does provide stability for many children
How does kin care compare to ordinary foster care?
Government policy/law in the UK encourage social worker to place children with relatives whenever possible
How do children’s outcomes in kinship care compare with those in ordinary foster placements?
Farmer and Moyers (2008) Kinship Care: Fostering Effective Family and Friends Placements (London, Jessica Kingsley)
Methods and SampleReview of case files of 270 children in 4 local authorities in
England:
- 53% (142) were with relatives or friends
- 47% (128) were with unrelated foster carers
Interviews with 32 relative/friend carers and
with children, social workers and some
parents
Sample54% were girls and 46% were
boys
20% were from black or minority
ethnic backgrounds
69% of the children in each group were
on court orders
Children in kin care were similar to those with non-kin foster carers
They were similar in terms of-
age at placement and other characteristics
pre-placement adversities
progress in terms of school attendance, school performance and improvements in behaviour
Children’s outcomes
Similar outcomes in terms of quality, with similar proportions of poor quality (10% kin and 6% FC placements)
Breakdown rate similar – (18% RC v 17% FC)
But placements with relatives/friends lasted longer (mean 4 years 9 months v 3 year 11 months with unrelated carers) as planned
At follow-up 72% of children with kin remained in their placements, compared with 57% of those placed with unrelated foster carers.
The Kinship Carers were more disadvantaged than non-kin foster carers
31% of kin carers had a chronic illness or
disability (as compared with 17% of unrelated
foster carers); some severe health
conditions
75% of kin carers suffered financial
hardship (v 13% of unrelated foster carers)
35% of kin carers lived at least initially in
overcrowded conditions (v 4% of
unrelated foster carers)
Summing Up
Very similar children went into kin care and non-kin foster placements
Their outcomes were similar except that the placements of children in kin care lasted longer
However, the kin carers were much more disadvantaged than non-kin foster carers
Kinship care is often children’s first choice
Your Family, Your Voice: children growing up with relatives or friends University of Bristol in partnership with Buttle UK
Most research has been on formal kinship care (children in care where kin carers have been approved by Children’s Services).
Little is known about children living informally with kin, where the arrangements are made outside the ambit of Children’s Services
Are children who appear in official statistics on kinship care the tip of the iceberg? Only ‘guesstimates’ of the numbers involved. How do children view their situation?
Study in two parts – analysis of census data followed by interviews with 80 kinship carers and children.
Using the 2001 Population Census
The study had two main
aims.
To provide information on the extent and prevalence of kinship care in the UK, by country and by region.
Describe the characteristics of carers and children living in kinship care
173,200 Children Living with Relatives in the UK in 2001
About 30% of children (approx. 43,966) in kinship care were of minority ethnicity – twice their
representation in the population.
African Asian
Chinese
Which ethnic groups were particularly over-represented in England in kinship care in 2001?
ENGLAND
• Grandchild(44%)
• Sibling (38%)
• Other relative (17%)
WALES
• Grandchild (55%)
• Sibling (37%)
• Other relative (8%)
SCOTLAND
• Grandchild (54%)
• Sibling (31%)
• Other relative (15%)
NORTHERN IRE
LAND
• Sibling (49%)
• Grandchild (41%)
• Other relative (10%)
Child’s Relationship to their Kin Carers
Grandparents
Mainly grandmothers
One in four older than 65 yrs
About a third widowed
Half of grandmothers reported a disability or
limiting long term illness
About half lone carers
Siblings
Mainly sisters - the poorest of all kin
households
Average age 34
Caring for other children
About 1 in 5 households
overcrowded
Other relatives
More variation in this group
Average age 42
In England about half of minority ethnicity
More in skilled work
The Relative Carers
UK Child Poverty and Deprivation (2001)
Income poverty In 2001 the average risk of a
child being poor in the UK was 23%.
For children in kinship care the risk was three times that.
Multiple Deprivation In 2001 in the UK 29% of all
children experienced multiple deprivations.
In 2001 MOST (71%) children in kinship care experienced multiple deprivations.
Second Phase- Aims
To explore children and young people’s views of being brought up by informal kinship carers: its advantages and disadvantages
To investigate how well informal kin carers manage the children they are looking after, the extent of strain they experience and the supports they receive and need
To assess the well-being of children in informal kinship care on a range of dimensions
Method
Recruitment
• Web site • DVDs•
Advertising and wide promotion
• Partnership groups
Development of interview material
•Children’s illustrator employed
•Use of standardised measures•Pilot of materials
Semi-structured interviews
• 80 kinship carers
• 80 children and young people age 8-18 years old
Sample
Children
47 girls and 33 boys
Average age 12 years old
78% white , 12% mixed and 10% black
Most children had lived with their carer for some
time
Carers
Grandparents (61%), aunts & uncles (19%), others (14%)
siblings (6%)
Aged 22 -79
Over half lone carers and most living in poverty
Ages of children when they moved to kinship carers
30% aged under 3
30% 3-7 years old
30% 8-13
10% aged 14 or older
Most had lived with the carers for more than 5 years when we interviewed them
Reasons for kinship care
Two-thirds of parents misusing drugs/alcohol
A quarter of parents had actively rejected or abandoned their children
88% of children thought by carers to have been maltreated
One in three children had experienced the death of a parent.
Financial HardshipVery few carers had sufficient income to meet the Minimum Income Standard that would enable to reach a minimum socially acceptable standard of living in the UK. Single carers with more than one child were esp poor
77% of carers could not afford a holiday (cp 18% of population)
Over ¼ of carers could not afford heating when needed (cp 1% of population)
Half of the carers worried about money almost all the time
More than ¼ of carers had paid for legal costs to secure orders on the children
Financial Hardship
• [I am] trying to work out how I’m going to get the boiler fixed and if we’re going to make it through the winter with heating…..I’m in debt up to my eyeballs…. I have about two hours sleep a night ‘cos I worry about money. (Maternal aunt caring for 17 year old girl)
• Carers prioritized the children’s needs over their own
Children’s Overall Awareness of Financial Hardship
• Most children (66%) were not aware of the financial difficulties in the family and only a third said that their carer could not always buy the things they needed such as new clothes or equipment for school.
Overcrowding and the neighbourhood
Overcrowding was a particular problem for sibling (40%) and aunt (25%) headed households
A quarter of the carers (24%) reported at least one major housing problem such as severe damp
The presence of drug dealers was a concern for 40% of the carers
Carers’ Health
71% of the carers had longstanding health conditions or disabilities
The lives of 37% of the carers were restricted by pain (except sibling carers; not related to age)
67%
of t
he carers
were cli
nically
de
presse
d: relate
d t
o
bereave
me
nt,
bei
ng i
n
pai
n a
nd
havi
ng fe
w frie
nds t
o c
ount
on
Children’s Behaviour
Two thirds (66%) of the carers said that the children had some or many emotional or behavioural difficulties
Nine (11%) carers were bringing up children with complex and multiple difficulties.
Carers found dealing with such disturbed behaviours very difficult – different from bringing up their own children
Stress on carers from multiple causes
Financial and health problems and low energy
Impact on the partner relationship - for 24% caring for the child had caused serious difficulties & 9 couples had separated as a result
Unresolved grief if the child’s parent had died or shame if parent was eg misusing substances or in prison
Some carers felt hurt that the parents had rejected the children and took so little interest in them
Carer Burden and StigmaDual caring
responsibilities if carer’s partner ill
and/or supporting their adult children
(the children’s parents)
Over a third of the carers reported
receiving negative remarks because they
were kin carers
Carer Burden
Impact on their life plans and friends - grandparents felt they had gone backwards in their life cycle while sibling carers had been thrust forward into parenting
Loss of freedom/retirement and lost opportunities to meet others or find a partner
Being out of step with their age group brought adjustments to relationships with friends
Carer Burden It’s tough…trying to look after a toddler at 50 odd, 60 life
changes beyond all recognition… The biggest thing is losing your freedom, because it’s a form of imprisonment …You lose all sense of yourself … when you’re at the time of life that you should be thinking about yourself…And if you’re by yourself that trebles the situation -you lose everything, like you don’t have a partner - you’re never going to find a partner because you’ve got a baby. You’re not going to make new friends because you’ve got a child... Friends won’t fit in around what time I have free (MGM bringing up 11 year old grandson)
SUPPORT AND SERVICES
19% of the carers had no other family members they could turn to for support and 13% had no friends on whom they could rely.
29% doubted whether they would be able to find someone to look after the child during the day and 26% to care for the child overnight.
Some carers were frightened of social workers and avoided asking for help, as quite a few had been told that the children would be removed or placed for adoption if they could not cope.
SUPPORT AND SERVICES
73% of the carers had contacted Children’s Services. Many requests for help were refused and only 23% of carers received the help they had requested.
Other professionals were more often seen as helpful (67%) or fairly helpful (16%). However, most of their interventions were brief
90% of the carers wanted more help: financial (55%), practical (47%), emotional support (40%), information (36%), advice on children’s behaviour (37%), advice on issues connected to the child’s parents (5%) housing (9%) .
Strain
61% of the carers were rated as suffering significant strain
They felt unsupported and that they lacked recognition
– I think it’s about time we were valued more … we’re saving them billions of pounds by stepping into the breach and, you know, basically, keeping these kids out of care. We all know how much it costs to keep them in care (MGM with 8 year old grandson).
– There should be more help out there for grandparents. Foster parents get it, adopting parents get it, it’s just grandparents they don’t get no help. [Once] you’re with [the children] that’s it. (MGM with 9 year old grandson).
Kin carers saw themselves as an underclass of carers
– There must be thousands of people in the same position as me .. and I think that [it] is down to finance, that successive governments have never ever wanted to acknowledge this underclass of caring that is going on. …, I can't tell you how hard it's been .. I really can't. .. And the eternal phrase ‘But this is a private arrangement’. And because you are grandparents, they know that by and large those children aren't going to starve… (MGM bringing up 14 year old granddaughter).
Contact
Most children (91%) had contact with extended family members
Only 54% of the children had contact with their mothers and 44% with their fathers
Carers often had to manage difficult contact situations, including dealing with intimidating, unreliable or inconsistent parents
Some parents were still dependent on the kinship carer for financial or emotional support
Contact
•I'm fine with my mum. She's more like a friend. Well not a friend, I wouldn't say a friend, like just, I don't know, not as good as a friend, just someone my age. (16 year old girl living with MGPs).
Many children valued contact with their parents
but were aware of the parents’ limitations. They often saw their parents as being like a friend or older
sibling
•[My mum] gets drunk and I don't like that… I hate her ..because we always get into fights and all that lot. (8 year old boy with MGM)
Some children were hostile to parents who let
them down
Lack of Contact with either parent (22% of children)
[1] Bereavement: 31% of children’s mothers and 16% of fathers were dead or missing.
[2] Parents put children at risk
[3] Parents chose to stay out of their children’s lives or rejected their approaches –esp. painful for children whose mothers or fathers were bringing up the child’s siblings
Some young people had resigned themselves to this and expected little from their parents. Others were angry, confused and saddened by their parents’ lack of interest. Some children longed to see more of parents or to live with parents
Contact
Coming to terms with parental indifference: I used to cry when [my mum] went because I was like young and I didn’t understand and then I’d be all happy - and then why has she had to go away again?...But now... we saw her in Greentown.. yesterday and well I was like ‘Oh mum hello’ and then she had to go almost straight away and I was like ‘Bye mum’. (12 year old girl with MGM)
22% of the carers thought that the quality of their relationship with the child was affected by the child’s relationship with or feelings about a parent (or other family member)
Children’s Views of Living with Kin
– Most (97%) of the children thought that living with their carers was good and quite a few described it as “calm”, “quiet” or “don’t get hurt.”
– Most of the children and young people were happy and relieved to be with their kinship carers.
Children’s Behaviour
On the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a third of children’s scores fell in the abnormal range for emotional and behavioural difficulties
A third of children in the abnormal range on the SDQ is higher than scores for the general population (about 10%) - but lower than for children in care (45%-74%)
A high proportion (39%) of kinship children scored in the abnormal range on the emotional symptoms scale on the SDQ (eg being often unhappy, having many fears, being nervous in new situations, worrying a lot)
Why might this be?
Unanswered questions about Living with Kin
A fifth of the children did not know why they were living with kin/not living with their parents or had other unanswered questions about the past:
– [I’d like to know] just why [I moved] because I thought my Mum was healthy and I was only little so I didn’t really understand much. (13 year old boy with maternal aunt)
– The thing is I don't know how it all happened; I just know
that my mum couldn't cope. It might have been that, I think, one day my mum just left me here and went off for like a month. My grandma was just like ‘Oh well’. (18 year old girl with MGM)
Stigma
– Over a third (36%) of the children reported hurtful remarks from others about the fact that they lived with kinship carers and 5 children were bullied:
People that I’ve just met have been quite insensitive and..... be like, “It’s a bit weird you don’t live with your parents. Do they hate you?” (17 year old boy with grandparents)
– Most (60%) told only a few close friends about why they lived with kin, although a nearly a quarter had not told any friends about this, esp. those whose parents had died
Children living with older carers in poor health
• Children with few people who were ‘very important to them’ (on eco-maps) significantly more often lived with older carers and were more anxious and depressed
• Some older carers were in poor health, and sometimes had limited mobility or were in pain. They had few people they could count on and some children curtailed their social lives to provide care and company for them
• Some children were happy to take on a caring role; others saw their lives as boring and envied friends who had more varied, sociable lives or who had ‘everything.. a playstation, X box, Wii and two phones’.
Worries about the futureTypical worries were:
• Dying, because I know a lot of people who have• My mum and how long she’s going to live• Worried about nan having an accident• If something would happen to my nanna – I don’t want to lose
her like I lost my mum• If my Nan dies, what will happen to me?• I am worried we will be left with nothing when my Nan dies.
• Although children worried about what would happen to them if their kin carer died they did not feel able to raise this with their kin carers. This is likely to be a troubling issue for children esp. those with no/few other close adults who they know they can depend on in the future.
Overall Children Were Doing Well
Most children felt they belonged in their kin families
Most were securely attached to their primary kinship carer. Results on the revised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPP-R) for the kinship children were similar to those of an ordinary population of school children
They were confident that they would be there long-term
Although a third had behavioural and emotional problems, this is fewer than usually found for children in care
Conclusion
There needs to be awareness:
• that some children in kinship care are taunted and bullied• of the restrictions on some children living with elderly ill
relatives• that many children have issues of bereavement• of the importance of having contingency plans (which are
known to children) about where children will live if the carer dies
• of the importance of children having opportunities to talk about and understand what has happened in the past
• of the multiple disadvantages in these children’s lives
Conclusion
Recognition and services
• Whether kinship carers are supported and receive a financial allowance is a lottery
• Needs to be greater awareness by mainstream and statutory services of the disadvantages faced by children in informal kin care
• Informal kin carers are not invisible - most carers had approached statutory Children’s Services for help
• Services could mitigate the strain on kin carers and have a positive impact on some children’s lives
Conclusion
Government ‘Guidance for Family and Friends Care’ (DfE 2011) in the UK emphasises that local authority policies on kinship care should be underpinned by the principle that support should be based on the needs of the child rather than their legal status
There is a long road to travel before the current system delivers on this promise
