Kinship carer networks V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding kinship carer networks to inform targeted support
IRAS ID
340100
Contact name
Felicity Thomas
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Over 200,000 children in the UK are being raised by a grandparent, aunt/uncle, sibling or family friend. These 'kinship carers' have stepped-in because the child's birth parents are unable to care for them. Children often do better when raised by a kinship carer than being in foster placements or children’s homes. However, becoming a kinship carer can put people's finances, jobs and relationships under strain. To qualify for help, kinship carers must go through complicated and often intrusive legal processes. Too often kinship carers are not getting the support they need. For more children to be raised in loving and stable homes, we must better understand the support networks kinship carers require.
The main source of support for many kinship carers comes from family, friends, and community groups. However, we don’t currently know how these support networks differ depending on factors like carer and child age, child needs, religion, ethnicity and location.
We will work with the national charity Kinship (https://kinship.org.uk) to add questions to their national survey (data is anonymous) about social networks and how they help kinship carers support their children. We will analyse how these social networks differ between kinship carers depending on their age, income, ethnicity and legal carer status. We will undertake interviews and social network mapping with carers in Torbay, Walsall and Newcastle - locations chosen to allow us to meet kinship carers from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances and hear a range of perspectives and experiences. We will train kinship carers in each area to become peer-researchers, helping to carry out the interviews and network mapping. We will also speak to social care teams in the three areas to understand how carer assessments and support planning could be improved.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
24/IEC08/0013
Date of REC Opinion
30 Apr 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion