Kinship publishes new research about the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers

Kinship has published the summary of a report into the experiences of kinship carers from Black and Asian communities, based on findings from a research project with the Rees Centre at Oxford University, supported by the KPMG Foundation.

The research, led by Dr Priya Tah from The Rees Centre aims to deepen understanding about the experiences of kinship families from Black and Asian Communities. As the focus on kinship care grows, findings will be used to ensure that services (led by Kinship and others), policy and practice are more attuned to the needs of Black and Asian kinship carers.

While the full report, Raised by Relatives: the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers, will be published later in the year, Kinship is marking Black History Month by launching the executive summary of the report, along with co-hosting a webinar, in which the researchers will discuss their key findings.

Current evidence suggests that 1 in every 5 children living in kinship care in England are being raised by minority ethnic kinship carers. However, there is a major gap in contemporary research on the prevalence and experience of kinship carers in these communities, and subsequently, organisations and service-providers often don’t know what support or services to offer.

We aim to use the research project to amplify the voices of minority ethnic kinship carers within our Kinship community, shining a light on some of the unique challenges faced by Black and Asian kinship carers, in order to influence more inclusive policy and practice, including through Kinship’s campaigns, research and services.

Initial findings from the research show that while the kinship carers from Black and Asian communities in the study have faced similar challenges to other kinship carers, ethnicity has impacted their experience of accessing support.

Kinship carers participating in the research reported feeling uncertain whether their ethnicity – or racism – was influencing decision-making by professionals. Some kinship carers reported a lack of understanding or sense of being judged, while some felt they may have been denied support due to an assumption that support would be available for them through their existing community network.

Some kinship carers participating in the research identified stigma or feelings of shame as reasons why Black and Asian families might not make themselves visible to service-providers or local authorities. Support groups were not always seen as places where kinship carers, particularly those from Asian communities, could access support from peers who had a shared understanding of their culture and background.

Lucy Peake, CEO of Kinship said: “This is very much the first step towards building greater understanding of how we can support kinship carers from Black and Asian communities.

“Our support services for kinship carers across England and Wales are designed using evidence, and for too long there has been a significant gap in research and sector understanding into the experiences of kinship carers from Black and Asian communities. We know more work needs to be done. This research must act as a foundation on which we build to address gaps in our knowledge.

“The kinship carers in the study have stepped up to give a loving and stable home to a child that needs one. It’s vital that we listen to and learn from Black and Asian kinship carers, so we can improve policy and practice across the sector and better support these families.”

Dr. Beverley Barnett-Jones MBE, Kinship Trustee and Associate Director at the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, said: “This research is really important to me personally and professionally. I am a Black woman of African Caribbean descent. My mother was a Windrush pioneer – her children experienced periods of separation from her. Kin stepped in to clothe, feed, care and love us as circumstances meant that sometimes she needed to live in different places.

“Kin stepping in, informally, was a very common experience back then and still is, because even if formal support is available, there is often little to no trust in social services, the social welfare system or the police.

“This research is vital because we know kinship care is prevalent in Black and Asian communities but there is a gap in our knowledge of their experiences. With a focus on kinship care like never before we need to ensure we are designing services that are attuned to the needs of Black and Asian families.”

The full report will be published later in the year, setting out wider recommendations to improve practice and better support Black and Asian kinship carers. At Kinship, we’ll be working closely with kinship carers to better understand how we can embed these findings across our own services and within the children’s social care sector.