Enabling support and systems change for kinship families affected by maternal imprisonment

Background

An estimated 17,000 children each year are affected by maternal imprisonment. Many of these children are in kinship care.

Kinship carers often have little time to plan. They will be managing emotional and practical challenges that come with having a relative in prison alongside the financial and wider challenges associated with becoming a kinship carer.

We will bring together and build upon existing research and practice to enable Kinship to catalyse change. We will identify, prioritise and pilot policy and service interventions that will add value. We will also identify and develop partnerships to maximise impact.

Research aims

We aim to explore:

• What is known about the experiences of women, children and kinship carers at the intersection of kinship care and the criminal justice system?
• What services and interventions currently exist to support them?
• How do current policies and systems support families at the intersection of maternal imprisonment and kinship care, and where might policy development and influencing seek to improve these?
• What opportunities exist to improve coordination and outcomes?

What does the study involve?

Phase 1: We will start with an in-depth scoping review of existing evidence, interventions and practice. This will enable us to explore how policy, practice and services interact across the criminal justice and children’s social care landscape.

Phase 2: We will use insights from the scoping review to co-design an action plan with kinship families and stakeholders.

Phase 3: We will work with partners to catalyse change and deliver the action plan. We will embed recommendations for policy and practice into our service delivery, training and campaigning work.