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Raised by Relatives: the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers
Kinship's research with Professor Julie Selwyn and Dr Priya Tah from The Rees Centre at Oxford University, supported by the KPMG Foundation, explores the experiences of kinship carers from Black and Asian communities.
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Study status: complete – executive summary and final report published
Background
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 isn’t a lot of research about the experiences of people from Black and Asian families who are raising the child of a relative or friend, which means that organisations don’t know what support and services would be helpful for kinship carers and children from these communities. This research enables us to make recommendations about how Black and Asian families can be better supported in the future.
About the study
The study was commissioned by Kinship and supported by the KPMG Foundation. A researcher who spoke one Asian language led the study from the Rees Centre, University of Oxford, supported by 3 peer researchers. Kinship recruited the peer researchers to this paid role from a network of kinship carers between September 2023 and June 2024.
Thirty-seven kinship carers from Black and Asian communities took part in the study. They completed interviews and standardised assessments exploring their experiences, health and wellbeing, levels of stress, and sources of support. Kinship carers were recruited via organisations from Black and Asian communities, social media, and existing contacts of the researcher, peer researchers and the Kinship charity.
Key findings
This research found that many challenges kinship carers face are universal. But Black and Asian carers can face additional challenges due to their ethnicity. This was especially the case when accessing support.
Black and Asian kinship carers often face specific challenges when becoming kinship carers. These include cultural stigma, limited access to support and systemic barriers.
The majority of kinship carers in this study felt they had no choice but to care for the child. This meant they often made the decision quickly and with insufficient information. This is true for other groups of kinship carers as well. But Black kinship carers also felt the impact of generational trauma stemming from slavery and colonialism, which served as extra motivation to ensure that the child remained with their family. The sense of duty ran deep for Black and Asian families as there was an expectation to care for their kin.
Once children’s services handed over responsibility for the child, kinship carers did not know who to contact or how to access support. They felt unprepared and struggled with the change to their day-to-day lives. The added strain on their finances and complex relationships with birth parents were also challenging.
They needed (but didn’t get) support with: finances, housing, respite, family contact and other children already living in the home. Many kinship carers had supportive family and friends. Yet, they felt they had to carry much of the burden alone.
Some kinship carers also felt they couldn’t get help from people who understood their culture within peer support groups. This was particularly true of those from Asian communities.
Ethnic and racial assumptions impacted kinship carers’ experiences. Carers mentioned feeling judged and facing systemic racism. In particular, professionals often made assumptions about the support kinship carers from Black and Asian families have from their extended family network. Kinship carers felt this allowed them to take advantage by placing children in kinship care with either no support or a limited offer of support.
Some kinship carers spoke about being overlooked in favour of White relatives. This happened even when these relatives had not expressed an interest in caring for the child.
Coupled with the lack of support, these experiences caused kinship carers in this study to feel disempowered and disillusioned. Many disengaged from services as a result.
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.
The research highlights a lack of cultural competence and curiosity among professionals, and an absence of tailored support groups for Black and Asian kinship carers. It also underscores systemic issues that intensify the struggles of kinship carers. This points to a need for improved understanding and service provision.
Read the full report
Read all the findings in the executive summary and full report. These also include recommendations to improve practice and support to Black and Asian kinship carers.
At Kinship, we’ll be working closely with kinship carers from these communities. We’ll also be working with professionals from the children’s social care sector to better understand how we can embed these findings across our own and wider services.
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