Raised by Relatives: the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers

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.

Key findings

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, they believed their ethnicity may have impacted their experience of accessing support. Specifically:

• The majority felt they had no choice but to care for the child, often making this decision quickly and with insufficient information. Although this finding replicates earlier research with kinship carers generally, Black kinship carers reflected on the impact of generational trauma stemming from slavery and colonialism, which served as 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 additional strain on their finances and the complex relationships with birth parents while trying to provide a safe and stable home for the child. Support was needed and not provided in the following areas: financial assistance, support to secure suitable housing, respite, facilitation of family contact and support for other children already living in the home. Although many kinship carers had supportive family and friends, they felt they had to carry much of the burden alone.
• Most kinship carers in this research study had asked for help but were told nothing was available. The kinship carers expressed uncertainty as to whether their ethnicity or racism was influencing decisions. Some were sure it had played a part and described not being listened to, a lack of understanding and feeling judged. They described professionals who had made assumptions that extensive support networks were available in Black and Asian communities.
• 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.
• The lack of support and the impact of entrenched narratives from local authorities based on ethnic and racial assumptions left the kinship carers in this study feeling disempowered and disillusioned, subsequently disengaging from services.

Read all the findings in the executive summary, which also includes recommendations to improve practice and support to Black and Asian kinship carers.

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