Dimensions of Parental Involvement Among African American Kinship Care Families

Background and Purpose: Many children who experience kinship care suffer from a host of negative outcomes related to social skill deficits, academic underachievement, and behavior problems (BP) including mental health problems, substance use, criminal justice problems, and placement disruptions.  Our previous research found that parental involvement of birth parents offset some of the risks to kinship care children’s social competence (SC) and academic competence (AC) and their risk of BP.  Despite the positive outcomes of our studies, the mechanisms that account for the effect of parental involvement on SC, AC, and BP are not clear. Thus, we conducted a qualitative pilot study to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how experiences in kinship care families affect the social, academic, and behavioral outcomes of African American (AA) children ages 5-12.  The research question for this pilot study is as follows: How does parental involvement operate in the lives of kinship care families?

Methods: This pilot study used phenomenology to examine the meaning of parental involvement among African American kinship care families. A total of 12 in-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted in participants’ homes, social service agencies, or locations participants requested, such as community centers or libraries (6 AA caregiver interviews; 6 AA birth parents interviews).  This study was a collaboration with 3 child welfare agencies and 1 child development agency. The collaborators assisted with recruitment (i.e. provided list of potential participants; hosted recruitment booths at their agencies). Also, participants were recruited via flyer postings in the community, on social media outlets, and an email listserv (e.g., grandparents support groups). Interviews were between 90-120 minutes and a $35 incentive was provided.  The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the phenomenological methods suggested by Moustakas (1994) and Creswell (2007).

Results: Findings revealed that caregivers and birth parents experienced the role of co-parenting differently (i.e. parental involvement).  Also, across kinship care families there were varying levels of parental involvement; for example, visiting and/or doing activities with children 5 to 6 times per month vs. 1 time per year or never.  For kinship care families with higher parental involvement, the caregivers provided boundaries and expectations of birth parents when they engaged with children. Both caregivers and birth parents conveyed concerns for the children’s overall well-being, and caregivers expressed a strong commitment to raising children despite financial and other challenges.  Although, several caregiver’s perceived themselves as isolated and having little to no support in raising children, they also reported formal and informal supports other than birth parents (e.g., family members, friends, school officials).

Implications:  The pilot study findings indicate kinship care families that have been able to successfully integrate birth parents, have set clear boundaries and expectations.  Given the current study findings and previous study findings concerning the association between parental involvement and children’s SC, AC, and BP; practitioners should help facilitate positive interactions among biological parents, caregivers, and children to foster children’s competence and behavioral health.