Session: Developing and Learning from a National Survey of Kinship Caregivers (Society for Social Work and Research 30th Annual Conference Anniversary)

Background and Purpose: The Annie E. Casey Foundation estimates that annually, approximately 2.5 million children live in kinship care or with a relative. The Family Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) of 2018 aims to prevent entry into foster care and focus on prevention, so larger numbers of children are being placed with kin (instead of foster care). The increased use of kinship care and its potentially positive role in promoting child well-being make it critical to further understand and support the strengths and needs of kinship families. This symposium addresses gaps in child welfare practice and knowledge by describing a new, comprehensive survey for kinship caregivers. Survey development was informed by two previous qualitative phases: Delphi Rounds and focus groups with kinship caregivers and child welfare professionals. Findings such as a high prevalence of families raising children with disabilities, struggles with well-being, difficulties implementing shared parenting, and other stressors were translated into survey scales and items. The goals of the survey were to: 1) attempt to estimate kinship prevalence and the proportion of kinship families raising a child with a disability, and 2) understand families' experiences to inform practices and policies serving kinship families.

Methods: The national survey utilized three previously validated scales on child/caregiver health and well-being, caregiver stress, and coping and constructed others based on existing tools of practice, such as screening tools and intake assessments related to children with disabilities, shared parenting, and access to services/supports. Before distribution, the survey was reviewed by a panel of kinship care experts and a group of kinship caregivers. To reach caregivers across the United States, the survey was distributed via email to organizations supporting kinship caregivers in each state. These organizations were asked to send the survey directly to caregivers. Respondents were given gift cards for survey completion. During data collection, the survey received many bot responses. Consequently, the survey was closed sooner than expected. The team conducted numerous rounds of data cleaning and collaborative review to eliminate bot responses. The final sample size was N=186. This symposium introduces three studies using data from this survey.

Results: The first study focused on identifying predictors of caregiver perceptions of shared parenting with the birth parent and found that mother involvement and father involvement were positive predictors, whereas mental health-related adverse childhood experiences were negative predictors. The second study focused on children in kinship care with disabilities and found that disability type and relationship to the caregiver were associated with child well-being and functioning. The third study aimed to compare caregiver well-being of those raising children with and without disabilities and found negative impacts on caregiver health, mental health, and stress for those raising a child with a disability.

Conclusion and Implications: The symposium makes key contributions toward the conference theme by sharing the diverse experiences of kinship families, including their strengths and challenges, as well as engaging in critical discussion to align kinship research in social work with policy and practice to improve service design and delivery for this underserved population.