Marilyn McHugh Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW, Australia.

1. Resolving Tensions between Carers and
Workers in Statutory Kinship Care - an
Australian Study
British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
10 - 14 April 2015 Congress, Edinburgh
Marilyn McHugh
Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW
m.mchugh@unsw.edu.au

2. Overview of presentation
• OOHC population in Australia
• How kinship/relative care is perceived
• Importance of placement stability
• Benefits for children in KC
• Paradoxical nature of statutory KC programs in Australia &
elsewhere
• Survey respondents’ perceptions of KC
• What is needed in KC and why
• Recommended practice in KC
• Suggested model of support for KC
• Best practice in resolving carer/worker tensions
• Summary
• References

3. Introduction
• Australia: 40,549 children in out-of-home care (OOHC) (30
June 2013)
• The highest percentage (93.4%) are in home-based care -
50% kinship care and 40% foster care
• 3% other types of home-based care
• 5% residential care
• In family group homes, independent living and ‘other’ - less
than 1% in each of these three categories
• Around 1/3 (approx 14,000) children in OOHC Indigenous
(from Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander background)
• 68% of Indigenous children are with relatives/kin, other
Indigenous caregivers or in Indigenous residential care (AIHW
2014)

4. Kinship/Relative Care
• Australia highest rates of statutory kinship or relative care
• Reflects several factors:
• Policy preference for using ‘least obtrusive’ option when
placing children
• Difficulties recruiting/retaining foster carers
• Kinship care perceived as less expensive than foster care
• The Aboriginal Child Placement Principle outlines a preference
for placement of Aboriginal children with other Aboriginal
people e.g. with child’s extended family; within child’s
Indigenous community; with other Indigenous people
• Several studies, but not all, have found higher placement
stability in kinship rather than in foster care

5. Placement Stability for Children in Care
• Foster/kinship care studies note importance of placement
stability:
• Minimises child stress, emotional pain & trauma
• Decreases emotional & behavioural disorders
• Decreases school changes & increases likelihood high school
graduation
• Increases likelihood attachment & positive relationships with
other adults
• Ensures needs assessed & addressed in timely & consistent
manner
• Placement instability results in long-term impact on children’s
emotional & physical health, social development, education &
future employment prospects

6. Benefits for Children in Kinship Care
• Overview US & UK studies found substantial benefits for
children in kinship care including:
• Feeling loved, cared for & valued
• Ensuring a child’s sense of belonging, identity & culture
• Feeling settled because they were with family
• Fewer placement moves
• Maintenance of contact with family & friends
• Higher placement stability (Mackiewicz, 2009)
• Review 102 international studies found children in kinship care
- experience fewer behavioural problems & had fewer mental
health disorders & less placement disruption (Winokur, Holtan
& Batchelder (2014)

7. Paradoxical nature of statutory kinship care
programs in Australia & elsewhere
• Despite perceived benefits for children overview 62
international studies found in kinship care there were:
• Inequitable levels carer support - financial & non-financial
• Contentious carer assessment & approval processes
(licensing)
• Ad hoc approaches placement supervision & monitoring
• Lack contact guidelines (Winocur, Holton & Valentine 2009)
• These factors also found in this Australian study - most
placements were relatively stable, however due to carer
vulnerabilities there appeared higher risks for instability to
occur in kinship rather than in the foster placements

8. Perception of Survey Respondents
• Thirty four (OOHC managers and caseworkers) respondents
contributed to an Australian study’s survey on stability.
• Acknowledgment by survey respondents included:
• Lack of carer support & stressful nature of kinship care
• Kinship carers’ deep connection to birth parents presented
complexities often left unaddressed by workers
• Kinship carers not monitored & often ‘left to it’ by agencies
• Kinship families had difficulties dealing with family members
including birth parents
• After placement workers often reduced involvement &
support undermining family’s ability to trust and cooperate
when issues arose

9. What is needed in Kinship Care and why it
matters: Key points noted by respondents
• Added support ensures ongoing safety & wellbeing of child
• Treat carers as ‘experts’ – let them contribute to solutions
• Provide financial support & assist with logistical arrangements
(e.g. contact)
• Complex family of origin issues require sensitivity - support
should be ‘respectful’ enabling family to work with agency &
not feel criticised or judged
• Placement implications for carers: 'less time' for other
grandchildren; less availability supporting other family
members; dealing with hurt & anger with adult birth child
• Appropriate agency support maintains kinship carers’
commitment to placement

10. Recommended Practice for Agencies – Point 1
• Respondents emphasised two specific points:
1. Accreditation (i.e. assessment) processes for 'stranger'
(foster) and kinship care need to be totally different
• Unlike foster care where carers must be assessed, trained and
approved before a placement is made kinship placements can
occur with minimal or no carer assessment
• Placements where no assessment, or a minimal assessment is
conducted on carer family appropriateness, presents a risk
not only to stability but also to child safety
• Good practice ensures all kinship carers are assessed
promptly and all checks are completed

11. Recommended Practice for Agencies - Point 2
2. Welfare agencies need to undertake fundamentally different
roles in foster & kinship care placements
Kinship care is unique. It is not foster care. At the same time it
is more than family support ... carers will need a model of
support which recognises the child, parents and kinship carers
as part of a family system with its own strengths, networks
and needs ... there is a strong case for redefining kinship care
as a separate category [with its set of regulations and
guidance] of looked after children ... this would be a major
step forward in recognising the commitment of kinship carers
to the child they have taken into their care. (Aldgate and
McIntosh (2006: 145)
• Agencies require specific kinship care workers for this role

12. Recommended Practice for Agencies - Point 3
• Not allowing ‘rules’ to get in the way of good
communication; maintaining confidentiality but not allowing
‘rules’ and ‘systems’ as an excuse to keep people uniformed
• Munro & Gilligan (2013) describe this process as the ‘dance’
of kinship care, where balance & flexibility is required in
navigating a course between regulation (i.e. policy) &
relationships (i.e. practice)
• Balancing act highlights challenge for agencies & workers and
the need for worker training in this area

13. Suggested Model of Support for Kinship Carers
• Subtle difference in providing support to kinship carers
• Workers should help families navigate through the systems
(e.g. health, education, social services, etc.) provide access to
information & where necessary provide training
• Oversight role may be less in kinship placement & caseworker
role might be less directive & more collaborative (i.e. helping
family members come to agreements)
• Totally different worker/carer relationships & kin carers
should always control the interaction.
• Support workers need additional training for kinship care - it
is complex & difficult

14. Best Practice in resolving carer/worker tensions
• Trust to be developed through building relationships with
workers, carers & children: complex issues-guilt/shame
• Provide same financial support as foster carers
• If appropriate provide carer training (e.g. parenting skills,
behaviour management, etc.)
• Tailor support & interventions around assessed needs &
wishes of family
• Structures around contact essential to ensure child safety
• Worker availability to answer carer queries
• Connect carers to support groups (highly beneficial)
• Address child protection concerns - carers to demonstrate
adequate level of insight & have safety plans in place

15. Summary
• Survey respondents acknowledged many constraints &
vulnerabilities faced by kinship carers in providing stable care
• Need to develop carer skills & insight by providing specific
training, education/support & respite
• Respondents’ recognition of what kinship carers require
denies reality of programs that are not meeting carer or
children’s needs
• Reduced worker involvement & support undermines a family’s
ability to trust & work cooperatively
• Some survey respondents indicated negative attitudes
towards kinship placements & these attitudes impacted on
some families not wanting to be involved with agency workers
• Specific carer & worker training may ameliorate tensions

16. REFERENCES
Aldgate, Jane and McIntosh, Miranda (2006). Looking after the family: a study of children looked
after in kinship care in Scotland. Edinburgh, UK: Astron.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), (2014) Child Protection Australia, 2012-2013,
Cat No. Child Welfare Series 49, Canberra
Mackiewicz, P. (2009), To examine and compare program elements that achieve positive
outcomes for children placed with relatives or kin as a result of child protection intervention,
2007 Churchill Fellowship Report, The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia
McHugh, M. (2013) An Exploratory Study of Stability in Foster and Kinship Care in NSW, Social
Policy Research Centre, UNSW, SPRC Report 19/2013
Munro, E. & Gilligan, R. (2013) ‘The dance of kinship care in England and Ireland: Navigating a
course between regulation and relationships’, Psychosocial Intervention Vol. 22:185-192
Winokur M., Holtan A. & Batchelder K.E. (2014) Kinship care for the safety, permanency, and well-
being of children removed from the home for maltreatment. Cochrane Database of
Systematic Reviews, 2014:1. Art. No.: CD006546. DOI:10.1002/14651858.CD006546.pub3.
Winocur, M., Holton, A. & Valentine, D. (2009) Kinship Care for the Safety, Permanency, and Well-
being of Children Removed from the Home for Maltreatment, Campbell Systematic Reviews
2009:1, the Campbell Collaboration. Art. No.: CD006546. DOI:
10.1002/14651858.CD006546.pub2.