Messages for Policy and Practice from Kinship Carer Surveys in the UK, Australia and New Zealand

Kinship care (the care of children by extended family or family friends) has grown steadily across the Western world over the last two decades. The development of research programs, policy frameworks and support services has... [ view full abstract ]

Kinship care (the care of children by extended family or family friends) has grown steadily across the Western world over the last two decades. The development of research programs, policy frameworks and support services has lagged behind this growth. However, a number of surveys of kinship carers have been conducted in recent years in different countries. Together, these surveys represent data from some thousands of kinship carers. The exploration of common themes deriving from the various carer cohorts provides an opportunity to add to the body of knowledge available to inform kinship care policy and practice. This poster presentation will describe the findings of a systematic review of 13 kinship carer surveys (8 in the United Kingdom, 4 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand), with a particular focus on the support needs of carers and children. Detailed findings of this review are available online in an Australian Institute of Family Studies research paper oriented towards child welfare policymakers and practitioners.