Assessing Quality of Care in Kinship and Foster Family Care

Abstract

Assessing Quality of Care in Kinship and Foster Family Care* Jill Duerr Berrick** This study includes a sample of 29 kin and 33 non—kin foster parents who participated in an in-home interview to assess quality of care On a number of measures relating to the home environment, non—kin homes were rated as more safe Family relations between children and their caregivers were similar for kin and non-kin Trends in the data point to the need for further research: changes in policy and practice that might strengthen the resources currently available to dependent Ll’llldI'€I’l are also suggested from practitioners, policy makers, and researchers. Our at- tention has been captivated by the large numbers of children now being served in foster care by kin and the paucity of infor- mation available about this rapidly growing arrangement for care. A recent study found that among all states reporting the use of kin as foster care providers, over 31% of children were placed with relatives (Kusserow, 1992). In California, the growth in kinship placements has rapidly accelerated. Kinship care is now the predominant placement setting for children, recently surpass- ing foster family care. Statewide, kinship foster care accounted for approximately 46% of the caseload in 1994. In Santa Clara County, the site of this study, kinship foster care was utilized in 41% of the cases. I 11 recent years, kinship care has gained increasing attention The development of kinship care as a foster care resource has been stimulated by legal, demographic, and value-based changes. First was the Miller v Youakim Supreme Court (1979) case which determined that kin could not be excluded from the definition of foster parents and that under some conditions, kin might be eligible for federal IV—E foster care benefits. Second, the burgeoning foster care census and changing economic cir- cumstances have left far fewer unrelated foster parents at home to care for children and have contributed to greater inclusion of kin as foster caregivers (Kaye & Cook, 1992; National Commission on Family Foster Care, 1991; National Foster Parent Association, 1991). Third, kinship care’s development has been spurred on by a refocusing of values and priorities regarding the role of fami- ly—broadly defined—in the lives of children Kinship foster care has developed at a time when calls for family preservation have grown increasingly urgent (National Commission on Children, 1993). Many child welfare experts believe that children will be better served if their care is provided by family members within the community of origin, rather than by strangers (Chipungu, 1991; Takas, 1992). Review of the Literature Research in the area of kinship care has not kept pace with its development as a placement alternative. Similarly, research on the characteristics of conventional foster care has been sparse (see Berrick, Barth, & Needell, 1994; Kaye & Cook, 1992; Lind- holm & Touliatos, 1978). Until recently, few studies were avail- able that focused on the characteristics of kin providers or on the kin children in care. Neither were studies available which ad- dressed the services provided to kin through the child welfare system, or about the kin providers’ views of their roles within this system. Researchers are now embracing this issue (see Berrick & Barth, 1994; Wilson & Chipungu, 1996). Characteristics offoster parents and kinship caregivers. Thornton (1987) describes kin caregivers as older than foster family parents, and a group heavily represented by single women of color who are struggling themselves with liiriited incomes 1997, Vol 46, N0. 3 One study found maternal foster grandmothers reporting high levels of poor health and depression (Kelley, 1992). These grand- mothers also expressed concerns about their abilities to continue parenting young children into adolescence due to their own ad- vancing age. Some studies also point to the challenge these providers face as they voluntarily take on a new set of roles with little preparation or planning (Kennedy & Keeney, 1987; Le- Prohn, 1994; Thornton, 1987). While foster family providers generally prepare for their new role as parents, kinship foster par- ents more often fall into older parenthood in response to a press- ing family emergency Berrick, Barth, and Needell (1994) have corroborated these findings in their study of kinship foster par- ents and foster family parents in California. Characteristics of children in foster family care and kinship care While the characteristics of foster parents and kin care- givers may be somewhat different, children placed in kinship fos- ter homes share many similarities with their peers in foster family care. Dubowitz and associates (1994) found that children in kin- ship foster care had higher rates of asthma, anemia, vision and dental problems, and developmental delays than American chil- dren in the general population. Children in kinship care also ex- hibited greater behavioral problems Similar studies which have examined the health problems of children in foster family care have, in general, found a population suffering from a wide vari- ety of health and mental health problems (Fein, Mallucio, & Kluger, 1990; Halfon & Klee, 1991) Three of the only studies to compare kinship foster children to foster family children (Bene- dict, Zuravin, & Stallings, 1996, Berrick, Barth, & Needell, 1994; Iglehart, 1994) found comparable strengths and difficulties in these populations Outcomes associated with kinship care. Some of the strongest research conducted to date comparing kinship foster care to foster family care has utilized statewide administrative data to examine children’s entrances, exits, and service utilization while in care Although children in kinship foster care reunify with their birth parents more slowly than children in non—kin care, the proportion of children ultimately reunified from kin and non—kin care is roughly similar for both groups after about four years (Bemck, Needell, Barth, & Jonson-Reid, in press: Needell, Webster, Barth, & AFITIIJO, 1996). Because the rate of reunifica- tion is slower, and because children in kinship care experience *Funding for this study was provided by the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency I would like to thank the kin and non—kin toster parents who consented to partici- pate in this study and who spoke of their experience raising children Thanks also to Cassan- dra Simmel, who assisted with data analysis **Address correspondence to Jill Dueir Bemck, Ph D, Center for Social Services Research, School of Social Welfare, University ot California Berkeley, 120 I-laviland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-7400 Key Words foster care, kinship care. quality (Famil) Relations, 1997. 46, 273-280 ) 273 Copvriqht © 2001. All Rights Reseved.