Kinship Carers Research
Families In Harmony are a lived experienced led organisation addressing the racial disparities in kinship care that are causing extra layers of disadvantage for African, Caribbean and Black Mixed Heritage families. They exist to improve the lives of vulnerable children by advocating for racial equity. They utilise lived experience to co-creates peer support services and EDI training for professionals, community and faith groups. Alongside this, They co-produce the research evidence needed to improve policy, practice and support to enhance the lives of kinship families of Black African and Caribbean heritage.
They are working with Rees Centre Oxford who were recently awarded funding from Kinship Charity to explore the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers with formal and informal arrangements. For information, a kinship carer is someone who is looking after a family member’s or friend’s child, when the parent is unable to do so. Sometimes this is with the support of the local authority and other times where informal kinship care may have arisen out of a family arrangement between the parent/s and person now raising their child, these carers are unknown and unsupported.
Historically, kinship care research has explored the experiences of White kinship carers. However, this new funding is targeted at gaining the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers in the Midlands and across Greater London. The research will help to understand more about African, Asian and Caribbean kinship carers and the kind of support they needed at the start of the arrangement and would like now.
Families In Harmony would like to talk to Black African, Caribbean and Asian kinship carers about their experiences. Any participation in this research will be confidential and information shared will be anonymised. Kinship carers will receive a voucher for taking part in this research project.
If you're interested please get in touch with Priya Tah by email priya.tah@eduacation.ox.ac.uk or phone 07514423111.