The Combination Of A Qualitative And Quantitative Approach

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

CHAPTER 5

Document Analysis

5.0 Introduction

As presented in Chapter 4, the combination of a qualitative and quantitative approach made it possible to shed light on the barriers that exist between social workers and kinship carers. The primary reasons for these barriers have been identified as a lack of effective cooperation between the two groups. However, it was emphasised that this was not only due to the failure of communication between two or more people on a personal level, but also because of unfavourable circumstances presented by the UK Government and local authorities.

In this chapter two documents will be presented in order to highlight the relevance of the findings to current policy making. In doing so, the shortcomings of the documents will be emphasised, and suggestions made with regards to the research (Appendix 6 & 7). These suggestions are in accordance with improving the relationship between carers and social workers via governmental intervention. It is impossible to say with any certainty what these recommendations may do for the psychological well-being of the child although it is assumed that an improvement in the relationship between the social worker and the kinship carer will only impact on the child positively.

5.1 Document 1 [1] : Minimum Kinship Care Standards (DH, Social Services, and Public Safety, 2012).

This strategic report on the minimum kinship care standards was written to organise implementation of the kinship care minimum standards across Northern Ireland due to the action plan that had been developed as a result of the Care Matters Strategy. The core principles of this document reflect kinship care decision-making with the child’s well-being being paramount at all times. The developments of the minimum standards were also established in the report because, according to the authors, it is not realistic to apply the exact same arrangements in every single setting, as each environment is inherently different. However, there are certain standards that are mandatory across every situation, regarding such facets of child care as safeguarding children from hazardous or dangerous situations.

The document thus stresses the importance of governmental policies to actively support kinship placements, considering the specific problems associated with kinship care. This idea is also prominently discussed in the analysis of the qualitative data, since many carers and social workers highlighted inadequate governmental policies as being a primary reason impeding communication and cooperation between the two groups.

Furthermore, both the document and the research suggest that the welfare of the children in question should be of utmost importance, and thus, appropriate assessment and monitoring processes should be developed and implemented for each case. This would then automatically lead to better support for carers so that they are better placed to consider the physical and psychological well-being of the children they care for.

Since the data presented in this dissertation suggests that information is not efficiently dispersed to kinship carers, further research should determine how to overcome these insufficiencies. The data from such research would not only help bridge the gaps between social workers and carers, but would also aid in efforts to optimise these resources. Thus in order to support the best conditions for the psychological development of children in kinship care. Naturally, there are numerous factors that affect the all-round health of a child and it is difficult to suggest that such improvements in isolation can ensure psychological health, but it is reasonable to assume that greater support for carers enhances the emotional support available to children. In relation to this, further research would be especially useful in bridging any gaps that may exist between ideology and practice in social services regarding kinship care.

5.2 Document 2 [2] : Children 1st: Making the Most of Kinship Care (Snowden, 2008).

The ‘Making the Most of Kinship Care’ document compiled by Snowden (2008) is a briefing intended to raise awareness and promote kinship care as the primary and most optimal solution for displaced children. While the data it presents focuses on Scotland, the general ideas may be made relevant to the entire UK. The document especially stresses the necessity for local authorities and national Government to financially and socially support displaced children, and ensure that they and their kinship care families are provided with the most appropriate resources to ensure the children’s well-being. The recommendations include education/training, financial support through various means (such as free school meals), therapeutic services and support programmes, as well as adequate resources to ensure proper and continuous collaboration between social work professionals, carers and their families.

The research included in this paper might complement Snowden’s document through an understanding of the difficulties local authorities (represented by social workers) and kinship carers might encounter in efforts to collaborate. Although family-based care is regarded as the best solution for displaced children (especially because of the importance of culture and identity for the psychological well-being of children), the data also emphasises that such arrangements are often more problematic to deal with from the perspective of the authorities. This is due to inadequate Government policies and monitoring currently in place. As could be seen in this study, this inevitably results in the dissatisfaction of both carers and social workers. Based on both the data presented in this dissertation, and the points of Snowden's document, further research is needed in order to determine the possibilities of more practical support for kinship carers. Although such aid is called for in the 2008 document, it is something the carers still miss.

5.3 Summary

The documents presented in this final chapter suggest the possibilities for further use of these research findings. Although they are by no means conclusive, they are a fruitful means to understand the limitations of current social work practices and policies, and they present important new starting points for further inquiry into the possibilities for improvement.

CHAPTER 6

6.0 Conclusion

This study was designed to explore the relationship between kinship carers and social workers and to identify the potential impact on the psychological well-being of the child. The literature and the body of knowledge confirm gaps in the research of kinship care and demonstrate the rationale for conducting this research. As discussed throughout this paper the barriers that exist between social workers and kinship carers are often due to misconceptions about each other's role and significance in the arrangement processes. The research participants themselves suggested that these boundaries may be overcome through better communication. This, however, necessitates adequate support on behalf of local and national authorities in the form of policies and resources (especially human resources). This will enable carers and social workers to consider how they might facilitate the physical and psychological development of children in care, therefore improving the standard of care as Cuddeback (2004) postulated.

Whilst interviews and questionnaires offer a rich source of primary data it should be considered that this research was conducted from an adult perspective and not from a child’s point of view, Furthermore the main weakness in this study, was the inability to generalise the findings because of the twin problems of a small sample size and a sample that did not adequately represent the wider population. Additionally, the sample did not include members of any ethnic minority groups, reasons could be the lack of comprehension of the topic, disengagement and poor literacy. Therefore neither confirmation nor disproof of the Buttle UK’s report, in terms of minority ethnic backgrounds within kinship populations (Nandy and Selwyn, 2011), could be formulated. This corroborates the need to extend the sample range to comprise subjects from a diverse range of cultures and ethnicities to ascertain if the same perceptions and barriers exist regardless of social background.

In order to improve future research, one might consider whether social workers and kinship carers are able to positively impact on the psychological health of a child: nonetheless, it would be important to conduct research involving the children in question. What this study has succeeded in showing though, is that there could well be a link between an improvement in the relationship between social workers and kinship carers and the improved psychological health of children in kinship care and potential for future investigation.

On reflection it would have been interesting to use a different research design. For example, maybe a comparison between the views of kinship carers with foster carers would have provided some further insight into issues that needed addressing. This might have offered a different result, clarifying the variances in perceptions and communication from each group. Equally focus groups may have been a useful way of getting kinship carers discussing the issue further.

Although retrospective studies are not ideal, the interviewing of ‘adult children’ about their experiences, may have offered some comprehension on their psychological well-being whilst in kinship care and if indeed they view service professionals negatively as Broad (2004) advocates. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that the current guidelines with regards to supporting kinship families are not wholly unrealistic, although certain aspects (such as offering allowances and training to include all kinship carers) should be reviewed. It seems that local authorities do have some resources available to aid in supporting the displaced child within the family; however as Grandparents plus (2012) ascertains; extending the same level of support to all carers can only positively impact on the psychological well-being of the whole family.