Kinship Families’ Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Stresses, Supports, and Resiliency

Overview: Presenters will share findings from a qualitative study of kinship caregivers and child welfare professionals that sought to understand factors relating to caregivers’ psychological and physical health including caregiving stress and strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications for preparation of and support for child welfare professionals will also be discussed.Proposal text: Background/Rationale:

Nationwide, 8 million children live in households headed by grandparents or other relatives (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2021). Kinship care during ordinary times can be a challenge given that many caregivers have unmet needs and are unable to access resources. Grandparents raising grandchildren generally experience more depressive symptoms, higher stress levels, and poorer physical health compared to non-caregiving grandparents (Whitley et al., 2016). Decreased psychological health has been attributed to lack of social support, increased caregiver burden, and role strain (Denby, 2016; Hayslip et al., 2015). The COVID-19 pandemic and its related social isolation and financial devastation places kinship caregivers at greater risk, including threats to both the child and caregiver’s socioemotional health and their environmental and economic stability (Xu et al., 2021).

A national study of caregivers during the early months of COVID-19 showed a significant relationship between caregiver burden, caregiver mental health, and perception of stress, which were all linked to child-parent closeness and conflict (Russel et al., 2020). This effect may be exacerbated for kinship caregivers who are predisposed to poorer mental health and increased caregiver burden. Material hardship has also been positively correlated to parental stress for kinship caregivers during COVID-19 (Xu et al., 2021).

The child welfare system was caught unprepared to support kinship families during the pandemic. Very little is known about caregivers’ and children’s needs, experiences, conditions, and current psychosocial status. Even less is known about how family and cultural resiliency might be mitigating factors, helping caregivers cope with the added stress and strain magnified by COVID.

In 2021, researchers conducted a qualitative study about kinship families during the pandemic. Informed by Delphi Rounds with kinship caregivers (n=28) and child welfare professionals (n=18), the research team conducted 11 focus groups with caregivers (n=25) and professionals (n=34) across the country. These conversations illuminated the unique and acute challenges faced by kinship families before and during the pandemic, as well as the significant resilience they demonstrate. The researchers also learned the areas in which students of social work and practitioners may need better preparation to more effectively serve this population.

Teaching/Workshop Facilitation

Methods:

1. Researchers will first present the findings of their qualitative study, highlighting the perspectives of kinship caregivers and child welfare professionals on kinship families’ wellbeing, especially during COVID.

2. Participants will be split into small groups, where they are each presented with a different finding of the qualitative study. Groups will be instructed to discuss the issue at hand, share experiences on the topic, and brainstorm a practice or policy that could be implemented to support the wellbeing of kinship families and/or the preparation of the child welfare professionals who support them. Groups will be asked to consider factors affecting implementation of their proposed solution. Each group will present their topic and share their practice/policy suggestion with the larger group. Other groups can ask questions or provide feedback.

3. Based on the research findings, participants will be presented curriculum builders/ideas which will be probed in a large group format.