What interventions improve outcomes for kinship carers and their children

Within the UK, an increasing number of children are being placed in kinship care arrangements, where a child lives with a relative or close family friend, usually because their parents are not able to care for them. While there is some promising evidence that existing interventions may improve outcomes for children and carers, there are still gaps in the evidence base, particularly regarding the range of outcomes reported and specific geographical regions or demographics.

We have commissioned the Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI) to conduct a systematic review, with the purpose of identifying promising and effective policies, programmes and interventions. The review will include children and young people aged 0-21, or their carers, who are in formal or informal kinship care in high-income countries.

The quantitative aspect of the review will look at interventions which aim to improve outcomes for children who are in kinship care arrangements due to child maltreatment, neglect or risk of child maltreatment, relinquishment, or lack of provision of support. For this aspect of the review, the outcomes of interest are safety, permanence, wellbeing and educational attainment.

The qualitative review will include the voices of kinship carers, kinship-experienced children and young people or professionals working in kinship care in the UK, looking at the acceptability of interventions, and barriers and enablers to successful implementation.