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Protecting Children by Supporting Informal Kinship Caregivers (Workshop 24)
Approximately 90 percent of the children who live with kin are in informal arrangements and not in the custody of the child welfare system. However, little research focuses on informal kinship caregivers and the ways they cope with stress associated with their efforts to protect related children. Also, while several researchers mention the importance of spirituality to kinship caregivers, prior research has not taken an in-depth look at the meaning of spirituality to kinship caregivers and, specifically, how spirituality functions as a coping mechanism.
Presenters report the results of two studies conducted with informal kinship caregivers, both funded by the U.S. Children's Bureau's Office on Child Abuse and Neglect. In the first study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected regarding the individual and social protective factors that affect children in informal kinship care. Results demonstrate that the behavioral functioning of the child and the functioning of the family are related to caregiver stress. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of 29 African-American female informal kinship caregivers in the second study to examine spirituality as a coping mechanism for these caregivers. Study results describe how these caregivers define spirituality, the role spirituality plays in their lives, and ways that spirituality serves as a coping mechanism for some informal kinship caregivers. The session addresses implications for supporting and strengthening these families and protecting children.
James P. Gleeson, Ph.D., A.C.S.W.
Nicole Anderson, A.M.
Jane Addams College of Social Work
University of Illinois at Chicago
1040 W. Harrison Street
Chicago, IL 60607-7134
View the complete list of presenters.
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