Washington Tyreasa, Despard Mathieu
Child Trends, United States.
Department of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, United States.
Child Youth Serv Rev. 2024 Mar;158. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107409. Epub 2023 Dec 18.
Close attention should be given to the increased reliance on kinship care to provide out-of-home care for vulnerable children and youth because although these families have various strengths, they also frequently face financial instability and experience material hardship. Living in poverty and experiencing material hardship are linked to an array of negative outcomes, including physical and mental health problems, elevated parental stress, and children's academic difficulties and social and behavioral problems. This study examined African American families who are providing informal kinship care with the aim of developing a nuanced understanding of the financial characteristics, challenges, and coping strategies of these families. Data for this study were obtained from two sources: (1) an exploratory sequential mixed-method pilot study and (2) the National Financial Capability Study. It was found that most caregivers in the pilot reported their family resources were only seldom or sometimes adequate to cover their household's basic needs. Some caregivers reported being unaware of public benefits and community resources available for kinship care families, and they had difficulties navigating the system. Additionally, family members' love and support for each other helped them to cope with financial instability. Using a nationally representative dataset, predicted probabilities for three types of financial instability were higher among households with demographic characteristics of kinship care families including difficulty covering expenses, having income that exceeds expenses, and having emergency savings. Implications for practice, policy, and future research are discussed.
应密切关注越来越依赖亲属照料来为弱势儿童和青少年提供家庭外照料的情况,因为尽管这些家庭有各种优势,但他们也经常面临经济不稳定和物质困难。生活贫困和经历物质困难与一系列负面结果相关,包括身心健康问题、父母压力增加以及儿童的学业困难和社会及行为问题。本研究调查了提供非正式亲属照料的非裔美国家庭,旨在对这些家庭的经济特征、挑战和应对策略形成细致入微的理解。本研究的数据来自两个来源:(1)一项探索性序列混合方法试点研究和(2)全国金融能力研究。研究发现,试点中的大多数照料者报告称,他们的家庭资源很少或只是有时足以满足家庭的基本需求。一些照料者报告称,他们不知道亲属照料家庭可获得的公共福利和社区资源,并且在应对该系统方面存在困难。此外,家庭成员之间的关爱和支持帮助他们应对经济不稳定。使用具有全国代表性的数据集,具有亲属照料家庭人口特征的家庭,包括难以支付费用、收入超过支出以及有应急储蓄,出现三种经济不稳定类型的预测概率更高。文中还讨论了对实践、政策和未来研究的启示。