EAHC Workshop

Sharing good practice in supporting kinship carers to prevent substance

related harm to young people

working with

Association Mentor Lietuva (Lithuania), De Sleutel (Belgium), Holt Romania (Romania), La Regione Abruzzo (Italy), Mentor Sverige (Sweden), and

University of Navarra (Spain)

“I am desperate for my granddaughter to grow up and become a beautiful, bright young woman with so many opportunities at her fingertips; she deserves it following the life she has had so far.”UK carer

www.eukinshipcarers.eu

Aim and Scope

• Aim– to improve the quality of prevention programmes

targeting children and young people living with kinship carers, thus preventing vulnerable children and young people from experiencing harm as a consequence of alcohol or drug use.

• Scope– Growing up with drug using parents creates additional

risks for children– Many children who cannot live with their parents are

brought up by other family members– Kinship care often optimal, but carers often unsupported


General objective and specific objectives

• General Objectives– To meet with and survey groups of

kinship carers– To map the needs of kinship carers

who require specific targeting and support.

– To identify the material, social, psychological and medical information and services that these carers require

– To work with these groups of kinship carers to pilot responses to their identified needs and to develop resources.

– To share what we have learnt during the course of the project

– To produce a final report, which will be widely disseminated

• Specific Objectives– Recruitment of kinship carers– Identifying need– Piloting responses – Improving access to prevention

services – Professional training – Sharing good practice

Implementation

• Interviews with carers to assess needs• Literature review to assess promising

approaches• Develop and pilot national resources to

support carers and children• Create training materials to support

professional practice• Disseminate and evaluate


“We do not have a washing machine – it’s so hard to wash the children’s clothes by hand; the children need a computer as all the other children from the community have.”Romanian carer


Description of the evaluation plan • Evaluating the overall project• Evaluating each of the six objectives• Evaluate the ethical guidelines• Advise on appropriate monitoring tools• Review website data• Review each project area report• Gather feedback from partners on the impact that the

project is having in Europe• Produce an interim evaluation in month 31• Produce a final evaluation report in month 36,

incorporating an evaluation of the final 5 months of the project.

Evaluation and Best Practice (?)

• Methods for choosing and evaluating our approaches– Needs assessment + Literature Review – Piloting and evaluation of implementation• Questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and sampling

of the training programme


Results

• Needs Assessment Report

• Literature Review• Resources being piloted

in 7 countries– Guides for carers,

education curriculum, posters, training for professionals, parenting course


“As a kinship carer you feel stigma. People look at you differently, as if there is something wrong with you or your family. People get very curious.”Swedish carer


Needs Assessment• Becoming a carer is stressful• Carers are often financially worse off as

a result of the decision to become a carer

• There often doesn't seem to be a choice in becoming a carer

• Carers put their own health and wellbeing behind the needs of the children.

• Professionals were sometimes seen as officious and uncaring

• Children had deep emotional needs as a result of what they had experienced

• Many carers were worried about the role that drugs and alcohol might play in the children's lives

• As the children grew older behaviour became a concern

Literature Review• Pay attention to the health and well-

being of kinship carers and the consequences of such care giving.

• Target interventions toward the promotion of healthy behaviour among new carers.

• Explore how to support kinship carers‘ mental health and identify local support groups.

• Services for children in kinship care should be comparable to those in other forms of public care.

• Provide specific support and monitoring to kinship carers of children with a background of parental substance misuse or abusive parents.

• Risks for adolescents suggest the need to provide extra support to carers as well as developing prevention programs targeting these adolescents and families.


“The problems started after 11-12 years. Already at the age of 12 she began run from the school and is in bad company.”Lithuanian carer


To Come

• National resources in 7 countries• Training pack for professionals• Key findings report• Evaluation report• Conference to disseminate findings


Indicators their link to specific objectives and results achieved to date• Recruitment of Kinship Carers– 210 carers recruited and give informed consent to

participate in project• 187 recruited and interviewed

• Identifying need– Report identifying the information & services needed

• Available from www.eukinshipcarers.eu /publications– a clear idea of the needs of kinship carers and able to plan

services accordingly• resources identified for piloting and under development

– develop services responsive to the needs of kinship carers informed by research• Literature review + needs analysis


Indicators their link to specific objectives and results achieved to date• Piloting responses– seven resources piloted with kinship carers / young

people– seven groups of kinship carers will have accessed

piloted prevention services – young people being cared for by kinship carers taking

part in the groups in each of seven counties, will have a reduced risk of harm from substance misuse because those caring for them have access to information, support or advice services• Advisory groups recruited, project and evaluation plans

agreed, pilots being delivered• Review indicators in April


"It has been a long time since I have been out. I am alone... my grandchildren are my friends.”Carer – Lithuania


Indicators their link to specific objectives

• Improving access to prevention services– a Key Findings report will be launched identifying good

practice in prevention with kinship carers, specifically providing policy makers and practitioners with advice on how to make services more accessible to kinship carers.

– those working with kinship carers across Europe will have access to information which will assist them in developing more accessible services for kinship carers.

– Kinship carers across Europe will find it easier to access services to help them protect young people in their care from harm as a consequence of substance misuse.



• Professional training– a professional training and resource pack will be produced

and disseminated in at least seven European countries.– 90% of professionals completing a feedback form

contained in the professional training and resource pack will rate the pack useful or very useful in assisting them in their work with kinship carers.

– over 200 professionals will be better able to understand and meet the needs of kinship carers as a result of access to high quality training materials.

– professionals working with kinship carers will be providing services that are responsive and sensitive to the needs of kinship carers.



• Sharing good practice– a Key Findings report will be disseminated in at least

seven European countries.– at least 90% of the feedback forms returned by

individuals and agencies who have requested a copy of the Key Findings report will respond that the report is helpful or very helpful in their work or to them as kinship carers.

– Kinship carers will have more confidence in the professionals they are working with and will receive more appropriate and sensitive services form these professionals.


Outcomes• the recruitment of kinship carers will result in the outcome that kinship carers

understand that they can influence the health outcomes for the children and young people in their care.

• identifying need will result in the outcome of an increased awareness of the needs of kinship carers and the children and young people in their care across Europe

• piloting responses will result in the outcome of improved prevention programmes targeting children and young people in kinship care

• improving access to prevention services will result in the outcome that more kinship carers and children and young people in their care will be able to find the help and support

• professional training will result in the outcome that more professionals working with kinship carers and the children and young people in their care will have the training and resources that they need in order to provide high quality, evidence based prevention services

• sharing good practice will result in the outcome that best practice will be developed to improve early access to prevention services for this group


“We would need support in talking about drug abuse without blaming the parents.”

Carer – Belgium


Outcome Evaluation• Impact of the project on – Policy– Services– Kinship carers and children in their care

• Approach– Qualitative research – considering process and learning

gained from this new field of work• Tools– Questionnaires (policy makers, service providers and

service users)– Interviews and focus groups– Observation (of training)


“I came here today feeling that I just wanted to give up and now that I have met these people here I have hope that things will change around for me.”Carer - UK




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