ABSTRACT This study explored the perspectives of Australian foster and kinship carers (n = 31) on the importance of cultural connection for children from culturally diverse backgrounds in care. Most recognized culture as crucial to child identity and wellbeing. However, the findings highlight the complexity of navigating cultural care, including differing opinions on who should lead cultural engagement, challenges in balancing the child’s cultural needs with existing family dynamics, and difficulties accessing accurate information and support from child protection agencies. Findings emphasize the need for training in cultural humility for carers, mechanisms for accurate cultural data gathering, and a collaborative approach to cultural care planning involving all stakeholders, including children and birth parents as key stakeholders and decision-makers.

ABSTRACT The literature on adolescents' perspectives on growing up in kinship care is limited. The study aims to explore the lived experiences of adolescents in grandparent kinship care by examining how they respond to adversity, build support and exercise agency. The study recruited 22 grandparent–adolescent pairs in a large Korean city. Separate interviews were conducted with each adolescent, aged 12–17, and their caregiver at the adolescent's home. The study uses interpretive thematic analysis to validate and triangulate themes and subthemes from the perspectives of adolescents and their caregivers. All adolescents experienced abandonment and had little to no contact with their parents, leading to feelings of disconnection, longing and stigma. For some, a grandparent's dedication and the presence of other relatives acting as substitutes helped lessen the negative effects of abandonment. Even amid adversity, they showed varying levels of agency, demonstrating awareness of their situations, intentionality in their actions and taking steps towards a better future. The findings emphasize the agency of vulnerable youth. Korea's underdeveloped foster care system and lack of coordinated services for grandparent kinship families leave them and their caregivers to navigate alone. Improved services for all grandparent kinship families, including guidance and meaningful support for adolescents at critical stages, could help strengthen their efforts to create a better future.

ABSTRACT Growing research evidence has shown that grandparents who provide care to their grandchildren as kinship caregivers (termed grandparent kinship care) experience several challenges, including abuse by the children in their care. We argue that grandmother kinship caregivers in Ghana may be subjected to severe and continuous abuse due to the legitimacy of myths about witchcraft accusations against older people. Following narrative interviews with 31 grandmother kinship caregivers in Ghana, who have experienced abuse and harm from children in their care, we found that the grandmothers used physical punishment and discipline, neglect, and other violence strategies to control and mitigate abusive behaviors of the children in their care. Grandmothers need protection from abuse; thus, we recommend the development of parenting programs to enable grandparent kinship caregivers to develop skills to protect themselves and prevent future harm by children in their care.

Kinship care placements are significant for meeting the need for alternative care in child welfare systems worldwide. This qualitative evidence synthesis develops a comprehensive understanding of the role of the Child Welfare Service (CWS) in kinship foster care from the perspectives of kinship caregivers. We reviewed 14 qualitative empirical studies that explore caregivers' perspectives on contact with- and support from the CWS. Our synthesis indicates that most kinship caregivers encounter challenges when interacting with CWS. Three overarching themes were identified: 1) CWS’ role when becoming a kinship carer; 2) common concerns and how these are met by CWS, and 3) expected to manage on their own, afraid to seek help. Findings show that kinship carers often feel unprepared to be caregivers. They face financial constraints, challenges related to their children's needs, and struggles with their own health, all of which can make the responsibilities of caregiving overwhelming. Additionally, many new caregivers fear reprisals from CWS if they seek help and support, so they are left to deal with difficulties on their own. The implications of these findings are discussed.

ABSTRACT This paper interrogates Australian parent–school engagement policy and argues that extant policy assumes a normative, nuclear conception of “the family”. This assumption reinforces heteronormative ideals, places unequal childcare labour borne on women, and limits recognition of family diversity. Drawing on Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the Problem Represented to Be?’ (WPR) framework, we critically analyse ten national and state policy documents (2018–2024) and undertake thematic synthesis to surface how “parent” and “family” are constructed and with what effects. Across the corpus, parent engagement is usually positioned within neoliberal rationalities that render families responsible for initiating and sustaining engagement, while often implicitly defining legitimate participation through an idealised two-parent, heterosexual model. Policies routinely collapse heterogeneous caregiving arrangements into homogenised categories, obscuring gendered expectations that mothers perform the emotional and administrative labour of schooling, and discounting the distinct experiences of separated parents, step-parents, kinship carers, and First Nations families. Largely, diversity provisions can be seen as symbolic anti-racism that privileges cultural visibility while remaining silent on family formation, shared care arrangements, and intersectional inequities. We contend that these problem representations enact policy silences that normalise White heteropatriarchal nuclear families and risk misrecognising non-normative family configurations, with material consequences for equity and participation in schooling. We propose an intersectional, anti-essentialist reorientation of engagement policy coupled with context-specific guidance, to align policy with how Australian families actually live, and to support socially just parent–school partnerships.

ABSTRACT Kinship care is a historically persistent phenomenon that has been utilised as a form of alternative care across the world for centuries. It is increasingly being considered as the first choice in national and regional policies for alternative care of children. This paper will focus upon the literature surrounding the paradoxical position that formal kinship care holds in the public and private spheres of child welfare. Considering the added complexity of conceptualisations of family and familial dynamics, the potential added barriers to children and young people's participation in kinship care decision‐making will be discussed. The position of children's participation in kinship care decision making will be compared with other types of placements for looked after children. Theoretical constructs and frameworks including adopting an ecological approach will underpin this discussion to elucidate the relationship between children's participation and kinship care decision‐making. Broader implications will be discussed for how children's participation may be improved for kinship care decision‐making, the link between children's participation in decision‐making and placement outcomes and how future research may contribute to bridging the gap between policy and practice.

ABSTRACT Objective To examine whether family change in rural America is widening the rural–urban child poverty gap and increasing inequalities between children raised in married parent families and those raised in other family types. Background Mounting evidence of falling marriage rates across rural areas has led to concerns that child poverty rates have increased. However, new methods of measuring poverty and recent increases in Child Tax Credits challenge these assumptions about rural child poverty trends and the poverty penalties associated with nonmarital families. Methods Current Population Survey data are used to estimate rural and urban trends in family structures and child poverty, using the Supplemental Poverty Measure, from 2000 to 2023. Logistic regressions test whether the poverty penalties associated with living in four kinds of nonmarital families (cohabiting, formerly married, never married, and kinship care) have changed for rural and urban children over this period. Results By 2023, significantly more rural (37.9%) than urban (32.5%) children lived in nonmarital families; simultaneously, rural poverty rates declined significantly. Further, although rural children living in nonmarital families faced greater poverty penalties than urban children in 2000–2003, by 2020–2023 these penalties had diminished substantially for both rural and urban children, and the elevated poverty penalties for rural children had disappeared. Conclusions Despite a sizable increase in rural children living with nonmarried parents, rural child poverty rates sharply declined.

This article presents findings on the impact of maternal imprisonment on wider relationships within the family. Previous research has detailed the significant impact that maternal imprisonment may have on mothers and their children. Relational theory suggests that connections and relationships may be more important for women and that this has an impact on desistance and recovery. This article applies relational theory to the wider impacts of maternal imprisonment, presenting new findings on the intergenerational family impacts. This includes impacts on the mother-child relationship and older children (aged 13+), and mothers’ relationships with kinship carers, particularly grandmothers. The evidence presented shows how relationships within the family are often irreparably harmed by imprisonment and what can be termed ‘relational trauma’. Findings suggest that the significant impact that maternal imprisonment has on the wider family should be considered when sentencing mothers to custodial sentences.

ABSTRACT This study set out to add to the research on kinship care and legal permanency, describing insights shared by kinship caregivers in British Columbia, Canada. This article explores two research questions: (1) What are some of the differences between legally permanent and shorter-term kinship care routes? and (2) What are the challenges faced by kinship caregivers raising children through legal permanency routes? Thematic analysis revealed these themes: (1) The ability and need to plan long-term, (2) Raising children with complex behaviors and needs, (3) Navigating difficult emotions, (4) Dealing with complicated family relationships, and (5) Caregiving within a disjointed system.

This thematic issue explores the complex and often controversial intersection of foster care and financial compensation. While foster care is often seen as a more inclusive and family‐oriented alternative to institutional care, the role of money in caregiving remains morally and socially sensitive. Drawing on sociological theories, particularly Viviana Zelizer’s concept of “hostile worlds,” the articles examine how economic and intimate spheres are negotiated in the contexts of foster care. Contributions from multiple countries highlight how foster parents, social workers, and policymakers navigate the tension between professionalism and altruism, as well as between love and money. The thematic issue addresses historical shifts in compensation practices, cultural ambivalence toward paid caregiving, and the practical realities of foster families’ financial needs. Case studies from Australia, Bulgaria, England, Norway, Romania, South Africa, and Sweden illustrate how foster care is framed as both work and family life, with implications for policy, legal status, and emotional labour. The issue also considers how kinship care complicates traditional boundaries between private and public roles. By analysing how money is discussed, avoided, or justified in foster care, the collection sheds light on broader welfare dilemmas: how to balance moral imperatives with economic constraints. Ultimately, the volume argues that caregiving should not be reduced to either love or money but understood as a hybrid practice where financial support can enable, rather than undermine, authentic care.

Children in out-of-home care are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, especially in formal court proceedings and youth custody. Whether this extends to other types of contact, such as police contact as a person of interest, victim, or witness, is unclear. This descriptive study examined a range of criminal justice contacts in adolescence (i.e., police contacts, police cautions, youth justice conferencing, court appearances, and youth custody) among young people who experienced out-of-home care in childhood. Data for >79,000 children were drawn from the New South Wales Child Development Study, with linked administrative records from child protection and criminal justice available from birth to age 17 years. We identified young people placed in out-of-home care before age 10 years ( n = 1,715) to determine the prevalence of different criminal justice contacts for these individuals from age 10 to age 17, compared to those who did not experience out-of-home care prior to age 10. Analyses were conducted separately for girls and boys, by placement type (e.g., foster care, family and kinship care), and by number of placements (0, 1, 2, and ≥3). The prevalence of all types of criminal justice contact was significantly higher among those placed in out-of-home care compared to those who were not. Specifically, 62.3% of young people in out-of-home care had any type of contact with the criminal justice system, compared to 22.3% of those with no out-of-home care before age 10. The prevalence of criminal justice contacts was comparable for boys and girls, as well as across out-of-home care placement types and number of placements. While children who experience out-of-home care in childhood are at heightened risk for all types of criminal justice contact, most children who experience out-of-home care did not have a court appearance (88.9%) or experience youth custody (91.5%).

Several studies have explored trauma symptomatology in children and young people (C/YP) in foster and kinship care. The current study explored the mental health difficulties for a cohort of C/YP in care with complex needs in Queensland, Australia at commencement of treatment at a tertiary level specialist mental health service, with a focus on gender and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background. The short form of the Assessment Checklist measures were completed by carers for 100 children aged 5–10 years and 96 adolescents aged 11–17 years. The findings reinforced that the service was providing treatment to the intended cohort of C/YP in care with severe and/or complex mental health and/or social and emotional wellbeing concerns. As a measure of total mental health problems for children and adolescents, over 80% of the sample were in the clinical range. Female children displayed greater over-familiarity, affection-seeking and attention-seeking behaviours, and absence of personal boundaries in social relationships compared to males. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander adolescents were more emotionally withdrawn and displayed greater avoidant and non-reciprocal social behaviours than non-Indigenous adolescents. Although not a representative sample of Queensland C/YP in care, the data identified the complexity of social and emotional wellbeing challenges faced by some of those in care. The study highlighted the importance of using assessment tools tailored to assess challenges that are often experienced by children and young people in care. Further, given the complexity, severity and breadth of symptom manifestation, the data highlighted a need for comprehensive individual, dyadic, and systematic therapeutic approaches.

‘The whole system is designed to create more trauma than it solves’: Australian foster and kinship carers navigating child protection systems

ABSTRACT China’s recent decision to end its international adoption program marks a pivotal shift in the nation’s child welfare landscape, concluding a 30 year policy that facilitated the placement of over 160,000 orphaned and abandoned children – many with disabilities and/or congenital diseases – into permanent families abroad. This policy change raises urgent concerns about the future of these vulnerable minors, particularly those with complex medical and developmental needs who are now at increased risk of prolonged institutionalization. This commentary explores the implications of this transition, emphasizing the potential developmental and psychosocial consequences for affected children. It proposes a set of actionable reforms, including the expansion of domestic adoption, the professionalization of foster and kinship care, the enhancement of institutional care quality, and the strengthening of cross-sector partnerships. These measures are essential to building a more inclusive, sustainable, and family-centered child welfare system in the post-international adoption era.

Background/Objectives: Depression and anxiety in children pose a significant public health concern, with long-term implications for well-being. Over 10% of children and adolescents are affected by emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety. African American youth face disproportionate exposure to mental health risk factors, including poverty, adverse childhood events, community violence, and racial discrimination, which elevate their vulnerability to these disorders. A particularly at-risk subgroup includes African American children in kinship care arrangements (e.g., grandparents raising grandchildren), who may face additional factors such as family disruption and separation from birth parents. Methods: This mixed-methods sequential study examined how caregiver stress and birth mother–child relationship quality relate to depression and anxiety symptoms in African American children in kinship care. Phase I included survey data from 58 caregivers of children aged 5 to 12; Phase II involved interviews with 16 of these caregivers. Results: Results indicated that lower caregiver stress was associated with reduced child depression and anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, findings suggest that a high quality of the birth mother–child relationship serves as a promotive factor, particularly for depressive symptoms. Qualitative findings highlighted two themes: (1) the weight of kinship care, marked by factors such as ongoing grief and financial strain; and (2) birth parent relationships, defined by a mix of connection, conflict, and loss that affects children’s mental health. Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for greater understanding of the strengths and resources within kinship families that support positive mental health outcomes and highlight the importance of targeted interventions to reduce caregiver stress and foster supportive parent–child relationships.

ABSTRACT A common narrative among Filipino migrant domestic workers in Singapore and Hong Kong is that their work abroad is to guarantee a better future for their families. Migrant women frequently extend their temporary contracts, sometimes over decades to support family life projects. Yet their contracts can only be extended until retirement age, after which they must return to their countries of origin. This paper focuses on migrant women approaching this critical juncture as they begin to shift their focus towards themselves, in the face of precarious futures with limited state-based forms of social protection and uncertainties around kinship care in later life. As a consequence, domestic workers increasingly enrol in courses on ‘financial literacy’ to prepare for their retirement. Such courses are led by an array of state, corporate and non-governmental actors. They generate new financialised aspirations among migrant women which revolve around self-responsibility for success and security in later life. This cultivation of a self-oriented and ‘purpose-driven’ ethos remains entangled in existing (inter)dependencies in migrant women’s lives. Financialised modes of thinking furthermore exist alongside, and in tension with alternative imaginaries around social protection and how to live a meaningful life.

This study employs a phenomenological approach to explore the dynamics of trust within the Mockingbird Family, a relatively new model of foster and kinship care introduced in Australia. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with children (n = 21) and members of their care networks (n = 33) involved in the pilot implementation of the model. Trust is examined as a multidimensional concept that spans interpersonal, organisational and societal contexts. Findings show that trust is co-produced through everyday interactions between children and carers, strengthened through collaboration among carers, agency staff and child protection workers, and reinforced by organisational coherence and political support. Drawing on the lived experiences of children, carers and professionals, the study offers insight into how trust can be intentionally built and sustained within collective care environments. The Mockingbird Family model highlights trust as an emergent process shaped through mutual engagement, peer support and structural responsiveness, rather than as a fixed attribute or predefined outcome. These insights contribute to reimagining foster care as a relationship-centred, interconnected system.

Online health communities (OHCs) enhance personalized care by connecting patients, professionals and leveraging patient-reported outcomes. This study investigates how communication elements (emotions, patient-generated topics, appeals, and linguistic style) affect patient awareness (click-through-rate) and engagement (average engagement time and community subscriptions) in an atrial fibrillation (AF) OHC. A quasi-randomized online field experiment targeted Dutch adults via Facebook and Instagram with 12 communication concepts, directing them to the AF OHC. From May to June 2023, 795,812 users were reached, generating 18,426 visits, 478 subscriptions, and an average engagement time of 35 s. Communication elements significantly influenced awareness and engagement, with emotions and topics as strongest predictors. Fear was most effective for self-protection topics, love for affiliation and kin care. Expert appeals increased awareness, while testimonials boosted engagement. These findings offer novel insights into the role of communication strategies across patient journey stages, aiding health managers in optimizing patient engagement and OHC impact.

Improving sport opportunities, participation, and experiences for children in out-of-home care: A mixed-methods study.

This issue of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia (PACJA) comprises articles at the cutting edge of research in psychotherapy, counselling, and Indigenous healing practices. Its publication coincides with PACJA achieving Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) listing, an important milestone that will boost the journal’s global accessibility, visibility, academic credibility, and impact. Arguing that artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to complement the therapeutic relationship in psychotherapy and counselling, Bloch-Atefi (2025) considers the delicate balance of ethics and opportunities presented by AI. Another timely article (van Laar et al., 2025)—given the forthcoming release by the National Disability Insurance Agency of an independent review into art and music therapy for people with disabilities—analyses testimonials and provides a literature review of reviews on the current evidence for the effectiveness of these therapies for people with disabilities. Addressing research gaps on diverse topics are four other articles. Firstly, Beel et al. (2025) thematically analyse counselling and psychotherapy educators’ views on the profession and education, highlighting strengths and vulnerabilities. Secondly, Bloch-Atefi and Day (2025) examine the use of outcome measures by psychotherapists and counsellors, calling for training in the application of outcome measures to be included in the new national standards that will be released in the coming weeks. Thirdly, Atkinson et al. (2025) reflect on the Historical Frontier Violence Project that combines quantitative and qualitative data linking colonial massacres with current outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Finally, a clinical case study on an adolescent in kinship care recommends the use of narrative exposure therapy to support young people encountering out-of-home care services (Ryan, 2025). A book review on Alexander H. Ross’s Meditation for Psychotherapists: Targeted Techniques to Enhance Your Clinical Skills (Lynch, 2025) completes Volume 13 (1) of PACJA.