A child's experience of kinship care after the death of a parent

Abstract

“It is good to identify child-headed households and to know exactly how many orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) we have, but it is more important to be part of a process to put systems and services in place to make South Africa a country fit for children” (Theron, 2008). The researcher is passionate about the sentiments expressed by the National Executive Director of Child Welfare South Africa, which is quoted above. The researcher shares a keen interest in improving service delivery to children in kinship care and as a result wished to hear from children themselves regarding their experiences of kinship care; both the positive and negative aspects so that this research could assist social service professionals improve the quality of service delivery to the most vulnerable members of our community, namely orphaned children. The researcher aimed to answer the following research question: What are a child’s experiences of kinship care after the death of a parent? The goal of the study was therefore to explore a child’s experience of kinship care after the death of a parent. The qualitative approach was used in this study which enabled participants to provide accounts of meanings, experiences and perceptions. The researcher used applied research in order to gain an understanding of a child’s experience of foster care after the death of a parent. The phenomenological research strategy was used in this study as participants were able to describe their everyday experiences in their foster home after the death of their parent(s). The population in this study included children who have been legally placed in kinship care through the Children’s Court due to the death of a parent(s), by social workers in the employ of Tongaat Child and Family Welfare Society. The purposive sampling method was used and the sample consisted of four children In this study in-depth interviews were used for data collection. The participants were interviewed during a few sessions. Play techniques were used during these sessions in order to communicate with the participants in a child-friendly manner. A pilot session was held with one participant who aided in testing the play techniques. Data analysis included planning for the recording of data, data collection and preliminary analyses, managing or organising data, reading or writing memos, generating categories, themes and patterns, coding of the data, testing the emergent understandings, searching for alternative explanations and writing the research report. The goal of the study was achieved as the researcher was able to effectively communicate with the participants by means of play techniques and the participants were therefore able to share their experiences regarding kinship care and their adjustment to their new environment. The principal finding of this study was that the participants shared positive experiences and experienced stability in their kinship care placements. Their basic needs were met, they experienced love, kindness and caring; they were able to continue practising their culture and religion. They were able to continue with family relationships, especially contact with their siblings and friends. Their foster parents had the necessary resources to provide a safety net, as well as help them heal from the trauma experienced as a result of the death of their parent(s).