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Item Barriers to services for grandparent caregivers : a study of the barriers encountered by grandparent caregivers as they seek access to services on behalf of their grandchildren : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Social Work (Applied) at Massey University(Massey University, 2010) Schmidt, T. A.Grandparent caregivers must seek support and assistance from social service agencies but frequently encounter barriers as they engage with those agencies. This qualitative study drew on the experience of seven grandparent caregivers whose grandchildren presented a range of behavioral, psychological and physical ailments. Semi-structured interviews elicited information about their experiences and then, through the application of phenomenological analysis and ecological theory commonalities in their experiences were highlighted. Findings described five categories of barriers: (1) barriers encountered at a systemic level, (2) a lack of services, (3) agency related barriers, (4) legal barriers and (5) financial barriers. Ecological theory revealed that these barriers had their genesis in the promulgation of an ideology that favored family care over state care. Consideration is given to the differential between the levels of support offered to foster caregivers and grandparent caregivers. The study concludes by offering suggestions for social policy formulators and social service practitioners that would address this differential.Item Why place Māori children with Māori caregivers? : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work (Applied) Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2009) Montgomery, Mary AvrilThis qualitative study explores the concepts of customary care, recognising the Maori worldview and emphasising the value of placing Maori children with Maori caregivers. It examines the establishment of the Matua Whangai Programme in the context of the social/political issues of the 1980-1990s and the impact of legislation and reports on the placement of Maori children outside of whanau. The participants in this study were three caregivers m the Matua Whangai Programme. They each had experience of customary care practice in their own whanau and who generalised this experience in the context of the Matua Whangai programme. In this community, the Matua Whangai programme ran from 1985 to 1991. The study shows that when the programme was disestablished, not only did Maori children lose access to whanau whangai (foster families), the community also lost tribal linkages, both locally and nationally, along with effective networks with other social and governmental agencies established by Matua Whangai within the Lower South IslandItem Because we're family : a study of kinship care of children in New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Massey University, Albany Campus(Massey University, 1996) Worrall, Jill M.Since 1989 child welfare policy and practice in New Zealand has been guided by the Children, Young Persons, and their Families Act (1989). This Act mandates placement with kin as the option of first choice for children in need of care and protection. However, there is an absence of New Zealand research on this practice. The few recent overseas studies showed that children placed in kin-based care have similar levels of physical, emotional and educational difficulties as children in stranger foster care and that the personal consequences for caregivers and their families are significant. The 1989 Act defines family in the widest sense and includes members of the extended family. Definitions of family serve different political interests, and this thesis compares the current structure of New Zealand families with the ideological constructs of family/whanau inherent in the 1989 Children, Young Persons, and their Families Act. This qualitative study describes the experiences of five families who have cared for abused and/or neglected kin children. The thesis develops an understanding of the transitions occurring in kinship care for the children and their families through both ecological and feminist theories, and focuses on the gendered, economic, and political environment in which kinship care is performed in New Zealand. The feminist caregiving literature comments on the social expectation that women will assume the caregiving role, and the effect that this has on their lives. This study shows that the task of caring for a kin child who has suffered abuse and neglect is taxing on both caregivers and the whole caregiving family, and not made easier by virtue of a biological relationship. Children placed with extended family and children placed in foster care with strangers are treated as two distinct populations in terms of both practice and policy, kinship care families being considerably under-resourced. This thesis shows that such a dichotomy is not justifiable, and that the knowledge gained from foster care research should be transferred to the kinship population. The 'invisibility' of kinship care allows the particular needs of this group to remain unaddressed. Data is urgently required in regard to numbers of children placed with kin, and the longterm outcomes for both the children and their families. A reconstruction of kinship care, using a critical theory framework, concludes the thesis and provides recommendations for policy, social work practice and future research.