Dr. Tyreasa Washington studies African American children and families, particularly those involved in kinship care – when a member of a family cares for children that are not their own but may be grandchildren, godchildren, or otherwise related.
There is a long history of informal kinship care in African American communities, Washington says. Previously, the associate professor in the Department of Social Work has focused on outcomes centered around the children, and that research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.