bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Holding and Sharing Memories: The Significance of Social Work Recording for Birth Record Counselling
Authors: Gannon Julia
Published: March 2013

Julia Gannon explores the findings of a study into the recording style and content of adoption files and the influences of these on the birth record counsellor's decision-making process. Her article focuses on the specific information shared or not shared with the adopted adult. It asserts that birth record counselling is one of the few tasks that propel the social worker back into the history of social work practice while simultaneously supporting service users through their search for information about their birth history and adoption. There is an emphasis on assessing how serviceable the recording style and content of adoption files are for adoptees. The research design involved semi-structured interviews with eight social workers currently holding birth record counselling cases. Four of the respondents were employed in local authority adoption teams and four were independent self-employed social workers in the field of adoption. The author's findings suggest that the knowledge birth record counsellors' gain from adoptees about how they experience their files has potential for practical application to social work practice in children and families teams today.
Fostering Voices and Fostering Messages: An Evaluation of New Strategies to Promote Research Utilisation
Authors: Price Linnie , Ravenscroftm Judy , Nutley Sandra
Published: March 2013

Linnie Price, Judy Ravenscroft and Sandra Nutley report on the perceived effectiveness of a set of materials (the Fostering Voices pack) aimed at disseminating the messages emerging from research in the field of fostering services. Having commissioned a review of the body of research on fostering, the DfES funded production of materials — a combination of video CDs and targeted leaflets — to ensure that the research messages were taken up in practice. Two questionnaire surveys of a range of stakeholders (including social care practitioners, foster carers, young people in foster care, education advisers and managers) and researchers were used to gauge the effectiveness of the pack, including its actual and intended use. The multifaceted Fostering Voices pack was perceived to be a successful and effective mechanism for communicating relevant information and messages, with both the content and format highlighted as particular strengths. An overwhelming majority of stakeholders indicated that access to the pack would change their practice.
The Dissemination of Research Findings in Children's Services: Issues and Strategies
Authors: Bullock Roger
Published: March 2013

The dissemination of authoritative research knowledge is essential for professional development in children's services, yet there is little evidence available to suggest how this might be best achieved. The previous article (Price et al, 2006) shows that when research findings are presented in a variety of ways, the products are valued by professionals but more needs to be done if success is to broaden. In this article by Roger Bullock two questions and four challenges facing social researchers are considered in the light of the changing nature of children's services, new technology and the activities of a voluntary UK organisation concerned with adoption and fostering. Recommendations to improve the relationship between research, policy and practice are made.
Surviving the System as a Foster Carer
Authors: Maclay Flora , Bunce Maureen , Purves David
Published: March 2013

The foster care system in Britain is under pressure, with local authorities finding it difficult to offer sufficient placement choice to looked after children, so the retention of existing foster carers is vital. Foster carers' dissatisfaction with the attitude and support offered by social services has been linked to their premature departure from fostering. Flora Maclay, Maureen Bunce and David G Purves explore the quality of the relationship between foster carers and local authority social workers and how it develops. From interviews with foster carers, four principle themes emerged: foster carers often feel under-supported and undervalued; independent networking acts as a survival mechanism; foster carers become more assertive with social workers over time; and some carers are able to manage the system whereas others become dragged into draining conflict. A model tracing the evolution of the relationship that foster carers have with social workers, from entry into the service to departure, is proposed to explain the existing levels of conflict. Recommendations for change within the system are suggested.
The Professionalisation of Foster Care
Authors: Wilson Kate , Evetts Julia
Published: March 2013

Recent developments in fostering services have led foster carers increasingly to identify themselves as professionals. Kate Wilson and Julia Evetts review some of the changes in the service which suggest that foster care arguably can no longer be seen as a voluntary activity and that the changes in the role now required can only be carried out successfully in the context of a fully professionalised service. However, the article draws on three sociological perspectives to argue that professionalising foster care may only be a means by which managers can increase control of the workforce ‘from a distance’. The article argues that although professionalisation can be a way of bringing proper recognition, status and standards of practice, carers and practitioners should view cautiously the managerial motivation in moves towards it.
Teenage Pregnancy among Young People in and Leaving Care: Messages and Implications for Foster Care
Authors: Knight Abigail , Chase Elaine , Aggleton Peter
Published: March 2013

Previous research has shown that looked after children and young people are vulnerable to poor life outcomes, including early pregnancy. Abigail Knight, Elaine Chase and Peter Aggleton discuss findings from a Department of Health-funded study on teenage pregnancy among young people in and leaving care. Using in-depth interviews, data were collected from 63 recently looked after young people aged 15 to 24 and from 78 associated professionals from a range of backgrounds, across four research sites. This paper focuses specifically on young people's experiences of foster care and the interface between foster care and the emotional influences surrounding pregnancy, opportunities for and challenges to learning about sex and relationships, and the provision of support during pregnancy and early parenthood. Findings suggest the need to provide foster carers with support, training and guidance concerning relevant and appropriate education for young people with regard to sex and relationships. The findings also indicate the need for specialist guidance on these matters in mother and baby foster care placements so as to benefit foster carers, young parents and their babies alike.
The Mental Health Needs of Looked after Children in a Local Authority Permanent Placement Team and the Value of the Goodman SDQ
Authors: Richards Lin , Wood Nola
Published: March 2013

Lin Richards, Nola Wood and Luisa Ruiz-Calzada investigated the current level of emotional and behavioural need and pre- and post-care experiences for children placed in one local authority social care department permanent placement team. A cohort of 41 looked after children was assessed by foster carers, teachers and young people aged 11–16 years themselves, using the Goodman Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The results were related to a number of factors taken from each child's individual historical experiences as understood from their social work files. The results supported the growing body of research indicating that the mental health needs of looked after children are significantly higher than those of the general population. A range of factors was found to reach statistical significance in relation to increased mental health difficulties. The research highlighted the complex and multi-factorial nature of the experiences of the looked after cohort that contribute to overall emotional well-being and positive mental health. The study also sought to identify a suitable screening tool for the early identification of mental health need and Goodman's SDQ is discussed in this light.
Users' Views of Looked after Children's Mental Health Services
Authors: Beck Alison
Published: March 2013

This study by Alison Beck explores the views of young people in the care of Lambeth local authority, and those of their carers, about the young people's mental health and their access to and experience of mental health services. It is associated with a separate study which used a quantitative design to clarify mental health needs in the same population (Beck, forthcoming) and which identified two particularly disadvantaged subgroups: young people living out of the borough and young people who moved their placements frequently. Their views are considered separately, where relevant, in this paper.

The main methodology was a postal questionnaire survey comprising open-ended questions. The results highlighted a number of themes: young people tended to identify internal emotional problems while their carers predominantly focused on externally visible problem behaviours; young people generally valued contact with social workers but reported this lacking; both groups of respondents described barriers to accessing mental health services. These included physical obstacles, such as distance to travel, as well as psychological barriers such as the belief that only ‘mad’ people use such services. A two-limbed service model is proposed to address the needs of young people in local authority care incorporating: provision by mental health professionals of information about mental health services and liaison between all parties to secure appropriate services; and mental health interventions aimed at engaging young people with local CAMHS.
‘Theatre of Attachment’: Using Drama to Facilitate Attachment in Adoption
Authors: Moore Joan
Published: March 2013

Joan Moore describes an innovative drama therapeutic approach to facilitating attachment between adoptive parents and their children who suffered abuse and neglect in their family of origin. Children of hostile parents often display fear of adults' proximity. Play is proposed as the most natural way to increase empathy between these children and adoptive parents. Their joint engagement in ‘make-believe’ invites discovery of new perspectives and heightened self-awareness. The child's life story is explored, initially using metaphor as fictional contexts provide the privacy of distance that allow us to confront what may otherwise be too disturbing or painful.

It is argued that working in the child's home, using sensory materials, assists transfer of learning from the therapeutic play space to daily life. Children begin to reassess their survival of adversity as ‘heroes’ rather than ‘victims’. Released from blame for events over which they had little control, children explore continuing troublesome patterns and, through theatrical enactment, create new ways of being. Parents' direct involvement in performance of the child's story (both fictional and real) leads to improved mutuality. The shared emotional experience brings parent and child closer, and parents gain improved confidence to support their children.
Learning from each Other: Process and Outcomes in the Fostering Changes Training Programme
Authors: Warman Andrea , Pallett Clare , Scott Stephen
Published: March 2013

The majority of looked after children are now in some kind of foster care and carers are expected to cope with many children who have complex needs and challenging behaviour. If foster carers are to take on these increasing responsibilities they clearly require good preparation, comprehensive support and the right kind of training. Yet currently, the structure and quality of training vary significantly, and there is little evidence about the impact of training on foster carers or the children they look after. This article by Andrea Warman, Clare Pallett and Stephen Scott uses evaluation material from a new post-approval training programme for foster carers in Southwark and draws upon education research to argue that there must be more debate about how we train and the role that foster carers could play in training their peers.
Selecting Foster Carers: Could Personnel Psychology Improve Outcomes?
Authors: Kennedy Barbara , Thorpe Rosamund
Published: March 2013

Foster care services are struggling in a context of decreasing community interest in providing care and increases in the demand for placements, the proportion of children with special needs requiring care and placement breakdowns. As Sinclair's recent (2005) overview emphasises, improving carer selection could reduce pressure on services by selecting those applicants best suited to the demands of the task.

Research and practice from personnel psychology has long been used by employers seeking to identify the most suitable employees for a particular job, but this approach appears not to have been applied to selecting foster carers. In recent years, in personnel psychology, there has been increased recognition of the impact of personal characteristics on work performance satisfaction and retention. Barbara Kennedy and Rosamund Thorpe explore the utility of one such test, the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), in predicting foster carer suitability and subsequent retention among Australian carers. Both group and case-study analysis suggests potential worthy of further investigation.
Improving Access to Services for Black and Minority Ethnic Disabled Children
Authors: Nawaz Shameem
Published: March 2013

Shameem Nawaz describes a ‘research into practice’ development project and drawing on this, explores a number of key messages and practical steps that can be taken to improve access to services for black and minority ethnic children and families. The messages and process described are based on a study addressing institutional and other barriers within schemes that prevent equal access by black and minority ethnic disabled children and their families to short breaks. However, they can be applied to any service and help it to become more inclusive.
Mediated Contact: Reflections on a Piece of after-Adoption Intermediary Practice
Authors: Clapton Gary
Published: March 2013

Although professional intermediary work to facilitate contact between people separated by adoption is a common aspect of after-adoption work, relatively little light has been cast on the nuances of this sensitive area of practice. Hitherto a service mainly used by adopted people seeking contact with their birth relatives, it is anticipated that there will be growing numbers of people seeking the help of intermediaries as a result of the Adoption and Children Act (2002) which, from January 2006, has extended official tracing and contact services to birth relatives. This article by Gary Clapton combines a practice account of intermediary work with a critical review of the literature on the use of intermediaries. It seeks to bring together what has been publicly written about best practice and identify questions in need of further discussion.
‘Don't We Deserve a Decent Education?’
Authors: Stadler Collette Isabel
Published: March 2013

By the age of 13 Collette Isabel Stadler had experienced nine changes of school and as many placement moves. It was only by chance that she eventually found ‘new parents’ who supported her education and encouraged the ability and aspirations that led to a place at university. She makes a passionate plea for the need to prioritise education for all children and young people separated from their birth families.
Education: The Views of Adoptive Parents
Authors: Cooper Pauline , Johnson Sandra
Published: March 2013

The changing nature of adoption means that more children being placed have experienced traumas that are likely to affect their educational progress. This is manifest in the raised levels of special educational needs among adopted children. Yet, the benefits of educational fulfilment are especially pertinent for such children, given their disadvantaged backgrounds. This summary of a survey of adoptive parents by Pauline Cooper and Sandra Johnson reveals some satisfaction with existing arrangements but highlights areas for improvement. These include giving parents better information on their child's educational needs and their future implications, sharing information more effectively between parents and teachers, increasing teachers' awareness of the needs of adopted children, dealing with children's unhappiness in school, especially bullying, and facilitating children's and parents' access to specialist help.
For the Love of Learning: Promoting Educational Achievement for Looked after and Adopted Children
Authors: Comfort Randy Lee
Published: March 2013

Randy Lee Comfort, a social worker, educational psychologist and mother of both birth and adopted children, is founder and Executive Director of ‘Our Place’, a unique centre in Bristol for adoptive and foster families. Here she focuses on how the centre responds to the educational needs of the children and families who attend.
Visible Children, Invisible Lives … Ladders towards Self-Healing
Authors: Moran Melody
Published: March 2013

In her submission to the Primary Review, Melody Moran argued that schools have an important role to play in fostering resilience and motivation in looked after children. She drew on experience in her own school and evidence of more successful practices in the care and education of looked after children in Europe.
Foster Care: A Role for Social Pedagogy?
Authors: Petrie Pat
Published: March 2013

Social pedagogy, still an unfamiliar concept in Britain, is concerned with education in its widest sense, encompassing but going much beyond formal school-based learning. Pat Petrie reports on studies of social pedagogy in four countries conducted at the Thomas Coram Research Unit and discusses potential benefits of the social pedagogic approach for fostering in England. She argues that this would fit well with developing English policy towards children and children in care and can bridge the tensions inherent in foster care, combining a personal, relational approach with an insistence on reflection.
Can Scotland Achieve More for Looked after Children?
Authors: Connelly Graham , Chakrabarti Mono
Published: March 2013

The Learning with Care report (HMI and SWSI, 2001) made seven criticisms in relation to the provision of education for looked after children in Scotland. The most recent report, Looked After Children and Young People: We can and must do better (Scottish Executive, 2007), contains 19 actions for improvement. Graham Connelly and Mono Chakrabarti examine whether the distinctiveness of the Scottish political landscape has the potential to lead to improvements in tackling the deficits in the educational experience and attainment of looked after children and young people clearly acknowledged by the authors of both reports. Their article considers the recent history of political concern and asks whether things are getting better, concluding that while there is only limited improvement, the climate is more supportive and more emphatic in its expectations of the young people and the professionals who support them.
Returning to Education after Care: Protective Factors in the Development of Resilience
Authors: Mallon James
Published: March 2013

Research to date on the academic performance of looked after children has tended to concentrate on their consistent and significant underachievement compared to the general population of schoolchildren during the school years. However, some people who have been looked after in local authority care during childhood return to study later in life as mature students. James Mallon's study, reported in this article, identifies protective factors that enabled some participants to develop resilience and achieve academic success, despite many risk factors in their pre-care and care experience.
Finding Families on the Web: Be My Parent Goes Online in the UK
Authors: O'Reilly Mo
Published: March 2013

Mo O'Reilly describes the development of Be My Parent online, a web-based family-finding service launched by BAAF (British Association for Adoption and Fostering) in May 2007. The site has been set up to offer a new way for families to find a child to adopt or foster, and uses the potential of the web to provide more detailed profiles of children in need of permanent placement.
Theorising the Racial Identity Development of Transracial Adoptees: A Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Authors: Patel Tina
Published: March 2013

Tina Patel presents findings from an empirical study carried out in Britain in 2000–2003 into the racial identity development of a small sample of adults who were transracially adopted as children. A symbolic interactionist perspective is applied to the analysis of the ways in which, to varying degrees, the adoptees experienced a number of difficulties tied to racial differences from the adoptive family, the racialised questions and categorisations of others, and inclusion and exclusion issues with birth and adoptive heritages. The study also highlights the way in which adoptees had understood and negotiated these difficulties in order to develop a particular type of ethnic identity that incorporates both parts of their birth and adoptive heritages, best represents how the adoptees see themselves and facilitates the pursuit of a positive sense of self. Using these findings, a number of best practice recommendations are made.
Is it That They Won't Do it, or is it That They Can't?: Executive Functioning and Children Who Have been Fostered and Adopted
Authors: Lansdown Richard , Burnell Alan , Allen Marion
Published: March 2013

The work of the Family Futures Consortium has been increasingly informed by neurodevelopmental psychology and a consideration of how environmental trauma can affect the physiological development of the brain. This has led to the view that the extreme pre- and post-birth experiences of some accommodated children will affect their development in a more complex way than had been hitherto thought, and will require specific remedial therapeutic help. Richard Lansdown, Alan Burnell and Marion Allen outline how they came to realise that many of the children they see show behaviour patterns consistent with weakness in executive functioning. Data collected on 86 referred children revealed that all had significant difficulties in this area, a finding of considerable clinical importance for people working with such families. The basic concepts underlying executive functioning are outlined and hypotheses on the aetiology of the difficulties are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which the authors' therapeutic approaches have been modified.
Mental Health Problems among Orphanage Children in the Gaza Strip
Authors: Thabet Lamia , Thabet Abdel Aziz Mousa
Published: March 2013

Lamia Thabet, Abdel Aziz Mousa Thabet, Sajida Abdul Hussein and Panos Vostanis report on a study that aimed to establish the level of emotional problems among 115 children aged 9–16 years (average 13.4), who were living in two orphanages in the Gaza Strip. The children's age of admission to the orphanage (average 8.8 years) was higher than in traditional orphanages in other countries. This was related to the reasons for admission, following their father's death, and the inability of their remaining family to care for them. However, children retained substantial contact with their family of origin by visiting during school holidays (88.6%) or being visited at the unit (97.4%). Using previous standardised mental health measures completed by the children and their main carers, children demonstrated high rates of anxiety, depressive and post-traumatic stress reactions. These mental health problems were strongly inter-related but were not found to be associated with social/care variables. Potential implications of the findings for orphanages and other residential units in developing countries are discussed. These should take into consideration the socio-cultural characteristics of each country and limited local resources; involve non-governmental organisations and local communities; tackle wider stigmatising attitudes; and instill a child-centred philosophy within these settings.
Bullying in Schools: A Survey of the Experience of Looked after Children
Authors: Rao Vidya , Simkiss Doug
Published: March 2013

Bullying is an important issue in schools and one to which looked after children may be particularly susceptible. In a cross-sectional survey, a sample of 50 ten to 16-year-old children in the care of one local authority were asked about their experience of bullying using a modified Olweus questionnaire. The results, reviewed by Vidya Rao and Doug Simkiss, suggest that these looked after children were at least as likely as their peers to be bullied and were subject to the same types of bullying as other children. The characteristics of both bullies and victims are discussed and recent work to improve the recognition of bullying and identify effective strategies to prevent it is highlighted. Health assessments are an opportunity to consider bullying as a possible underlying cause of stress and behavioural problems.
The Experience of Adoption (1) A Study of Intercountry and Domestic Adoption from the child's point of view
Authors: Hawkins Amanda , Beckett Celia , Castle Jenny , Groothues Christine , Sonuga-Barke Edmund , Colvert Emma , Kreppner Jana , Stevens Suzanne , Rutter Michael
Published: March 2013

Amanda Hawkins, Celia Beckett, Jenny Castle, Christine Groothues, Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Emma Colvert, Jana Kreppner, Suzanne Stevens and Michael Rutter compared views about adoption for two groups of 11-year-old children (n = 180). The team's analyses compared the views of children according to their pre-adoption background: UK domestic adoptees placed before the age of six months versus intercountry adoptees who had experienced extreme deprivation for up to three-and-a-half years in Romania prior to placement (the Romanian group was further broken down by age at placement). Remarkably few differences were found between these groups, with the exception of two areas. Older-placed adopted children from Romania were significantly more likely to find it difficult to talk about adoption than domestic adoptees, and to feel different from their adoptive families. However, supplementary analyses suggested that these differences were due to increased levels of difficulties within the older-placed Romanian group, rather than whether they were adopted internationally or domestically. The implications of the similarities and differences between these groups for policy and practice are discussed.
An Examination of Adoption Support Services for Birth Relatives and for Post-Adoption Contact in England and Wales
Authors: Sellick Clive
Published: March 2013

Support services for the birth relatives of adopted children have received far less research scrutiny than those for adopters and the children themselves. Clive Sellick reports the first stage ‘mapping’ survey of a government-commissioned study into birth relative support services and services supporting contact following changes in policy and legislation. The type, range and delivery of such services, commissioned or provided by local authority and voluntary adoption agencies and adoption support agencies in England and Wales, are examined. The survey found that good opportunities exist for linking birth relative and contact support services. However, real challenges remain in promoting support services and reaching birth relatives and in funding and commissioning such services, particularly from the non-governmental sector.
The Child Wise Programme: A Course to Enhance the Self-Confidence and Behaviour Management Skills of Foster Carers with Challenging Children
Authors: Herbert Martin , Wookey Jenny
Published: March 2013

Looked after children with a history of maltreatment and abandonment are prone to develop high rates of mental health difficulties. They tend to suffer from multiple impairments, sometimes involving cognitive deficits and extremes of antisocial behaviour. Foster carers' management skills and emotional resources are tested to the limit. A further concern is the contribution of challenging behaviour to the unplanned termination of foster placements. Carers, if they are not to feel deskilled by the increasing numbers of children with special needs placed with them, require a more focused preparatory and follow-up training than they usually receive.

A study by Martin Herbert and Jenny Wookey questioned whether a broadly based cognitive behavioural programme could, by increasing carers' behaviour management skills and self-assurance, reduce the challenging behaviour of looked after children and the resultant instability of placements. The answers were sought from a randomised controlled study of foster carers attending the parent training Child Wise Programme (CWP) designed by the authors. The programme combines course leaders' professional experience of working with challenging children and parent groups, and foster carers' personal expertise based on living with and caring for challenging children.

The intervention, with an experimental group of 67 foster carers and a comparable waiting-list control group of 50 carers, succeeded in meeting just over half of its key aims. An increase in the confidence of the carers was a significant gain. Also positive was the majority of personal reports indicating improvements in looked after children's behaviour, changes generally attributed to the acquisition of new behaviour management skills. Although some of the statistical comparisons were disappointing in their failure to reach significance levels (eg in a reduction in placement breakdowns), they provided useful information about ways of improving the training. Qualitative methods were used to explore the subjective responses of participants to the Webster-Stratton and Herbert (1994) collaborative style of training employed. These produced valuable insights into the personal and professional dilemmas of a foster carer's role, as well as data which contributed to the evaluation of the training programme.
Inside the Foster Family: What Research tells us about the Experience of Foster Carers' Children
Authors: Twigg Robert , Swan Tracy
Published: March 2013

Although foster care is the main source of out-of-home care for children and young people, little is known about the dynamics of the foster family. This article by Robert Twigg and Tracy Swan focuses on one subsystem of the foster family system, the foster parents' own children. Fourteen research studies (nine published, five unpublished) were reviewed. These involved approximately 232 respondents, ranging in age from seven to 32 when interviewed, nearly equal numbers of males and females. Findings include benefits of fostering, impact of fostering on foster carers' children, responses to loss of role and parental attention, and the impact of the child welfare or foster care system. The authors conclude with several recommendations designed to make fostering a more positive experience.
Training and Experience: Keys to Enhancing the Utility for Foster Parents of the Assessment and Action Record from Looking after Children
Authors: Pantin Sarah , Flynn Robert
Published: March 2013

The Looking After Children (LAC) approach is now widely used internationally in child welfare. The approach, which originated almost two decades ago, aims systematically to raise the standard of corporate parenting and improve the outcome of young people in out-of-home care. The Assessment and Action Record (AAR) from LAC is used to monitor young people's developmental progress on a year-to-year basis. Clearly, foster carers are central to the successful implementation of LAC and it is important that they perceive the AAR to be useful in carrying out their fostering duties. Previous research in the UK and Australia found that foster carers believed the record to be useful, especially if they were just getting to know the child or if the child had been in multiple placements. The study reported by Sarah Pantin and Robert Flynn draws on survey information provided by 93 foster carers in the province of Ontario, Canada. They found that foster carers who had received what they saw as higher-quality training rated the AAR as being more useful in their work. Interestingly, however, the amount of experience they had had in using the instrument was unrelated to their ratings of its usefulness. Overall, high-quality training emerged as a central feature of effective implementation. Specific recommendations were made in relation to LAC training curriculum requirements and stakeholder involvement.
Foster Carers' Beliefs regarding the Causes of Foster Children's Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties: A Preliminary Model
Authors: Taylor Amy , Swann Rachel , Warren Fiona
Published: March 2013

Amy Taylor, Rachel Swann and Fiona Warren report on a study that aimed to explore foster carers' beliefs about the causes of foster children's emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), with a view to creating a theory to explain how this particular group of people make sense of these problems. Fourteen foster carers, with either past or present experience of caring for foster children with EBD, volunteered to take part in an interview to discuss their views. The interviews were transcribed and the data analysed using Grounded Theory methodology (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Nine major causal categories emerged from the data and a theoretical model was constructed to help explicate these categories and the links between them. The results demonstrated that foster carers believed that much of foster children's difficulties were caused by early experiences of adversity (eg abuse) or inadequate care (eg neglect) prior to being fostered. However, there seemed to be a sense that these difficulties could be exacerbated by subsequent experiences within the care system itself. The clinical implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed.
The Experience of Adoption (2): The Association between Communicative Openness and Self-Esteem in Adoption
Authors: Beckett Celia , Sonuga-Barke Edmund
Published: March 2013

A study of the views of two groups of 11-year-old adopted children (one adopted as babies within the UK, n = 47, the other adopted from Romania, aged between two and 43 months, n = 133) indicates that parents underestimate the difficulty that their children have in talking about adoption. Children who found this harder experienced lower self-esteem at age 11 and were also more likely to feel different from their adoptive families, and both these factors were related to the individual child's level of behavioural or cognitive difficulties. Children in the Romanian sample who had another adopted sibling found it easier to talk about their adoption. In summary, the ease with which children can talk about adoption does appear to be associated with higher self-esteem and the individual child's difficulties, as well as family composition. This article by Celia Beckett, Jenny Castle, Christine Groothues, Amanda Hawkins, Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Emma Colvert, Jana Kreppner, Suzanne Stevens and Michael Rutter follows ‘The experience of adoption (1)’ (Hawkins et al, 2007), which explored intercountry and domestic adoption from the child's point of view.
The Relationship between Institutional Care and the International Adoption of Children in Europe
Authors: Chou Shihning , Browne Kevin
Published: March 2013

The study reported by Shihning Chou and Kevin Browne explored the link between institutional care for young children and international adoption, using a survey of 33 European countries. Official figures were available from 25 countries on the proportions of national versus international adoption within their own countries, together with the number of children under three in institutional care. Results indicate an association between international adoption (both incoming and outgoing) and a high number of young children in institutional care. The evidence suggests that, rather than reduce the number of children in institutions, international adoption may contribute to the continuation of this harmful practice. A child rights-based approach to providing alternative care for children separated from their parents is proposed.
The Use of Attachment Theory in Adoption and Fostering
Authors: Walker Jim
Published: March 2013

Jim Walker explores the relevance of attachment theory to fostering and adoption. He begins by focusing on three important qualities for substitute carers: the ability to manage a wide range of feelings, both in oneself and in others; the resolution of past losses and traumas; and the acquisition of reflective function. Emphasis is then paid to gaining an understanding of the attachment patterns of both children and potential substitute carers. Current ideas from attachment theory can help to inform both the selection of substitute carers and the needs and vulnerabilities of looked after children. Ways of matching the child with the carers are discussed, including an analysis of particular areas of vulnerability. Further discussion highlights some of the dilemmas which these ideas might create for current social work practice.
Adoption, Resilience and the Importance of Stories: The Making of a Film about Teenage Adoptees
Authors: Fitzhardinge Helen
Published: March 2013

Adolescence is a critical time for adoptees because it highlights themes of identity, belonging and attachment. The Post Adoption Resource Centre in Sydney, Australia, ran a group for teenage adoptees in which they created a film about being adopted. The group process assisted participants to explore and enrich their narratives of adoption in the company of their peers. To tell a coherent story of one's life is developmentally important and closely tied with identity formation, attachment and resilience. Helen Fitzhardinge presents key themes that arose from the film project and explains why narratives are important in adoption.
Some Children Matter More Than Others: Issues Prompted by Roy Parker's Study of the Shipment of Poor Children to Canada, 1867–1917
Authors: Little Michael
Published: March 2013

Roy Parker's book Uprooted1 charts the events that led to 80,000 children being shipped to Canada by the Poor Law and voluntary bodies during the 50 years following confederation in 1867. Michael Little discusses the issues raised by this historical study for current policy and practice and charts the conditions that allow for government and children's services to collude with potentially damaging interventions in children's lives.
Foster Care Research in Germany: A Critical Review
Authors: Wolf Klaus
Published: March 2013

Foster care research literature is dominated by studies from North America, the UK, Australia and Scandinavia. However, there is growing research activity in many other countries, the findings from which need to be incorporated into the international body of knowledge. In this article by Klaus Wolf, eight studies of foster care in Germany are discussed, looking at their aims, methods and conclusions. A model that aids the comparison of studies and identifies common findings is described.
Supporting Informal Kinship Care
Authors: Saunders Hilary , Selwyn Julie
Published: March 2013

National statistics show that on 31 March 2007 about 7,000 looked after children in England (11% of the total) were placed in kinship care with relatives or friends. There has been no national prevalence study on kinship care in England, so we do not know how many children are living in kinship care arranged informally by family members or friends. However, the Family Rights Group estimates that there are over 200,000 households where kinship carers (usually grandparents) are looking after children who cannot live with their parents. In the London Borough of Greenwich, this hidden population of ‘children in need’ has been targeted for extra support by a Kinship Care Team, which aims to enable children to remain within their family network and to reduce the risk of their becoming ‘looked after’. Hilary Saunders and Julie Selwyn report on their evaluation of this initiative.
‘The Relationship between Institutional Care and the International Adoption of Children in Europe’: A Rejoinder to Chou and Browne (2008)
Authors: y Blasco Paloma Gay , Macrae Sheena , Selman Peter , Wardle Huon
Published: March 2013

Paloma Gay y Blasco, Sheena Macrae, Peter Selman and Huon Wardle1 challenge the methodology and findings of an article published in the previous edition of Adoption & Fostering (Chou and Browne, 2008). The debate continues with a letter from the USA, followed by Browne and Chou's response.
Child Rights and International Adoption: A Response to Critics
Authors: Browne Kevin , Chou Shihning
Published: March 2013

In this commentary, Kevin Browne and Shihning Chou focus on the issues raised by the critical responses to their article in Adoption & Fostering (Chou and Browne, 2008).1
The Attachment Style Interview (ASI): A Support-Based Adult Assessment Tool for Adoption and Fostering Practice
Authors: Bifulco Antonia , Jacobs Catherine , Bunn Amanda , Thomas Geraldine , Irving Karen
Published: March 2013

Attachment theory is becoming increasingly influential across health and social care fields in providing explanations of individuals' capacities to achieve effective support, close partner relationships and good parenting of their own and others' offspring. Adoption and fostering services were among the first to use attachment theory to inform evidence-based practice. While it has been used for the assessment of parenting capacity and attachment insecurity in children, there has been little parallel development of standardised assessments for carers, especially in terms of partner relationship, close support figures and ability to access support. This is a critical element in determining suitability for adoption and fostering carer roles and post-placement support. The Attachment Style Interview (ASI — Bifulco et al, 2002a,b) provides such a tool and concurs with requirements identified for carers in DfES Practice Guidance (Department for Education and Skills, 2006). Antonia Bifulco, Catherine Jacobs, Amanda Bunn, Geraldine Thomas and Karen Irving explain the research background to the ASI and describe its growing use in the adoption and fostering assessment process. They also discuss the importance of using evidence-based and standardised assessment tools to maximise effective practice.
Degrading Attitudes Related to Foreign Appearance: Interviews with Swedish Female Adoptees from Asia
Authors: Lindblad Frank , Signell Sonja
Published: March 2013

Seventeen adopted young women from South Korea and Thailand (age 25–35 years) were interviewed about their experiences of degrading attitudes related to their geographic origin and physical appearance. Prejudices related to sexuality displayed four themes — exotic associations, availability, strong libido and exploitation — corresponding to prevailing Western sexualised cultural stereotypes about Asian women. Prejudices specific to adoption included expected gratitude and indiscriminate friendliness. The experiences usually involved recurring rather than single incidents and several women reported that they had adversely influenced their well-being and quality of life. Many had developed strategies for coping with such attitudes, usually from men.

Frank Lindblad and Sonja Signell argue that the psychological threats resulting from racism are perceived differently among adoptees than among non-adopted immigrants. The experiences may force the female adoptee to reject part of her self-image as she finds herself treated more as a representative of a group than as an individual in her own right. Furthermore, in the interaction with the perpetrators, she is afforded attributes that are unfamiliar to her and her family environment. All these factors pose major challenges to self-image and identity.
‘One in, One Out’?: The Dilemma of having Multiple Children in Foster Placements
Authors: Ingley Germaine , Earley Louise
Published: March 2013

Practitioners in a specialist service for looked after children and their carers have indicated a tendency for children to be placed in households where there are multiple foster children. This has led to concern that previously settled children's placements were disrupting following the introduction of a new child into the household. A file audit was conducted to gather information regarding the incidence of disruption and the contributing factors, as reported in clients' files. While the study reported here by Germaine Ingley and Louise Earley did not show a high rate of movement into placements, it did indicate that when a new child was moved into the home of an already ‘established’ child, the ‘established’ child's placement often disrupted. In addition, qualitative information obtained from files and letters revealed that conflicts with another child in placement, either a sibling or unrelated child, was the most frequently cited factor associated with disruption. Attachment literature and ideas from the study of adoptive families and sibling relationships in birth families are drawn upon to explain these findings, and recommendations are made to lessen the potential difficulties associated with the multiple placements of children in foster homes.
Are Looked after Children Socially Excluded?
Authors: Axford Nick
Published: March 2013

The concept of social exclusion has become ubiquitous in the discourse of children's services in the UK over the last ten years. But is it a useful concept? Nick Axford sets out a definition of social exclusion and examines the extent to which it applies to looked after children, since they are commonly referred to as being ‘excluded’ or ‘vulnerable to exclusion’. He discusses the implications for how service providers define and help these children and for how childhood social exclusion is studied.
Lesbian and Gay Fostering and Adoption: Out of the Closet into the Mainstream?
Authors: Brown Helen Cosis , Cocker Christine
Published: March 2013

Recent public debates have discussed lesbians and gay men caring for children as a novel phenomenon, but such arrangements are not new. Helen Cosis Brown and Christine Cocker track debates concerning lesbian and gay families and examine the relationship between policy and practice that is evidence based and ideologically driven. They outline the complexities of adoption and fostering practice within its political and social context and argue that the paramountcy of the child's welfare is the lynchpin to understanding the issues involved with the placement of children with lesbian and gay carers. The emphasis, in examining the detail of practice, is on recruitment, assessment, matching and support.
The best Laid Plans?: Obstacles to the Implementation of Plans for Children
Authors: Roach Gareth , Sanders Robert
Published: March 2013

Gareth Roach and Robert Sanders describe a study of the obstacles to the implementation of plans for children in a South Wales local authority. The files of 20 children, selected sequentially, were examined using a content analysis methodology. Ten were children in need of protection living at home with their families and ten were looked after children. Information was extracted from child protection plans, core group meetings, care plans and care plan reviews, along with important contextual information. Implementation was assessed by identifying and monitoring the progress of delayed tasks through the different stages of the child's planning and reviewing process. This provided a detailed understanding of the decision-making processes and the reason(s) for tasks becoming delayed. The results indicated that most cases experienced some delay. The main obstacles to plan implementation centred on the quality of the plans and reviews, a lack of interagency co-ordination in the provision of external services and the non-compliance of parents and carers. To address these problems and reduce the likelihood of delay, the authors suggest that social workers should incorporate micro-planning techniques into practice, attempt to engage parents and carers fully, and improve recording procedures.