Suchergebnisse

The extent to which birth relatives are able to adjust to the reality of changed roles and relationships following their child's adoption may be crucially linked to the usefulness to the child of ongoing post-adoption contact. In the study described by Elsbeth Neil, 19 birth relatives of 15 young adopted children were interviewed about their experiences of having a child adopted and about having face-to-face contact with this child after adoption. In most cases birth relatives related how face-to-face contact had helped them to accept their child's adoption, largely because contact reassured them of the child's welfare and emphasised the position of the adopters as the psychological parents.

Using questionnaire data about 168 young, recently adopted children and interview data about 36 children having face-to-face contact, Elsbeth Neil explores how agencies formulate and support post-adoption contact plans. It was found that while most children were planned to have some form of contact, adoption agencies differed in the extent to which this was promoted, especially face-to-face. Agencies seemed to play a leading role in determining whether or not face-to-face contact should occur, and what form it should take. However, for contact to be successful it was important that agencies did not just insist on contact, but that they helped adoptive parents to feel positive about it. There was evidence that some agencies that planned face-to-face contact remained ambivalent about its value, indicated by formal, low-frequency contact meetings that were controlled rather than supported. Such arrangements could convey negative messages about the importance of contact and the capacity of adopters and birth relatives to manage arrangements directly. A more successful model of agency involvement empowered adopters and birth relatives to find a plan that suited them, incorporated positive messages about contact and provided support where necessary.

AbstractSociological and anthropological studies of kinship have examined adoption as a test case for understanding the complex combinations of biological and social ties that constitute kinship. Adoption sets up an 'adoption kinship network' between birth family and adoptive family members. Contact after adoption poses challenges for adoptive families and birth relatives in negotiating changing kinship ties. This paper examines the experience of post‐adoption direct sibling contact from the perspectives of adoptive parents and birth relatives, including adult siblings. Interviews were carried out with 51 adoptive parents, four long‐term foster carers and with 39 birth relatives. The analysis revealed the complex multiple family networks that exist between adoptive families and the families of the adopted child's birth siblings. These networks connect some siblings, but sever connections with others. Where direct contact occurs, infrequent meetings mean that regular, repeated interactions normally considered to constitute 'family practices' are absent, in some cases creating barriers to feelings of kinship. Implications for adoption and contact support services are discussed.

Intro -- Contents -- Introduction -- TIme 1: the preschool years -- TIme 2: middle childhood -- Time 3: follow-up in late adolescence -- The adopted young people: how were they getting on in adolescence -- The adoptive families: what contact was taking place with birth relatives? -- Adoptive families' experiences of direct contact -- Adoptive families' experiences of indirect contact -- The satisfaction of young people with their contact arrangements -- The adoptive families: adoption communication openness -- Young people's perspectives on adoption communication openness -- Being adopted: young people's construction of an adoptive identity -- Birth relatives: well-being and adjustment to the adoption, 16 years on -- The birth relatives: contact pathways and experiences -- Social networking websites: new challenges for adoptive parents, birth relatives and adopted young people -- Summary of findings and practice implications -- Publications from earlier stages of the study

International Human Rights and child rights conventions as well as U.K. wide legislation and guidance require that children in care should be returned home to one or both parents wherever possible. Reunification with parents is the most common route out of care, but rates of re‐entry are often higher than for other exit routes. This study used 8 years of administrative data (on 2,208 care entrants), collected by one large English local authority, to examine how many children were returned home and to explore factors associated with stable reunification (not re‐entering care for at least 2 years). One‐third of children (36%) had been reunified, with adolescent entrants being the most likely age group to return home. Three quarters (75%) of reunified children had a stable reunification. In a fully adjusted regression model, age at entry, being on a care order prior to return home, staying longer in care, being of minority ethnicity, and having fewer placements in care were all significant in predicting chances of stable reunification. The results underline the importance of properly resourcing reunification services. The methods demonstrate the value to local authorities of analysing their own data longitudinally to understand the care pathways for children they look after.