Adoption & Fostering back issues from March 2008:
The use of attachment theory in adoption and fostering.(Report)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Introduction Attachment theory is becoming increasingly relevant and useful in a range of social work roles and tasks. The work of Howe and his colleagues has been influential and important in applying many of the ideas and theories to social work (Howe et al, 1999); Beek and ...
Adoption, resilience and the importance of stories: the making of a film about teenage adoptees.(Report)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Introduction It's hard to find your identity when you don't even know where you've come from really. And teenagers struggle enough with finding their identity, let alone being adopted. (Hannah,15) Adolescence brings into focus some of the most troublesome ...
Parent-to-parent mentoring: Oxfordshire's pioneering buddy scheme for adopters.(Report)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Introduction I wanted an opportunity to discuss problems unique to our family circumstances with someone who understood why and how our children were different. (Adopter) In 2005, Oxfordshire County Council's Family Placement Service embarked on a new and innovative ...
Foster carer seeking leave to apply to adopt: section 42(6) Adoption and Children Act 2002.(England and Wales)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Re A, TL v Coventry County Council Court of Appeal (Ward, Moore-Bick v Wilson LJJ) 21 Dec. 2007 [2007] EWCA Civ 1383 Foster carer seeking leave to apply to adopt: section 42(6) Adoption and Children Act 2002. A baby, A, was placed with a single foster carer, Ms TL, at ...
Surrogacy: 'commissioning' parents not domiciled in UK; matters to be borne in mind by those contemplating surrogacy arrangements.(England and Wales)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Re G (surrogacy: foreign domicile) Family Division (McFarlane J) 28 November 2007 [2007] EWHC 2814 (Fam) Surrogacy: 'commissioning' parents not domiciled in UK; matters to be borne in mind by those contemplating surrogacy arrangements. A child, M, was born to a ...
Child leaving country for purposes of adoption: interpretation of section 84 Adoption and Children Act (ACA) 2002 and Adoption with a Foreign Element Regulations 2005.(England and Wales)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Re G, M M v Mr and Mrs C and others Court of Appeal (Sir Mark Potter P, Wall and Lloyd LJJ) 21 February 2008 [2008] EWCA Civ 105 Child leaving country for purposes of adoption: interpretation of section 84 Adoption and Children Act (ACA) 2002 and Adoption with a Foreign Element ...
Court disagreeing with local authority care plan: dispute regarding future contact; importance of accuracy of information given to adoption panel and of panel minutes.(England and Wales)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Re K Family Division (Munby J) 1 March 2007 [2007] EWHC 393 [2008] 1FLR 1 Court disagreeing with local authority care plan: dispute regarding future contact; importance of accuracy of information given to adoption panel and of panel minutes. This was an appeal by the ...
Guidance on DNA testing.(`)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Guidance on DNA testing In Re F and others (children) (DNA evidence) [2007] EWHC 3235 (Fam) Anthony Hayden QC, sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court, gave guidance on the procedure relating to DNA testing. The issue had arisen in care proceedings involving eight children within a ...
Role of Official Solicitor in representing incapacitated parties in family proceedings to be considered.(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Role of Official Solicitor in representing incapacitated parties in family proceedings to be considered An application by a mother for leave to appeal against care and placement orders in respect of her child, in proceedings in which she was represented by the Official Solicitor ...
Importance of clarifying reasons for withdrawal of care proceedings.
Mar 22, 2008; ... Importance of clarifying reasons for withdrawal of care proceedings In Re X and Y, London Borough of Islington v Z and others [2007] EWHC 1862 (Fam), Munby J stressed the importance of being clear, if leave was given to a local authority to withdraw an application for a care order, as to ...
Finding by local authority ombudsman.(England and Wales)(fostering allowance for carer )(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Finding by local authority ombudsman On a complaint by a kinship carer, the local authority ombudsman recommended that the Council should have paid the same rate of fostering allowance to this carer as it would have paid to any other foster carer (Report of investigation into complaint no ...
1. Children's hearings.(Brief notes)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... The Scottish Government announced on 18 January 2008 that it will set up one organisation for the administration of the children's hearing system: 'A single national body is to be established bringing together the various bodies involved in supporting, organising and delivering ...
2. Guidance on overnight stays for looked after children.(Brief notes)(Kinship and Foster Care Strategy)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... The Scottish Government published Getting it Right for Every Child: Guidance on overnight stays for looked after and accommodated children on 31 January 2008--available on ...
3. Vulnerable witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004.(Brief notes)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... This Act provides for special measures for child and other vulnerable witnesses in criminal, children's hearing and civil cases. The options available include using video links, screens in court, supporters, taking evidence by a commissioner and the use of a prior statement as evidence in ...
4. Scottish Civil Courts review.(Brief notes)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... This started its work in April 2007 under the chairmanship of the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill. Its purpose is to look at all types of civil (noncriminal) processes in Scotland and it is expected to ...
5. Scottish Law Commission's report on rape and other sexual offences.(Brief notes)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... This was published on 19 December 2007 with 59 recommendations and a draft Bill. The Report includes discussion about and provisions for the protection of vulnerable people including children. It is available online at the Commission's website: www.scotlaw com.gov.uk. The ...
The adoption (Northern Ireland) order 1987: the best interests of the child and post-adoption contact; arrangements for direct sibling contact.(Northern Ireland)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Re L2 and O (post-adoption contact) The High Court (Morgan J) Delivered 20 December 2007 This case concerned an adoption application made in relation to L2 and O, aged seven and four respectively, whose mother (M) and father (E) and siblings now applied for direct contact post adoption. ...
Intercountry adoption in Northern Ireland.(Health notes)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Introduction Under the legislative arrangements governing intercountry adoption, Northern Ireland may act as a 'receiving country', ie receiving children who have been adopted from overseas; or it may act as a 'sending country', ie sending children from Northern Ireland to be ...
Lessons to be learned.(Managing Children's Homes: Developing Effective Leadership in Small Organisations)(Book review)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Managing Children's Homes: Developing effective leadership in small organisations Leslie Hicks, Ian Gibbs, Helen Weatherley and Sarah Byford Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2007 224 pages 25.00 [pounds sterling] At first glance, a study of children's homes might not appear relevant ...
A delicate balance.(Spark Learns to Fly)(Morris and the Bundle of Worries)(Picnic in the Park)(Children's review)(Book review)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Spark Learns to Fly Judith Foxon illustrations Rachel Fuller BAAF 2007 19 pages 9.95 [pounds sterling]; Morris and the Bundle of Worries Jill Seeney illustrations Rachel Fuller BAAF 2007 22 pages 9.95 [pounds sterling]; Picnic in the Park Joe Griffiths and Tony Pilgrim illustrations Lucy ...
Responding to the needs of refugee children.(Refugee Children: Towards the Next Horizon)(Book review)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Refugee Children: Towards the next horizon Charles Watters Routledge 2007 224 pages 21.99[pounds sterling]; Refugee Children in the UK Jill Rutter Open University Press 2007 248 pages 21.99[pounds sterling] It is self-evident that with increasing globalisation, the world's ...
Coakley Jennifer and Berrick Jill D: 'Research review: in a rush to permanency: preventing adoption disruption'.(Adoption)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Child & Family Social Work 13:1, February 2008, pp 101-12 Since the late 1990s, UK and North American policy has increasingly focused on improving permanency outcomes for looked after children. Although the ideal outcome of reunification is attained for about half of the ...
Sagar Tracey and Hitchings Emma: '"More adoptions, more quickly": a study of social workers' responses to the Adoption and Children Act 2002'.(Adoption)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Journal of Social Welfare Law 29:3/4, 2007, pp 199-215 This article draws on findings from a small pilot study seeking an early indication, from the social worker perspective, of the impact of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 on the adoption process. Among the issues discussed ...
Berry Marianne, McCauley Kelly and Lansing Tracie: 'Permanency through group work: a pilot intensive reunification programme'.(Fostering)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 24:5, October 2007, pp 477-93, USA Reunification of foster children with their birth parents is a critical focus of child welfare services and the US Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 has intensified efforts to achieve it. A large ...
Brook Jody and McDonald Thomas P: 'Evaluating the effects of comprehensive substance abuse intervention on successful reunification'.(Fostering)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Research on Social Work Practice 17:6, November 2007, pp 664-73 This study examines permanency outcomes of families with children in foster care who participated in a comprehensive service-delivery programme designed to assist families and communities in dealing with alcohol and ...
Hayward R Anna and Defanfilis Diane: 'Foster children with an incarcerated parent: predictors of reunification'.(Fostering)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Children and Youth Services Review 29:10, October 2007, pp 1320-334, USA Compared to other children who need child welfare services, children with incarcerated parents have needs that are not easily met and those in foster care may be less likely to achieve permanency through ...
McDonald Thomas P, Poertner John and Jennings Mary A: 'Permanency for children in foster care: a competing risks analysis'.(Fostering)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Journal of Social Service Research 33:4, 2007, pp 45-56, USA Child welfare professionals continually face the need to assess the relative risks of various permanency options for children in their care, namely reunification with birth families, adoption and guardianship or ...
Broad Bob: 'Kinship care: What works? Who cares?'.(Kinship care)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Social Work & Social Sciences Review 13:1, 2007, pp 59-74 This article summarises the main research evidence about children living in kinship care in the UK. It identifies key themes emerging from the literature and concludes with policy and practice recommendations. It is ...
Pabustan-Clair Jennifer: 'Achieving permanence in foster care for young children: a comparison of kinship and non-kinship placements'.(Kinship care)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work 16:1/2, 2007, pp 61-94, USA Kinship care is increasingly emphasised as the preferred outcome in US child welfare policies, and this study examines the implementation of the permanency goal under the 1997 Adoption and Safe ...
Daining Clara and DePanfilis Diane: 'Resilience of youth in transition from out-of-home care to adulthood'.(Leaving care)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Children and Youth Services Review 29:9, September 2007, pp.1158-178, USA The purpose of this study was to identify personal and interpersonal factors that contribute to the resilience of young adults who left out-of-home care of a large urban child welfare system during one ...
Del Valle Jorge F, Bravo Amaia, Alvarez Elvira and Fernanz Ana: 'Adult self-sufficiency and social adjustment in care leavers from children's homes: a long-term assessment'.(Leaving care)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Child & Family Social Work 13:1, February 2008, pp 12-22 This paper presents a study carried out in Spain that followed up 260 young people, mainly adults, who had been in residential care for significant periods. The follow-up takes place between one and nine years after ...
Simon Antonia: 'Early access and use of housing: care leavers and other young people in difficulty'.(Leaving care)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Child & Family Social Work 13:1, February 2008, pp 91-100 Simon presents findings from a study of how care leavers access and use housing services, and what they said had helped them to do so. The sample comprised 80 care leavers, and, for comparison, a group of 59 young people ...
Cottrell David and Bollom Paul: 'Translating research into practice: the challenges of establishing a new multi-agency team for vulnerable children'.(Other)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Journal of Children's Services 2:3, November 2007, pp 52-63 This article aims to describe a consultation/ mentoring dialogue between a researcher of multi-agency teams and a multi-agency team manager, by providing a content analysis of the notes of a series of mentoring ...
Forrester Donald, Kershaw Sophie, Moss Helen and Hughes Laura: 'Communication skills in child protection: how do social workers talk to parents?'.(Other)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Child & Family Social Work 13:1, February 2008, pp 41-51 Communication skills are fundamental to social work practice, yet there is little research on the skills that workers have or how they use them. This study analyses 24 taped interviews between social workers and an actor ...
Forsberg Hannele and Poso Tarja: 'Ambiguous position of the child in supervised meetings'.(Other)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Child & Family Social Work 13:1, February 2008, pp 52-60 The authors address the ambiguous nature of supervised meetings between children and their non-residential parent(s) which, according to the current legal idea, should serve the best interest of the child. In Finland the ...
Graham Mekada: 'Giving voice to black children: an analysis of social agency'.(Other)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... British Journal of Social Work 37:8, December 2007, pp 1305-317 In the last decade, a new sociology of childhood has made important contributions to our understanding of children as social agents shaping their daily lives in various contexts and situations. Although social ...
Hutchings Judy, Daley Dave, Jones Karen, Martin Pam, Bywater Tracey and Gwyn Rhiain: 'Early results from developing and researching the Webster-Stratton Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Training Programme in North West Wales'.(Other)(Report)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Journal of Children's Services 2:3, November 2007, pp 15-26 The evidence-based Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) Programme was developed to meet demands from teachers for strategies to manage disruptive behaviours in the classroom. This article describes the ...
McCluskey Steven: 'The need for national leadership, partnerships and programmes to promote the health and well-being of looked after children in Scotland'.(Other)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care 5:2, August/September 2007, pp 12-19 Looked after children and young people are a group whose backgrounds and care experiences have led them to be described as one of the most socially excluded and disadvantaged groups in society ....
Ward Harriet and Holmes Lisa: 'Calculating the costs of local authority care for children with contrasting needs'.(Other)(Abstract)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Child & Family Social Work 13:1, February 2008, pp 80-90 Activity data from practitioners can be combined with financial data to develop unit costs for the eight processes that underpin social work activity for children looked after away from home. The frequency and duration of ...
BAAF diary.(British Association for Adoption and Fostering)(Calendar)
Mar 22, 2008 ... <Pre> APRIL 10 Adoption and permanence panel chairs One-day workshop, London Panel administrators One-day workshop, Leeds11 Safeguarding privately fostered children One-day workshop, Warwick15 Together or apart? Issues in placing siblings in foster ...
Central or local?(central and local government)(Editorial)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Most articles in Adoption & Fostering either discuss macro national and international issues, such as legislation and academic theory, or focus on practice at the micro, local level. The ratio in this edition is 4:2, last time it was the opposite, 2:4. This polarisation raises for me the ...
Newspoints.(News from BAAF)(British Association for Adoption and Fostering)
Mar 22, 2008; ... There is a lot to report since my last contribution to Adoption & Fostering. We held a pilot private fostering awareness raising day in London on January 23 this year. The day had a good response from local authorities and media across London, but our accompanying You Gov survey testing ...
Support for carers in Scotland.(News from BAAF)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... The Scottish Government and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) have, for the first time, joined forces to produce a new strategy for supporting foster and kinship carers in Scotland. This proposed support includes: * a minimum national allowance of between [pounds ...
More on care by family and friends.(News from BAAF)(www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RBX-03-08.pdf)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... The sixteenth and final report in the Every Child Matters Research Briefings series highlights messages from international research on the potential benefits of family and friends care and ways of ensuring successful placements. Written and researched by Joan Hunt (Senior Research Fellow, ...
UK Disability Toolkit launched online.(News from BAAF)(childrenssociety.org.uk/disabilitytoolkit/index.aspx)(Website overview)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... The Children's Society has launched a useful new website intended to help professionals working with disabled children and young people. The Disability Toolkit website is designed to be a 'one-stop information hub', providing essential resources, information and other assistance needed by ...
The benefits of music therapy.(News from BAAF)(Brief article)
Mar 22, 2008; ... The children's charity Coram recently launched the findings of a three-year study into the impact of its music therapy service on children, their parents and those working with children. Children referred to the service often have profound communication, emotional and attachment ...
Foster carers' beliefs regarding the causes of foster children's emotional and behavioural difficulties: a preliminary model.(Report)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Introduction Prevalence and cause of foster children's emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) Although numerous studies have explored biological parents' beliefs about the causes of their children's difficult behaviour, none have attempted to look at the views ...
Promoting foster carer strengths: suggestions for strengths-based practice.(Report)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Introduction Sixty-eight per cent of looked after children in England (National Statistics, 2005) are accommodated in foster care. Despite policy strategies to increase the role of permanent placements, for example the Adoption Act 2002 with provision for Special Guardianship, ...
The experience of adoption (2): the association between communicative openness and self-esteem in adoption.(Report)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Introduction Adoptive parenting has many challenges, but one additional role unique to substitute parenting is the need to explain to the child their origins and to help them to make sense of their beginnings (Grotevant, Perry and McRoy, 2005). Where there is continuing direct ...
The relationship between institutional care and the international adoption of children in Europe.(Report)
Mar 22, 2008; ... Introduction The harm caused by the overuse of institutional care of young children in most parts of Europe and Central Asia was recently identified in the British Medical Journal (Browne et al, 2006). Some argue that international adoption is, in part, a solution to the large ...