Showing papers in "Adoption & Fostering in 2003"
TL;DR: It is concluded that communicating with most disabled children is little different from communicating with any child and some basic skills are not hard to learn, and attitudes are all important.
Abstract: Discusses the methods used in a study seeking disabled children's accounts of their everyday lives. The research is set in the context of policy and practice initiatives promoting communication with disabled children and other recent research, which suggests that not all practitioners and policy makers are meeting their responsibilities in this area. In this study of 26 disabled children's lives, different interview schedules were used with younger and older children, along with a number of visual aids and activities. The design and effectiveness of these is discussed in detail. Various methods were used to obtain the views of children with communication impairments. The authors conclude that communicating with most disabled children is little different from communicating with any child. Some basic skills are not hard to learn, and attitudes are all important. The methods described here could well be adapted and expanded for use in the field of adoption and fostering
41 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the usefulness of attachment theory for guiding interventions with foster carers is explored, based on the experience of a specialist project set up to support carers of children "looked after".
Abstract: Children with the worst early experiences present a considerable challenge for those helping them. Fostering is a vital resource in the care of these children. However, as Kim Golding argues in this paper, to be successful, fostering services need to be developed, supported and resourced to provide stable and therapeutic care. The extent of the difficulties experienced by the children needs to be recognised and services developed which can provide turning points in their development. Therapeutic options can be used that emphasise the role of the carer in the intervention, with a particular emphasis on the facilitation of secure attachment. Research and practice developments are urgently needed to explore interventions stemming from attachment theory for foster carers and the children they look after. The usefulness of attachment theory for guiding interventions with foster carers is explored, based on the experience of a specialist project set up to support carers of children ‘looked after’.
39 citations
TL;DR: The use of focus groups with various stakeholders to inform the development of a specialist mental health team for looked after children and the ways in which its form was influenced by the issues identified in focus groups are highlighted.
Abstract: Looked after children have extensive mental health needs that are not often met by current mental health service provision. Jane Callaghan, Bridget Young, Maxine Richards and Panos Vostanis describe the use of focus groups with various stakeholders — social services staff, foster carers and residential social workers — to inform the development of a specialist mental health team for looked after children. Thirteen focus groups were conducted, comprising 58 participants in total, and all sessions were audio-taped and transcribed. Data were analysed using the constant comparative method and this revealed several emergent themes: difficulties accessing mental health services, the importance of developing a working partnership between child and adolescent mental health services, social services and foster carers, the need for consultation, and the importance of developing a service that is appropriate to the specific needs of looked after children. The newly developed model of mental health provision for look...
36 citations
TL;DR: Maclean and Gunion as discussed by the authors presented the findings of a recent inspection in Scotland of the educational experiences of looked after children, which considered assessment, care planning and review; attendance arrangements; progress, attainment and support for learning; personal and social development; carers' support for Learning; working in partnership; and policies, management and quality assurance.
Abstract: This article by Kirstie Maclean and Morag Gunion outlines the findings of a recent inspection in Scotland of the educational experiences of looked after children. It considers assessment, care planning and review; attendance arrangements; progress, attainment and support for learning; personal and social development; carers' support for learning; working in partnership; and policies, management and quality assurance. The methodology of the inspection was influenced by previous research and comparison is made between the inspection's main findings and the broader research evidence. Conclusions are drawn about the need for further development.
35 citations
TL;DR: Although they acknowledged the difficulties, these young people appeared to value and to have benefited from the experience of fostering in many cases, and this has implications for the way the children of foster families, and indeed their parents, are trained and supported.
Abstract: There has been an increasing awareness of the important role that the children of foster parents play in fostering. Within the Integrated Services Programme various initiatives have been set up to support these young people and to value their contribution. As part of this, Wendy Spears and Melanie Cross have sought the views of ‘children who foster’ about fostering. The results of 20 interviews and three group sessions with children who foster are presented here. Although they acknowledged the difficulties, these young people appeared to value and to have benefited from the experience of fostering in many cases. They were asked specifically to give advice to others in the same position and this also provides valuable insights. The results of this study have implications for the way the children of foster families, and indeed their parents, are trained and supported. The role of children who foster is not always clear and it is important that this is carefully negotiated with them and with their families. ...
35 citations
TL;DR: A review of research literature is concerned with selected aspects of adoption support, namely the problems for the placed children, the characteristics of the new families, the needs of both children and parents for services and what is known about the effectiveness of interventions for placements in difficulty as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: This review of research literature is concerned with selected aspects of adoption support, namely the problems for the placed children, the characteristics of the new families, the needs of both children and parents for services and what is known about the effectiveness of interventions for placements in difficulty. Alan Rushton identifies the most useful findings and considers their relevance for providing a modernised adoption support service. He concludes that knowledge is accumulating in many areas although more evaluative research needs to be conducted on promising interventions.
30 citations
TL;DR: Gerard McCarthy, Janet Janeway and Angus Geddes investigate the way in which the lives of looked after children and their carers are affected by the emotional and behavioural problems that these children have.
Abstract: Gerard McCarthy, Janet Janeway and Angus Geddes investigate the way in which the lives of looked after children and their carers are affected by the emotional and behavioural problems that these ch...
30 citations
TL;DR: Beckett and McKeigue as mentioned in this paper examined the consequences for the children of this long wait in immediate terms, such as number of placement moves and assessments experienced, and in the long term as a result of reduced options and possible psychological harm.
Abstract: In spite of section 1(2) of the 1989 Children Act,* the time taken to conclude care proceedings has been getting longer year on year since the Act's implementation. The average length of proceedings in 2001 was about 47 weeks and a significant number of children are having to wait over two years for a court decision. Chris Beckett and Bridget McKeigue looked at a small group of cases where children have waited for over two years. In this article they examine the consequences for the children of this long wait in immediate terms, such as number of placement moves and assessments experienced, and in the long term as a result of reduced options and possible psychological harm. They then consider the possible causes of these long waits, identifying a number of factors but focusing in particular on the long and repetitive assessment process that seems to have typically taken place.
28 citations
TL;DR: Wrobel et al. as discussed by the authors examined how curiosity, satisfaction with adoptive contact, family communication and searching influence decision-making about the extent of contact in adoption and their implications for adoption professionals in the USA and the UK.
Abstract: Contact in adoption is a complex issue that adoption professionals frequently negotiate. Today most adoption placements include an initial plan for contact that in many instances changes over time. By understanding contact as an issue that presents itself over the course of an adopted person's lifetime, the complexities it brings to the adoption experience can be seen. Gretchen Miller Wrobel, Harold D Grotevant, Jerica Berge, Tai Mendenhall and Ruth McRoy discuss contact from a US perspective using findings from the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Project, a longitudinal study of openness in adoption. They examine how curiosity, satisfaction with adoptive contact, family communication and searching influence decision-making about the extent of contact. Implications for adoption professionals in the USA and the UK are also presented.
27 citations
TL;DR: The current situation is analyzed, key features for the development of an effective fostering service are proposed and BAAF social work staff engaged in extensive consultancy with a large number of fostering agencies are proposed.
Abstract: Almost two-thirds of children and young people looked after by local authorities in England are placed in foster care. Recent studies suggest that the looked after population is significantly diffe...
26 citations
TL;DR: The results suggested that training, as designed and delivered in this study, had limited impact on child conduct and carer capacity, however, the training was perceived very positively by foster carers who claimed they put into practice what they had learned and that the training had been useful.
Abstract: Jan Hill-Tout, Andrew Pithouse and Kathy Lowe set out key features of a two-year semi-experimental investigation, completed in April 2001, into the impact of training foster carers in techniques to...
TL;DR: Findings in many ways replicate the UK experience, indicating the benefits of a child-centred approach and the considerable potential of such records to improve practice and thus outcomes for looked after children.
Abstract: The Looking After Children (LAC) protocols that were developed during the 1990s in the UK represented a ground-breaking move to make services more child centred, with an emphasis on the needs of th...
TL;DR: 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 linked to the usefulness to the child of ongoing post-adoption contact as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: 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.
TL;DR: Despite roughly equal numbers of prospective adopters and children for whom adoption is planned, there is a fundamental mismatch between the characteristics of the children available and the 'kinds'.
Abstract: Despite roughly equal numbers of prospective adopters and children for whom adoption is planned, there is a fundamental mismatch between the characteristics of the children available and the ‘kinds...
TL;DR: Inattention/overactivity at age six was found to be more likely in children who had been exposed to prenatal and postnatal health risks and theChildren who had quasi-autistic features were also more likely to have strabismus.
Abstract: This paper by Celia Beckett, Jenny Castle, Christine Groothues, Thomas G O'Connor, Michael Rutter and the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study team* examines the pattern of health problems as reported by parents in a group of children adopted from Romania and relates these findings to outcomes at age six. The study is based on a representative sample of 165 children, 144 of whom had experienced institutional deprivation, and a UK adoptee group of 52 non-deprived UK adoptees. At the time of UK entry, over half of the children adopted from Romania had marked health problems. The majority had suffered severe malnutrition and there was a high incidence of respiratory, skin and gastro-intestinal infections; 13 per cent had antibodies to hepatitis B. At age six, 17 per cent of the children had conductive hearing loss, 12 per cent had continuing strabismus and 35 per cent skin problems; half of those infected with hepatitis B were still surface antigen positive. Inattention/overactivity at age six was found...
TL;DR: Two models of foster care are suggested for further review: Family for Family, which involves the recruitment of a foster family for a birth family; and Circle of Friends, which is designed for children and young people whose behaviours exhaust traditional foster carers.
Abstract: Foster care for children and young people is in crisis in Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA, as elsewhere. For this reason, the proposal by Barbara Hutchinson and her associates (see Adopti...
TL;DR: For example, at the suggestion of service users, Oxfordshire Social Services recently commissioned an experimental "parenting course" for their newly approved adopters as discussed by the authors, which was run by two facilitators, Liz Gilkes and Ivana Klimes.
Abstract: At the suggestion of service users, Oxfordshire Social Services recently commissioned an experimental ‘parenting course’ for their newly approved adopters. Facilitators Liz Gilkes and Ivana Klimes ...
TL;DR: The decision to place a child for permanency is clearly a momentous one for the child and immediate and extended family as discussed by the authors, and the family group conference model, discussed here by Helen Gill, Lorna Higgi, and L.
Abstract: The decision to place a child for permanency is clearly a momentous one for the child and immediate and extended family. The family group conference model, discussed here by Helen Gill, Lorna Higgi...
TL;DR: In this paper, the moral philosophy of Jurgen Habermas is used to find a way out of value entanglement in child and family social work by delving into it.
Abstract: Child and family social work is beset by value dilemmas. In this paper Stan Houston attempts to find a way out of these entanglements by delving into the moral philosophy of Jurgen Habermas. It is ...
TL;DR: In this article, the main messages from a survey of adoption support services in local authority and voluntary adoption agencies throughout the UK are presented. The survey examined developments in service pr....
Abstract: This paper presents the main messages from a survey of adoption support services in local authority and voluntary adoption agencies throughout the UK. The survey examined developments in service pr...
TL;DR: The adoption placements for looked after children is the focus of recent initiatives to reform adoption law in both the UK and the USA as discussed by the authors, which are aimed at providing permanent homes for looked-after children by encouraging both increased adoptions and quicker decisions to move a child to adoption when the child cannot return home.
Abstract: Increasing adoption placements for looked after children is the focus of recent initiatives to reform adoption law in both the UK and the USA. Developments in the law are aimed at providing permanent homes for looked after children by encouraging both increased adoptions and quicker decisions to move a child to adoption when the child cannot return home. New forms of permanent placement, in the form of a new type of guardianship, have also been created. Sarah Sargent compares and contrasts the initiatives in the USA and the UK.
TL;DR: Clifford et al. as mentioned in this paper investigated the barriers to the use of adoptive placements by local authorities, with particular but not exclusive reference to the north-west, and explored the reasons for the differences.
Abstract: Political and media interest in adoption in the last few years in Britain coincided with a research project set up jointly by the North-West Group of Voluntary Adoption Agencies and Liverpool John Moores University. The origins of the research lie in the concerns of the voluntary adoption agencies about the use of their services by local authorities in the light of their own records, which indicated very variable patterns of use. The aim of the research was to investigate these apparent anomalies in the use of adoption services and explore the reasons for the differences. A large range of possible factors was involved — structural, political and organisational, as well as professional and personal issues. In this paper Derek Clifford, with support from Beverley Burke, Norman Goodwin, Lindsay Amuzu and Simon Ward, reflects on barriers to the use of adoptive placements by local authorities, with particular but not exclusive reference to the north-west.
TL;DR: Holman as discussed by the authors traces the development of private fostering in the last 50 years and then analyses what is known about it at present, showing that, contrary to popular conception, far from being confined to West African children in Britain, private fostering now includes a number of different groupings.
Abstract: Private fostering has a long history but few studies have been made of it. Bob Holman traces the development of private fostering in the last 50 years and then analyses what is known about it at present. He shows that, contrary to popular conception, far from being confined to West African children in Britain, private fostering now includes a number of different groupings. The evidence suggests that some private foster carers provide satisfactory care, but there is little doubt that numbers of private foster children are vulnerable to abuse. Black children are usually placed with white foster carers and their cultural and racial needs may not be met. Local authorities already possess considerable duties and powers concerning private fostering but few fully apply them. Proposals are made as to how private foster children can be properly safeguarded.
TL;DR: The research found that short-break carers provided short breaks because they enjoyed it and developed real relationships with the children, but that the way in which they were recruited, assessed, trained, paid and supported was often influenced by a lack of staff time and resources.
Abstract: Short-break carers are short-term foster carers who provide regular care, often one weekend a month, for disabled children. Beth Tarleton reports on a study of 53 short-break carers offering short breaks for children with high support needs. The research found that short-break carers provided short breaks because they enjoyed it and developed real relationships with the children, but that the way in which they were recruited, assessed, trained, paid and supported was often influenced by a lack of staff time and resources, and a lack of clarity regarding their role.
TL;DR: A new analysis of factors associated with one-year outcomes for a group of 63 children, each placed singly during middle childhood, found that the intention of each placement was permanence, either though adoption or long-term fostering.
Abstract: Background Several studies of family placements have indicated poorer outcomes for singly placed children (eg Groze, 1996; Holloway, 1997). In an effort to understand why this may be so, we recently reported on a new analysis of factors associated with one-year outcomes for a group of 63 children, each placed singly during middle childhood (Dance, Rushton and Quinton, 2002). All of the children joined families new to them when they were between five and 11 years old and the intention of each placement was permanence, either though adoption or long-term fostering.
TL;DR: Through case description and summary of domestic laws and international conventions, Dana Naughton and Kerry L Fay identify challenges to cross-border placements and make recommendations for further research and consideration.
Abstract: Through voluntary or forced migration, families enter the United States as refugees, asylum seekers, documented or undocumented immigrants, students or temporary or skilled workers. They bring children or give birth to children who become citizens by virtue of having been born in the new homeland. Inevitably, some of these families will interact with public child welfare systems. Children are placed in foster care when parents die, are incarcerated, institutionalised, or abandon or neglect their children. When evaluating placement decisions for these children, child welfare workers usually overlook the resources of family members outside of the country. Grandparents and other close kin often have the ability and motivation to provide care for vulnerable relative children. Through case description and summary of domestic laws and international conventions, Dana Naughton and Kerry L Fay identify challenges to cross-border placements and make recommendations for further research and consideration.
TL;DR: A small group of ‘high-risk’ abdominally obese patients are recognised who also carry the ‘atherogenic metabolic triad’ of fasting hyperinsulinaemia, increased apolipoprotein B and increased proportion of small, dense, low density lipoproteins.
Abstract: Obesity: implications for the health of prospective carers 1. Waist circumference Waist circumference in relation to your total body fat is an independent predictor of morbidity risk. A waist measurement of more than 40 inches in a middle-aged man increases cardiovascular risk by 20-fold, even in the absence of high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, 1998). A small group of ‘high-risk’ abdominally obese patients are recognised who also carry the ‘atherogenic metabolic triad’ of fasting hyperinsulinaemia, increased apolipoprotein B and increased proportion of small, dense, low density lipoproteins (Després et al, 2001).