Child and Family Social Work, 7(4), November 2002, pp.297-309.
Publisher:
Wiley
This is a study of the processes for freeing children for adoption in Northern Ireland. The focus was the time taken from admission to care to adoption order. The findings confirmed that the process is dogged by delay at each stage. In total the average time from the child becoming looked after to the granting of an adoption order was 4.5 years. Most of the time taken was in the stages for which social services had lead responsibility, principally the decision to pursue adoption as the plan for a child. The children were very young when admitted to care – average age 1 year 7 months. Most were admitted to care because they were being neglected. Their parents were well known to social services and had multiple problems. Most parents unsuccessfully contested the social services' application and this contributed much to the delay. Their former foster parents adopted almost half of the children and these children tended to be placed more quickly with their adopters than those placed with adopters who were not their foster parents prior to the adoption process.
This is a study of the processes for freeing children for adoption in Northern Ireland. The focus was the time taken from admission to care to adoption order. The findings confirmed that the process is dogged by delay at each stage. In total the average time from the child becoming looked after to the granting of an adoption order was 4.5 years. Most of the time taken was in the stages for which social services had lead responsibility, principally the decision to pursue adoption as the plan for a child. The children were very young when admitted to care – average age 1 year 7 months. Most were admitted to care because they were being neglected. Their parents were well known to social services and had multiple problems. Most parents unsuccessfully contested the social services' application and this contributed much to the delay. Their former foster parents adopted almost half of the children and these children tended to be placed more quickly with their adopters than those placed with adopters who were not their foster parents prior to the adoption process.
Subject terms:
looked after children, admission to care, adoption;
Adoption and Fostering, 25(2), Summer 2001, pp.42-48.
Publisher:
Sage
Describes the time scale involved in achieving freeing orders for 23 children in Northern Ireland between 1996 and 1999. There was delay at all stages in the process. The delays were particularly pronounced in social services and social services/legal services processes. The authors conclude that if adoption is to be made available to more children from state care, current arrangements, including
Describes the time scale involved in achieving freeing orders for 23 children in Northern Ireland between 1996 and 1999. There was delay at all stages in the process. The delays were particularly pronounced in social services and social services/legal services processes. The authors conclude that if adoption is to be made available to more children from state care, current arrangements, including legislation, will need revision and reform.
Queen's University Belfast. Institute of Child Care Research
Publication year:
2008
Pagination:
34
Place of publication:
Belfast
... adoption, or the placement of children with their birth parents. The study also sought to determine parents' views on how these children were managing. This document presents key statistical information and considers key aspects of the care pathways, focusing on: involvement in care planning; relationships with social workers; helping children settle into the placement; developing good child-parent
(Edited publisher abstract)
Summarises findings from a research study called Care Pathways and Outcomes and is written primarily for professionals who work with children in care and their families on a daily basis, and for academics working in this area. The study explored placements for all children who were under five years old and in public care in Northern Ireland on 31 March 2000. This included foster care placements, adoption, or the placement of children with their birth parents. The study also sought to determine parents' views on how these children were managing. This document presents key statistical information and considers key aspects of the care pathways, focusing on: involvement in care planning; relationships with social workers; helping children settle into the placement; developing good child-parent relationships; contact; school and friendships; type of support provided; and children's strengths and difficulties.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
looked after children, parents, placement, care pathways, outcomes, adoption, birth parents, foster care;
Queen's University Belfast. Institute of Child Care Research
Publication year:
2008
Pagination:
26
Place of publication:
Belfast
Summarises findings from a research study called Care Pathways and Outcomes. The aim of the study was to find out what happened to children under five who were in care in Northern Ireland on 31 March 2000. The report looks at the experiences of children in foster care, children who were adopted, and children who went home to their birth parents and sets out parents' views on how these children were getting on. Part One contains figures regarding the children's placements while part Two contains information gathered through interviews with parents. There were 374 children who were under 5 years of age and in care in Northern Ireland on the 31 March 2000. The report considers key aspects of their care pathways, focusing on: involvement in care planning; relationships with social workers; helping children settle into the placement; developing good child-parent relationships; contact; school and friendships; type of support provided; and children's strengths and difficulties.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Summarises findings from a research study called Care Pathways and Outcomes. The aim of the study was to find out what happened to children under five who were in care in Northern Ireland on 31 March 2000. The report looks at the experiences of children in foster care, children who were adopted, and children who went home to their birth parents and sets out parents' views on how these children were getting on. Part One contains figures regarding the children's placements while part Two contains information gathered through interviews with parents. There were 374 children who were under 5 years of age and in care in Northern Ireland on the 31 March 2000. The report considers key aspects of their care pathways, focusing on: involvement in care planning; relationships with social workers; helping children settle into the placement; developing good child-parent relationships; contact; school and friendships; type of support provided; and children's strengths and difficulties.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
looked after children, placement, parents, foster care, adoption, user views, care pathways, birth parents, outcomes;
... gathering comparative data on how the children and their parents/carers are coping across the different type of placements provided. This document reports on the most recent phase of the study. This involved interviews with a sub-group of children (aged nine to 14) and their parents/carers in adoption, foster care, kinship care, on residence order and living with birth parents. Similarities
(Edited publisher abstract)
This study on long-term placements for young children in care takes a long-term comparative approach, providing vital information for practitioners. Since 2000 the study has been tracking the placement profiles of a population of children who were under the age of five and in care in Northern Ireland on a particular census day. Funded by the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland, it has been gathering comparative data on how the children and their parents/carers are coping across the different type of placements provided. This document reports on the most recent phase of the study. This involved interviews with a sub-group of children (aged nine to 14) and their parents/carers in adoption, foster care, kinship care, on residence order and living with birth parents. Similarities and differences between placement types were explored including: children’s attachments, self-concept, education, health and behaviour; parents’/carers’ stress; social support; family communication; and contact with birth families. This contemporary study is intended as a contribution to evidence-based practice and provides a research base for decision making throughout the UK. It raises important points about identifying and addressing the particular needs of sub-groups within the care population, reviewing placement progress and putting in place additional support where appropriate and necessary.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
placement, looked after children, foster care, care pathways, outcomes, comparative studies, longitudinal studies, adoption;
Child and Family Social Work, 18(1), 2013, pp.87-96.
Publisher:
Wiley
Adoption in the UK is a means of providing secure, permanent relationships to children in care who are unable to live with their birth families, and adoptive parents are crucial in providing stable experience of family for vulnerable children. This article describes research focusing on the experience of adoptive parenthood in the context of changes to adoptive kinship relationships brought about
Adoption in the UK is a means of providing secure, permanent relationships to children in care who are unable to live with their birth families, and adoptive parents are crucial in providing stable experience of family for vulnerable children. This article describes research focusing on the experience of adoptive parenthood in the context of changes to adoptive kinship relationships brought about by new, unplanned contact with birth family during an adopted child's adolescence. The research gathered information through semi-structured interviews with a sample of adoptive parents in Northern Ireland participating in the longitudinal Care Pathways and Outcomes Study. Eight participants from five families gave accounts of unplanned contact with birth family which was initiated by informal social networks and/or social media; an older birth sibling was instrumental in pursuing contact in each case. The article discusses themes identified through analysis of the interviews. It reports that the contact precipitated a transition in adoptive family life resulting in emotional challenges and changes in parent/child relationships, that the dominant theme was parental concern about the impact on their child's welfare and their own parenting, and that the adoptive parents felt constrained in their parental response to the unplanned contact. The authors consider and interpret the adoptive parents' accounts with reference to family life-cycle theory and make suggestions for practice.
Adoption and Fostering, 34(2), Summer 2010, pp.23-37.
Publisher:
Sage
... that these children progressed along: towards adoption, long-term non-relative foster care, long-term relative foster care, residential order, and return to birth parents. This article focuses on how these children progressed through care, particularly looking at how variations in the children’s care pathways may be related to a range of background factors. These background factors relate to the age of the child,
This is one of a series of articles reporting on the large-scale Northern Ireland care pathways and outcomes study. The study has been examining a population of 374 children who were in care under 5 years of age in Northern Ireland and followed up across a 4-year period from 2000-2004. It has mapped these young children’s care careers and explored factors relating to 5 care pathways that these children progressed along: towards adoption, long-term non-relative foster care, long-term relative foster care, residential order, and return to birth parents. This article focuses on how these children progressed through care, particularly looking at how variations in the children’s care pathways may be related to a range of background factors. These background factors relate to the age of the child, length of time in care, the child’s health, the child’s behaviour, and regional variations. Data for this aspect of the study was taken from the Social Services Client and Administration and Retrieval Environment (SOSCARE) supplemented by information from social work case files. The results show that care pathways are significantly related to a number of background factors. Some findings reflect relationships that have already been established by researchers working in England and Wales, but other differences unique to the Northern Ireland context are also identified.
Subject terms:
longitudinal studies, looked after children, placement, residential child care, adopted children, adoption, care pathways, foster children;
Children and Youth Services Review, 69, 2016, pp.56-66.
Publisher:
Elsevier
... on in the placements provided for them, in comparative terms across five placement types: adoption; foster care; kinship foster care (with relatives); on Residence Order; and living with birth parents. This specifically focused on the development of attachment and self-concept from the perspective of the children, and behavioural and emotional function, and parenting stress, from the perspective of parents and carers. Findings showed no significant placement effect from the perspective of children, and a statistically weak, but descriptively compelling, effect from the perspective of parents. The findings challenge the notion of adoption as the gold standard in long-term placements, specifically from the perspective of children in terms of their parent/carer attachments and self-concept, and highlight what
(Publisher abstract)
This paper presents findings from the third phase of a longitudinal study, entitled Care Pathways and Outcomes, which has been tracking the placements and measuring outcomes for a population of children (n = 374) who were under the age of five and in care in Northern Ireland on the 31st March 2000. It explores how a sub-sample of these children at age nine to 14 years old were getting on in the placements provided for them, in comparative terms across five placement types: adoption; foster care; kinship foster care (with relatives); on Residence Order; and living with birth parents. This specifically focused on the development of attachment and self-concept from the perspective of the children, and behavioural and emotional function, and parenting stress, from the perspective of parents and carers. Findings showed no significant placement effect from the perspective of children, and a statistically weak, but descriptively compelling, effect from the perspective of parents. The findings challenge the notion of adoption as the gold standard in long-term placements, specifically from the perspective of children in terms of their parent/carer attachments and self-concept, and highlight what appears to be the central importance of placement longevity for delivering positive longer-term outcomes for these children, irrespective of placement type.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
placement, adoption, foster care, kinship care, long term care, outcomes, attachment, self-concept, parents, long term placement, looked after children;