Children and Youth Services Review, 36, 2014, pp.195-200.
Publisher:
Elsevier
... with Complex Needs (64%), and Older Abused Children (30%). Of the three identified subgroups Children with Complex Needs consisted of youth who were at greater risk for adverse outcomes. These children were less likely to experience timely adoption, had the longest length of stay in out-of-home care, and were least likely to experience timely reunification. Although permanency outcomes for Older Abused
(Publisher abstract)
The goals of this study were to explore characteristics and profiles of children who received out-of-home care services and to examine the relationship between their profiles and permanency outcomes. Results of latent class analysis suggest that there are three distinct subgroups of children served in out-of-home care (N = 33,092): Children with Complex Needs (6%), Children in Families with Complex Needs (64%), and Older Abused Children (30%). Of the three identified subgroups Children with Complex Needs consisted of youth who were at greater risk for adverse outcomes. These children were less likely to experience timely adoption, had the longest length of stay in out-of-home care, and were least likely to experience timely reunification. Although permanency outcomes for Older Abused Children are somewhat better than for Children with Complex Needs, they represent a vulnerable population of youth in out-of-home care who have a very low chance of being adopted. Overall, this study suggests that service provision by itself may not improve permanency outcomes for children unless both prevention and intervention efforts address co-occurring family needs and are tailored to specific characteristics of the children being served.
(Publisher abstract)
University of Bristol. Hadley Centre for Adoption and Foster Care Studies
Publication year:
2014
Pagination:
53
Place of publication:
Bristol
Sets out the rate of, and reasons for, adoption disruption after an Adoption Order had been granted in Wales. This study used a quantitative research design to meet the research objectives, using government data on all children who had been looked after and adopted between 1st April 2002 and 31st March 2012. The stability of adoption has been seen as one of its strengths, but the long-term permanence of adoptive placements in the UK has been unknown and social workers lack reliable information to aid them in making decisions about permanence. This study shows that over an 11 year follow-up period, the Welsh national adoption disruption rate was 2.6 per cent, which indicated that about 3 in 100 adoptions would disrupt over an 11 year period. The rate of adoption post order disruption in England was very similar, where the cumulative risk of disruption over a 12 year period was that about 3 in 100. The Cox regression model indicated that older age at placement, a higher number of moves in care before being placed for adoption and a lengthier time period between placement and the Adoption Order were all predictors of adoption disruption. The majority of disruptions were when children
(Edited publisher abstract)
Sets out the rate of, and reasons for, adoption disruption after an Adoption Order had been granted in Wales. This study used a quantitative research design to meet the research objectives, using government data on all children who had been looked after and adopted between 1st April 2002 and 31st March 2012. The stability of adoption has been seen as one of its strengths, but the long-term permanence of adoptive placements in the UK has been unknown and social workers lack reliable information to aid them in making decisions about permanence. This study shows that over an 11 year follow-up period, the Welsh national adoption disruption rate was 2.6 per cent, which indicated that about 3 in 100 adoptions would disrupt over an 11 year period. The rate of adoption post order disruption in England was very similar, where the cumulative risk of disruption over a 12 year period was that about 3 in 100. The Cox regression model indicated that older age at placement, a higher number of moves in care before being placed for adoption and a lengthier time period between placement and the Adoption Order were all predictors of adoption disruption. The majority of disruptions were when children were over 11 years of age. Services are therefore needed for teenagers and those parenting teens.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
adoption, permanency planning, looked after children, placement disruption;
Northern Ireland. Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Publication year:
2014
Pagination:
21
Place of publication:
Belfast
This bulletin details statistical information relating to children adopted from care in Northern Ireland during the year ending 31 March 2014, presenting a range of information about durations between different stages in the adoption process, average ages of children at each stage, adoption process by age group, and foster care adoptions. Eighty nine children were adopted from care during the year ending 31 March 2014, one more than in 2013. The average age of children at the time of adoption was 4 years 4 months. From the last entry into care, the average length of time for a child to be adopted in 2013/14 was 2 years 11 months. This was 6 months shorter than in 2012/13. Fifty five children were adopted by their foster carers in 2013/14. This represented 62 per cent of the overall number of adoptions. Children adopted by their foster carers were in general slightly older at the time of adoption than the other adopted children and the duration of the adoption process was generally longer.
(Edited publisher abstract)
This bulletin details statistical information relating to children adopted from care in Northern Ireland during the year ending 31 March 2014, presenting a range of information about durations between different stages in the adoption process, average ages of children at each stage, adoption process by age group, and foster care adoptions. Eighty nine children were adopted from care during the year ending 31 March 2014, one more than in 2013. The average age of children at the time of adoption was 4 years 4 months. From the last entry into care, the average length of time for a child to be adopted in 2013/14 was 2 years 11 months. This was 6 months shorter than in 2012/13. Fifty five children were adopted by their foster carers in 2013/14. This represented 62 per cent of the overall number of adoptions. Children adopted by their foster carers were in general slightly older at the time of adoption than the other adopted children and the duration of the adoption process was generally longer.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
adopted children, adoption, foster care, childrens social care;
... addresses policy and practice implications for the various professions involved during the birth and registration process and also for children and family and adoption practitioners.
(Publisher abstract)
This article explores the neglected subject of birth certificates, their meaning and value. The author makes a case for enhanced attention to the birth certificate in general but especially in cases where information about the father has not been entered. It is argued that rather than ‘father unknown’ being recorded, ‘father unregistered’ would be invariably more accurate. The conclusion addresses policy and practice implications for the various professions involved during the birth and registration process and also for children and family and adoption practitioners.
(Publisher abstract)
Presents case examples which demonstrates that the aim of adoption must always be for children are brought up within their birth families unless the overriding requirements of the child's welfare mean that it is not possible and that the court decisions must be based on proper analysis and evidence. Whether these aims can be achieved depends on resources being made available to local authorities,
(Edited publisher abstract)
Presents case examples which demonstrates that the aim of adoption must always be for children are brought up within their birth families unless the overriding requirements of the child's welfare mean that it is not possible and that the court decisions must be based on proper analysis and evidence. Whether these aims can be achieved depends on resources being made available to local authorities, Cafcass and the courts.
(Edited publisher abstract)
These scorecards allow local authorities and other adoption agencies to monitor their own performance and compare it with that of others. Scorecards were introduced as part of a new approach to address delays in the adoption system. This approach was set out in 'An action plan for adoption: tackling delay'. The methodology and guidance document sets out performance at year ending March 2014.
(Edited publisher abstract)
These scorecards allow local authorities and other adoption agencies to monitor their own performance and compare it with that of others. Scorecards were introduced as part of a new approach to address delays in the adoption system. This approach was set out in 'An action plan for adoption: tackling delay'. The methodology and guidance document sets out performance at year ending March 2014.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
adoption, adoption agencies, placement, performance indicators, childrens social care;
This article reviews the history of domestic and international adoption, examines international agreements and U.S. statutes that govern intercountry adoption, and assesses the current landscape of adoption agency practice, with major emphasis on the United States. The article focuses specifically on environmental factors that have driven change in both practice and policy concerning international adoption. The theoretical lens of population ecology offers a helpful perspective on the demographic and cultural trends that have transformed adoption and adoption agencies, particularly as they shifted toward international placements beginning in the mid-twentieth century.
(Publisher abstract)
This article reviews the history of domestic and international adoption, examines international agreements and U.S. statutes that govern intercountry adoption, and assesses the current landscape of adoption agency practice, with major emphasis on the United States. The article focuses specifically on environmental factors that have driven change in both practice and policy concerning international adoption. The theoretical lens of population ecology offers a helpful perspective on the demographic and cultural trends that have transformed adoption and adoption agencies, particularly as they shifted toward international placements beginning in the mid-twentieth century.
(Publisher abstract)
This guide is a response to the misinterpretation of recent high profile court judgments on care and adoption order cases, which appears to have led to a significant reduction in the number of placement orders made and in the number of decisions made by local authorities to pursue care plans for adoption. It sets out and discusses five principal myths which appear to be prevalent at present: the legal test for adoption has changed; to satisfy the courts, all alternative options must be considered; if adoption is only appropriate where nothing else will do, foster care or special guardianship should be pursued instead; because it is a ‘last resort’ planning for adoption must wait; and the 26 week rule applies to placement orders.
While acknowledging that high quality assessment and evidence is essential in all cases and that the judgments have criticised some cases where the test for granting leave to oppose the making of an adoption order had been applied too harshly, the key message from the guide is that the judgments do not alter the legal test for adoption and that they do not make it easier to obtain permission to oppose an application for an adoption order. The test remains the welfare
(Edited publisher abstract)
This guide is a response to the misinterpretation of recent high profile court judgments on care and adoption order cases, which appears to have led to a significant reduction in the number of placement orders made and in the number of decisions made by local authorities to pursue care plans for adoption. It sets out and discusses five principal myths which appear to be prevalent at present: the legal test for adoption has changed; to satisfy the courts, all alternative options must be considered; if adoption is only appropriate where nothing else will do, foster care or special guardianship should be pursued instead; because it is a ‘last resort’ planning for adoption must wait; and the 26 week rule applies to placement orders.
While acknowledging that high quality assessment and evidence is essential in all cases and that the judgments have criticised some cases where the test for granting leave to oppose the making of an adoption order had been applied too harshly, the key message from the guide is that the judgments do not alter the legal test for adoption and that they do not make it easier to obtain permission to oppose an application for an adoption order. The test remains the welfare of the child throughout his or her life.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
court orders, legal proceedings, adoption, law, local authority housing;
British Journal of Social Work, 44(7), 2014, pp.1788-1804.
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Considerable knowledge exists about the commissioning of children's fostering and adoption placements from external agencies within a context of shared corporate parenting. However, the impact of governmental change in the UK from May 2010, and particularly that of austerity measures, has yet to be determined. This article explores the experiences of foster-care providers in one English region in the year following the government's first Spending Review. It refers to the findings of earlier foster-care commissioning research and considers these alongside some policy ideas put forward by influential figures sympathetic to the government. It also considers whether the research evidence of commissioning adoption services is reflected in the empirical evidence reported here and if this is prescient
(Publisher abstract)
Considerable knowledge exists about the commissioning of children's fostering and adoption placements from external agencies within a context of shared corporate parenting. However, the impact of governmental change in the UK from May 2010, and particularly that of austerity measures, has yet to be determined. This article explores the experiences of foster-care providers in one English region in the year following the government's first Spending Review. It refers to the findings of earlier foster-care commissioning research and considers these alongside some policy ideas put forward by influential figures sympathetic to the government. It also considers whether the research evidence of commissioning adoption services is reflected in the empirical evidence reported here and if this is prescient for foster-care. The findings of this study shed light on the initial effects of austerity measures on both local authority commissioners and independent fostering providers (IFPs). Whilst collaborative working relationships remain, the study highlights legal and procedural factors which may distort or threaten effective foster-care provision. It concludes that suggested changes to policy and practice, during the current Coalition government's term of office in the UK, are likely to have significant consequences both for local authorities and IFPs.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
foster care, commissioning, adoption, government policy, cutbacks;
This article seeks to develop a framework that provides a theoretically informed and multidimensional approach to the understanding of the adoption of disabled children. It does so by drawing on Layder's delineation of different levels of analysis. This entails examining wider macro features that influence adoption processes, right through to the micro interactions between adopters and adoption agencies. The article also applies Bourdieu's concept of the habitus to assist in our understanding of how individual agents internalise the messages around them, which can influence and mediate their actions in adoption. This framework indicates that adoption outcomes for disabled children can only be understood within wider social processes, which can affect not only individual adoptions themselves, but also the practice of adoption generally. This has implications for both research and practice, for if, on the one hand, it provides a more comprehensive framework for the conduct of research, and it also potentially enables practice to be informed by wider considerations other than those occurring in the immediate context of the adoption.
(Edited publisher abstract)
This article seeks to develop a framework that provides a theoretically informed and multidimensional approach to the understanding of the adoption of disabled children. It does so by drawing on Layder's delineation of different levels of analysis. This entails examining wider macro features that influence adoption processes, right through to the micro interactions between adopters and adoption agencies. The article also applies Bourdieu's concept of the habitus to assist in our understanding of how individual agents internalise the messages around them, which can influence and mediate their actions in adoption. This framework indicates that adoption outcomes for disabled children can only be understood within wider social processes, which can affect not only individual adoptions themselves, but also the practice of adoption generally. This has implications for both research and practice, for if, on the one hand, it provides a more comprehensive framework for the conduct of research, and it also potentially enables practice to be informed by wider considerations other than those occurring in the immediate context of the adoption.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
adoption, disabilities, children, placement, social work;