An investigation of family finding and matching in adoption - briefing paper

The objective of this study, based on 149 children who had an adoption recommendation at panel and conducted in 10 English local authorities, was to examine the effectiveness, outcomes and costs of different family finding methods and matching practices in adoption. The authorities used one of four different approaches to family finding and matching: early transfer of case responsibility to adoption workers, using in-house profiling events as a primary method of family finding, using formal monitoring processes to track the progress of adoption cases, and using the Adult Attachment Interview in assessing prospective adoptive families. This paper summarises the key findings, covering quality of information, family finding, matching, quality of the matches made, delay, the relationship between practice approaches and delay, failure to match and diversion from adoption, support, the costs of family finding, matching and post-adoption support, and the outcomes of the adoptive placements