Supporting adoption: reframing the approach

Directed by Professors Lowe and Murch at Cardiff Law School, this landmark research is concerned with the adoption of older children looked after by local authorities. It presents a critical review of the support available from diverse sources including educational, social work, legal, health and psychological services as well as that from informal networks and previous carers, to older children and their families as the former make the transition from being looked after by the local authority to a new life with adoptive parents. Supporting Adoption offers the most comprehensive review of adption services in England and Wales in this decade and the picture that emerges is of a highly variable adoption practice. The authors also consider how best to ensure a much higher overall standard of adoption agency practice and propose recommendations and outline measures which would help refurbish the system. This is a Summary of the report based on the research