Sarah Meakings

The support needs and experiences of newly formed adoptive families: findings from the Wales Adoption Study

This article reports on findings from the Wales Adoption Study which used a sequential, mixed-method design to explore the early support needs and experiences of newly formed adoptive families. Ninety-six adoptive parents completed a questionnaire four months post-placement and a sub-sample of 40 parents was interviewed in-depth five months thereafter. The main support needs of the families fell within five key domains: promoting childrens health and development; strengthening family relationships; fostering childrens identity; managing contact with birth parents and significant others; and financial and legal assistance. While the age and developmental stage of the child placed for adoption often influenced the nature of the support required across the various domains, the need for some form of support in every family was universal. Most, however, were not facing insurmountable difficulties. Arguably, many of the support needs identified could have been anticipated as they illustrate the complexities of ‘normal’ adoptive family life. The implications for social work practice are discussed.

The legal and administrative processes in adoption: views and experiences of newly formed adoptive families

Abstract The early stages of adoptive placements are important in achieving successful long-term outcomes for adopted children and their families. This paper reports on findings from the Wales Adoption Study, in which adoptive parents shared their views and experiences of the legal and administrative processes in obtaining an adoption order. Parents described a range of difficulties that added to anxieties and delays. These arose mainly through poor communication about the steps in the legal process and avoidable administrative errors or oversights. Some parents also experienced lack of information and support regarding agreed contact arrangements and work with their child to help them make sense of their adoptive status.

‘She was a foster mother who said she didn’t give cuddles’: The adverse early foster care experiences of children who later struggled with adoptive family life

Foster care remains a valuable and safe intervention for many children unable to live with their birth family. When birth family reunification is not considered possible, a small proportion of children in foster care will go on to achieve permanency by way of adoption. This article reports on some unexpected findings to emerge from two national adoption studies of previously looked after children in England and Wales. Focussing on a subset of families who had experienced or were at risk of an adoption disruption, the findings revealed that not only did children carry elevated risks for disruption due to their older age at entry to care, multiple foster care placements and traumatic early histories, but once in care, many of the children whose placements had disrupted were considered by their adoptive parents to have had very poor, even harmful fostering experiences before being placed for adoption. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, together with the implications for social work practice.

‘ She was a foster mother who said she didn’t give cuddles ’

Foster care remains a valuable and safe intervention for many children unable to live with their birth family. When birth family reunification is not considered possible, a small proportion of children in foster care will go on to achieve permanency by way of adoption. This article reports on some unexpected findings to emerge from two national adoption studies of previously looked after children in England and Wales. Focussing on a subset of families who had experienced or were at risk of an adoption disruption, the findings revealed that not only did children carry elevated risks for disruption due to their older age at entry to care, multiple foster care placements and traumatic early histories, but once in care, many of the children whose placements had disrupted were considered by their adoptive parents to have had very poor, even harmful fostering experiences before being placed for adoption. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, together with the implications for social work practice.

‘She was a foster mother who said she didn’t give cuddles’: The adverse early foster care experiences of children who later struggle with adoptive family life

Foster care remains a valuable and safe intervention for many children unable to live with their birth family. When birth family reunification is not considered possible, a small proportion of children in foster care will go on to achieve permanency by way of adoption. This article reports on some unexpected findings to emerge from two national adoption studies of previously looked after children in England and Wales. Focussing on a subset of families who had experienced or were at risk of an adoption disruption, the findings revealed that not only did children carry elevated risks for disruption due to their older age at entry to care, multiple foster care placements and traumatic early histories, but once in care, many of the children whose placements had disrupted were considered by their adoptive parents to have had very poor, even harmful fostering experiences before being placed for adoption. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, together with the implications for social work practice.

'She just didn't smell right!': Odour and adoptive family life

Our recent studies of adoptive family life, in circumstances where parenting was very challenging or where the adoption had disrupted, revealed new and interesting findings (Selwyn and Meakings, 2015; Selwyn, Meakings and Wijedasa, 2015). One of the most fascinating and unexpected discoveries was the role of smell in adoptive parents’ and children’s behaviours. For some parents, the child’s odour was a barrier to intimacy. Parents were also aware of how specific smells seemed to trigger children’s early memories and trauma. In this article, we review briefly the literature on odour and consider the implications for social work practice.