'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

This presentation reports on some unexpected findings to emerge from the in depth interview work, undertaken as part of two national adoption studies of previously looked after children in England and Wales. Both studies used... [ view full abstract ]

This presentation reports on some unexpected findings to emerge from the in depth interview work, undertaken as part of two national adoption studies of previously looked after children in England and Wales. Both studies used a mixed method approach to calculate the national rate of adoption disruption (3%) and to explore the experiences of those who had been involved in, or were at risk of disruption.
Ninety adoptive parents were interviewed (45 who had faced an adoption disruption and 45 who were struggling and at risk of disruption). The interview schedule was designed to follow their adoption journey, from the initial adoption application to the present day. This presentation focuses on just one part of that journey - parents’ accounts of the contact with the child’s foster carers during the introductions to their child and the transition to the adoptive home. Just under half of those interviewed revealed that they had harboured serious concerns about their child’s foster care experiences before being placed for adoption. The findings showed 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, most 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. The lack of emotional warmth shown to children whilst in foster care dominated the accounts by adoptive parents. Possible explanations for these findings are considered, together with the implications for social work practice.