Adoption: Changing Families, Changing Lives

281 Pages·2002·1.01 MB·English

by  Anthony Douglas, Terry Philpot

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5111 ADOPTION: CHANGING
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FAMILIES, CHANGING TIMES
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13111 Adoption: changing families, changing times draws together contributions
4 from all those with an interest in adoption: adopted people; birth parents and
5 adoptive parents; practitioners and managers in the statutory and voluntary
6 sectors; academics and policy makers. Chapters on research and policy are
7 interspersed with those from people with first-hand experience of being
8 adopted, becoming an adoptive parent or giving up a child for adoption.
9 Together, they provide unique insights into a subject that although regularly
20111 in the media is often surrounded by prejudice and misconception. The editors
1 offer introductions to each section on the context of the issues and debates.
2 Topics covered include:
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4 • children and young people in care
5 • trying to adopt
6 • waiting for adoption
7 • life after adoption
8 • the politics of adoption.
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30111 This accessible text offers a comprehensive review of adoption policy, prac-
1 tice and services and analyses why adoption has become so controversial. It
2 provides professional and general reader alike with a fully rounded picture
3 of adoption and exposes some of the myths surrounding it.
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5 Anthony Douglas is director of social care and health at Suffolk County
6 Council and vice chair of BAAF Adoption and Fostering. Terry Philpot is
7 a writer, researcher and journalist on social policy and was formerly editor
8 of Community Care.
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6 Edited by
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8 Anthony Douglas and
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20111 Terry Philpot
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First published 2003
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
© 2003 Anthony Douglas and Terry Philpot
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Adoption: changing families, changing times/edited by
Anthony Douglas and Terry Philpot.
p. cm.
1. Adoption – Great Britain. 2. Adoptees – Great Britain.
3. Adoptive parents – Great Britain. 4. Birthparents – Great Britain.
I. Douglas, Anthony, 1949– II. Philpot, Terry.
HV875.58.G7 A32 2003
362.73′4′0941–dc21 2002068178
ISBN 0-203-16743-0 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-26232-8 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–25684–4 (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–25685–2 (pbk)
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13111 To my birth mother and my adoptive
4 parents for all that they have given me over the years
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and to Margaret, Sarah and Gemma for their
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continuing love and support.
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Anthony Douglas
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To the memory of R.P. and W.G.P. for a
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3 childhood that every child should have.
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Terry Philpot
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5111 CONTENTS
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13111 List of contributors x
4 Foreword xvii
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6 Introduction 1
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9 PART I
20111 Children and young people in care 15
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Introduction 17
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3 1 Adoption’s rich tapestry unfolded: a family life in
4 the 21st century 25
5 KIRSTY FERGUSSON
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2 Troubled children and how to place them 32
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KAREN IRVING
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30111 JOANNA CORBETT
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4 It can only get better, and it did! 45
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SHELLEY M A N N
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4 5 Good practice in adoption 52
5 FELICITY COLLIER
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6 Kinship care: a child in the family 57
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PHILLIP MCGILL
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9 7 Attachment theory and children’s rights 60
40111 PENELOPE WELBOURNE
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8 ‘I’ll take her in’ 70
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CHRIS PURNELL
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C O N T E N T S
PA RT I I
The experience of birth parents 73
Introduction 75
9 Audrey and Aline’s story 82
AU D R E Y A N D A L I N E B O U N DY
10 Lost and found: an adopted person’s story 87
CHRISTOPHER HIGNETT
11 Letter to a social worker: reflections on mothering 91
ANONYMOUS
12 Adoption and family support: two means in pursuit
of the same end 99
JANE TUNSTILL
PA RT I I I
Life after adoption 107
Introduction 109
13 Adoption: perspectives from family members 114
DEBORAH SAVIDGE AND HUGH MALONEY
14 A truer image 120
VERONICA DEWAN
15 Avoiding disruption: concurrent planning 127
GILL GRAY
16 How post-adoption support can make adoption a success 132
VAL FORREST
17 Talking and telling 139
JULIA FEAST AND DAVID HOWE
18 Keeping in touch: a different way of looking at
post-adoption contact issues 147
PAM HODGKINS
19 With love 158
JANE FRENCH
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C O N T E N T S
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2 The politics of adoption 163
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Introduction 165
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5 20 The fiction of permanence 172
6 ADELE JONES
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21 Adoption from the inside 179
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MARY AUSTIN
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1011 22 Being transracially adopted: what it’s really like in the UK 186
1 JULIA AUSTIN
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23 From China with love 190
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ANGELA KNIGHT
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5 24 Rejection and acceptance 197
6 SHEENA AND DONALD MACRAE
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25 Adoption panels: a critique from within 202
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CHRIS HANVEY
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20111 26 Adoption, race and identity 208
1 ANNA GUPTA
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PA RT V
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The future of adoption 215
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6 Introduction 217
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27 Home news and abroad: comparing UK trends
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elsewhere 226
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JUNE THOBURN
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2 PENNY THOMPSON AND NICK HUGHES
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29 A special focus: the view from the voluntary sector 240
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TERRY CONNOR
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6 30 Adoption in New Zealand: an international perspective 246
7 JILL GOLDSON
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31 Adoption is about people: learning the lessons of experience 251
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JOHN SIMMONDS
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Index 257
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ix