After Adoption

Taylor & Francis

Few children nowadays are placed for adoption with no form of contact planned with birth relatives and it has become common professional practice to advocate direct rather than indirect contact. Practice has outstripped evidence in this respect and not enough is known about how contact arrangements actually work out, particularly for older children adopted from state care. Such children have often experienced neglect, and sometimes abuse, and have frequently been adopted without parental agreement. \nBased on research with a large number of adoptive parents, children and birth relatives, After Adoption considers the impact of direct post-adoption contact on all concerned in such cases. It also:\n\u00B7 discusses the development of adoption policy and law, particularly with regard to the legal and social consequences \n\u00B7 reviews the research evidence on adopted children's contact with their birth families\n\u00B7 explores through interviews: participants' feelings about adoption k