Books, booklets & multimedia

Contact in Permanent Placement: Guidance for local authorities in England & Wales and Scotland

	Price: £4.50	BAAF 1999 ISBN 978-1-873868-66-9

This Good Practice Guide examines practice experience, the legal framework in England, Wales and Scotland, and research findings regarding contact in permanent placements outside a child’s family of origin. It highlights factors to be taken into account in exploring whether a child’s welfare would be promoted by planning some form of contact within the placement and the implications for agency policy and practice.

Issues covered include:

• Defining openness and contact
• The purpose of contact arrangements and the range
• The legal framework
• Factors to be taken into account in exploring the desirability or otherwise of contact
• Assessment of the child’s needs
• Attitudes of prospective carers
• Parents, birth relatives and significant others
• The views and experiences of current carers in relation to contact
• Implications for agencies

This guide is essential reading for policy makers, children’s social workers, social work managers, panel members and all those involved with children in permanent placements outside their birth families, whether through fostering or adoption.