Books, booklets & multimedia

Surveying Adoption
A comprehensive analysis of local authority adoptions 1998-1999 (England)

	Price: £5.00 119 pages A4	BAAF, October 2000 ISBN 978-1-873868-96-6

The latest study from the BAAF Adoptions Statistics Project provides the most comprehensive picture of the numbers, characteristics and histories of looked after children who were adopted in England during 1998/99. The research looked at 1,800 of the 2,200 adoptions from care in 1998/99, based on data collected from 116 local authorities (in England).

One of the most significant findings is a reduction since 1994 in the overall period of time a child remains in care (three years one month, down from three years eight months), and a decrease in the average age at which children are adopted (four years three months, down from five years 10 months), although 25% of children started to live with their adoptive parents under the age of 12 months. This survey provides the first evidence that social workers are giving greater priority to planning for adoption for very young children who are unable to return to their birth families.

The study also provides unique information about the time taken at each stage of the adoption process and the influence of a child's history and special needs on this. This report offers a fascinating insight into adoptions of children looked after by local authorities, dispels many myths, and provides invaluable information about the children needing adoption, their adopters and their birth families