Books, booklets & multimedia

The Banana Kid
Valerie Mason-John (BAAF, March 2008)
Price: £9.95
A frank and revealing memoir of a childhood and adolescence spent moving in and out of foster homes and back and forth to the Dr Barnardo’s Village in Essex. This is an important story powerfully told about growing up black, female and in care. It has much to say about the perils of childhood and how we raise children in today’s society.

A better deal
Ann Sutton and Barbara Hudson (BAAF, June 2005)
Price: £7.95
A useful starting point for social work practitioners, this training resource provides a grounding in the process of intercountry adoption.

A Bibliography of Family Placement Literature
Edited by John Sudbery, Stephen Hicks, Sheila Thompson, Hugh McLaughlin and Carole Bramley with Katrina Wilson (BAAF, May 2005)
Price: £7.95
A guide to publications on children, parents and carers.

Bridget's taking a long time CD Rom
by Bridget Betts and Nicky Ball (Information Plus, 2004)
Price: £34.00 (+£5.95 VAT)
This CD-ROM contains an interactive story for children aged 5 to 12 dealing with adoption issues from the point of view of children in an adopting family.

Bruce’s Multimedia Story
By Maureen Thom and Celia Macliver (Information Plus 1998)
Price: £39.95 (£34.00 + £5.95 VAT)
Capitalises on children’s interest in computer-based activities to raise issues about identity and change. Includes animation, sound effects, music, speech and interactivity.

Care or control?
Foster care for young people on remand
Written by Jo Lipscombe (BAAF, November 2006)
Price: £12.95
This important new research study is the first to focus specifically on the use of foster care for young people on remand as an alternative to custodial and residential accommodation. It challenges negative public and political attitudes towards young people who have been charged with committing an offence, as well as the impact of these attitudes on criminal justice policy.

Carer Held Health Record
By Elaine Greaves, Gill Appolinari and Carol Watson (BAAF 2008)
Price: £8.50 (+ £1.49 VAT)
A practical record book designed to store a child’s vital health information consistently and confidentially. It should be maintained by the adults looking after a child but, importantly, the record should accompany a child when he or she moves on to another placement or returns home.

Care Stories
A training film and book for those working with looked after children and young people
Edited by Julie Granville and Beth Miller (Tavistock Training, 2006)
Price: £85
Care Stories features seven young people who describe their experiences in care in their own words, covering significant issues including loss, trust, relationships, identity, race and culture, quality of care, preparation for leaving care and moving to independence. These themes are explored and contextualised by an accompanying DVD and training guide. Designed as a flexible teaching tool for group training and individual learning, Care Stories is suitable for use by a wide range of professionals and students.

Caring for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children and Young People
By Eileen Fursland (BAAF, 2007)
Introductory pamphlet £3.50
Country specific pamphlet £2.00

A series of pamphlets that aim to help foster carers and others learn about the circumstances that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people have experienced, the effect of traumatic events on these young people, what their needs are likely to be, what issues are important for them now, and how they can help these young people cope with the profound changes in their young lives. The series includes an introductory pamphlet as well as five country specific pamphlets focusing on Afghanistan, China, Eritrea, Iran and Somalia.

Chester and Daisy Move On
by Angela Lidster, illustrated by Robyn Allpress (BAAF 1995, Reprinted 1999)
Price: £8.95
This popular and engaging picture book is for use with children who are moving on to adoption.

Child Care Law: A summary of the law in England and Wales
by Deborah Cullen and Mary Lane (BAAF, January 2006)
Price: £9.95

The fifth edition of this popular quick reference guide to the law in England and Wales relating to the care of children has been thoroughly revised to include reference to all recent legislation, including new regulations, guidance and standards

Child Care Law: A summary of the law in Scotland
By Alexandra Plumtree (BAAF, November 2005)
Price: £8.95
This short but thoroughly comprehensive guide outlines principles and themes as well as the statutory background covering relevant Acts and other legislation. It is designed to provide a basic framework for those who do not need to know more, and a quick overall view for those starting a more detailed study. The guide has been fully revised to reflect the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998, the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 and the creation of the Care Commission.

Child Protection – The therapeutic option
Edited by Daphne Batty and Deborah Cullen (BAAF 1996)
Price: £5.00 (previously £10.95)
How can we achieve the much need shift from a forensic resolution of the problem to a real commitment to the welfare of children? This stimulating collection presents a significant debate in which contributors demand an overhaul of the system.

Children Adopted from Care - An examination of agency adoptions in England - 1996
by Gilles Ivaldi (BAAF, 1998)
Price: £8.95
This study reports on the first detailed analysis of the Department of Health's Children Looked After database.

Children and Families in the Voluntary Sector – An overview of child placement and adoption work by voluntary adoption agencies in England 1994-1998
By Gilles Ivaldi (BAAF 2000)
Price: £5.00
This research report scrutinises some crucial areas of child placement and adoption work by voluntary adoption agencies, and their specific contribution.

Children Exposed to Parental Substance Misuse: Implications for family placement
Edited by Rena Phillips (BAAF 2004)
Price: £14.95

At a time of rising concern about parental substance misuse, this book tackles practice, policy and research issues.

A Child's Journey Through Placement
by Vera Fahlberg (BAAF 2004)
Price: £22.50
Clear, informative and full of practical ideas and case examples this is an essential reference and resource book for professionals. Over 17,000 copies sold.

The Child’s World – Assessing children in need
Edited by Jan Horwath (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2001)
Price: £16.95
Written for professionals involved in the assessment of children in need, this is a comprehensive guide to recent developments in research and practice.

Coming to the UK
By Eileen Fursland (BAAF, September 2008)
Price: £4.50
This informative pamphlet, aimed at unaccompanied children and young people seeking asylum in the UK, provides a handy introduction to society and lifestyle issues. Available in English, Dari, Farsi, Pashto, Kurdish and Tigrinya.

Connecting with kids through stories – Using narratives to facilitate attachment in adopted children (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2005)
By Denise B Lacher and Todd Nicholls
Price: £12.95
This is an accessible guide to Family Attachment Narrative Therapy for the parents of adopted or fostered children, and for the professionals who work with them.

Contact – Managing visits to children looked after away from home (BAAF 1999)
By Peg McCartt Hess and Kathleen Ohman Proch (BAAF 1993)
Price: £3.00
Handbook containing valuable guidance on good practice.

Contact in Adoption and Permanent Foster Care
Research, theory and practice
Edited by Elsbeth Neil and David Howe (BAAF, 2004)
Price: £14.95
This book gathers together the latest thoughts and research findings of many of the leading authorities on the subject of contact in adoption and permanent foster care.

Contact in permanent placement – Guidance for local authorities in England and Wales and Scotland (BAAF 1999)
Price: £4.50
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 permanent placement, and the implications for agency policy and practice.

Costs and outcomes of non-infant adoptions
by Julie Selwyn, Wendy Sturgess, David Quinton and Catherine Baxter (BAAF, May 2006)
Price: £12.95
This book reports the findings of a Department of Health-funded study of a complete sample of 130 children for whom an “adoption in best interests decision was made during a defined period in the 1990s. It allows an accurate assessment of the success of adoption as a placement choice to be made, and makes recommendations for policy and practice based on this complete sample. It will be of interest to all those involved in making placement decisions for “looked after” children.

The Cost of Foster Care
Investing in our children’s futures
by Robert Tapsfield and Felicity Collier (BAAF, 2005)
Price: £9.95

A campaigning report that assesses the expenditure which is required to transform foster care services across the UK in order to give children in public care the same opportunities to have a successful future as other children in society.

Could you be my parent? Adoption and Fostering Stories
Edited by Leonie Sturge-Moore (BAAF, November 2005)
Price: £8.50
This enthralling anthology gathers together the stories of children who need a new permanent family, and the people who have welcomed them into their homes. The informative, often moving accounts, taken from BAAF's family-finding newspaper Be My Parent, create a fascinating snapshot of the process of adoption and foster care, and the experiences of the carers and children involved.

Dealing with disruption
by Hedi Argent and Jeffrey Coleman (BAAF, May 2006)
Price: £7.95
This Good Practice Guide is concerned with children who move into permanent placements and then have to move again contrary to expectations. It considers various aspects of disruption, using case studies throughout to illustrate the points made, and useful appendices include a sample of a disruption report. This guide will be invaluable for professional involved in making permanent placements for children.

Delivering Foster Care
by John Triseliotis, Moira Borland and Malcolm Hill (BAAF, December 1999)
Price: £12.95
This book discusses comprehensively the changing nature of fostering from the perspective of recruitment and retention.

Dennis Duckling
By Paul Sambrooks and Barbara Orritt (The Children’s Society 2000)
Price: £4.95
This little book, for use with very young children (aged 4-8 years), tells the story of Dennis, an appealing duckling who has to leave his family when they can no longer look after him.

Developing Adoption Support and Therapy – New approaches for practice
By Angie Hart and Barry Luckock (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2004)
Price: £17.95
Explores the challenges of adoption and how best to support families coping with these demands. Draws together adoptive parents’ experiences, professional practice and empirical research to provide an integrative account of adoption support services.

Direct Work
Social Work with children and young people in care
Edited by Barry Luckock and Michelle Lefevre (BAAF 2008)
Price: £14.95
This comprehensive collection explores a variety of perspectives on direct work with children and young people in the care system. It includes contributions from a diverse range of practitioners, researchers and educators, all of which are illustrated with moving and imaginative examples.

Directory of Intermediary Support Services in England and Wales for Birth Relatives
Julia Feast and Marion Hundleby (BAAF , January 2005)
Price: £14.95
Information on every local authority, voluntary adoption agency, adoption support agency and independent adoption support agency in England and Wales; the services they provide and how to contact them.

Doctors For Children In Public Care - A resource guide advocating, protecting and promoting health
by Mary Mather, Daphne Batty and Heather Payne (BAAF, 2000)
Price: £10.00
This resource guide for doctors looking after children in public care focuses on, and tackles a range of issues they need to be aware of.