Books, booklets & multimedia

Education – A carer’s handbook
By Barry Dixon (National Teaching & Advisory Service 2003)
Price: £5.99
Designed to help foster carers, this is a comprehensive guide through the complexities of the education system. It includes practical information on special needs provision, inclusion/exclusion, who to contact in school as well as a glossary of common acronyms and abbreviations.

Effective Fostering Panels
Written by Sarah Borthwick and Jenifer Lord (BAAF, 2006)
Price: £7.95
Guidance on regulations, process and good practice in fostering panels in England

Effective Panels - Guidance on good practice on regulations, process and good practice in adoption and permanence panels
by Jenifer Lord and Deborah Cullen (BAAF, 2005)
Price: £9.95
This guide applies to adoption and permanence panels in England and Wales. However, there are separate regulations and guidance for Wales and there are some differences between these and the regulations and guidance for England.

Elfa and the box of memories
By Michelle Bell, illustrated by Rachel Fuller (BAAF, May 2008)
Price: £9.95
A colourful picture book for young children which reinforces the importance of memories and the part they play in making us who we are.

The emotional well-being of young people seeking asylum in the UK
By Elaine Chase, Abigail Knight and June Statham (BAAF, June 2008)
Price: £10.95
A ground-breaking report presenting the findings from an in-depth study of the perspectives and experiences of children and young people arriving unaccompanied to seek asylum in the UK

Every child is special - Placing disabled children for permanence
by Jennifer Cousins (BAAF, March 2006)
Price: £9.95
This Good Practice Guide tracks the converging processes of planning for a permanent home for disabled children, and recruiting suitable families. It examines some of the organisational structures that form the context of this work and highlights the changes that are necessary if more disabled children are to have the security of a permanent family. No one who works with children should think that disability is someone else's issue. This guide is for all childcare workers, children's disability teams, adoption and fostering teams and adoption support agencies.

Exchanging Visions:
Papers on best practice in Europe for children separated from their birth parents
(BAAF, 1998)
Price: £6.95
A selection of papers from BAAF's first ever European conference which focused on how to achieve the best possible outcomes for children separated from their birth families.

The Family Business
By Robert Marsden (BAAF, March 2008)
Price: £7.95
Narrated by the adoptive father, this is an honest and realistic account of adopting a child with a disability and the impact of adoption on the whole family. It explores the challenges of day-to-day family life and the importance of focusing on the child’s personality rather than his disability.

Feeling Safe - Tina's story
by Sheila Byrne and Leigh Chambers , illustrated by Sarah Rawlings (BAAF, 1998)
Price: £4.00
Part of the "My Story" series of books. This title tells a story about a girl who is sexually abused at home and has to go into foster care.

Finding a way through - Therapeutic caring for children
Kate Cairns in conversation with John Simmonds (Produced by DVE Productions for BAAF , April 2003)
Price: £30.00 (+ £5.25 VAT)

This compelling film reflects on and analyses some of the tasks and challenges involved in the day-to-day parenting of children who have experienced abuse and trauma. Available in both DVD and video format

First Steps in Parenting the Child who Hurts: Tiddlers and toddlers (2nd edn)
Caroline Archer (JKP, 1999)
Price: £13.95
Primarily aimed at adoptive parents, but of considerable use to foster carers of young children, this book offers practical, sensitive guidance through the areas of separation, loss and trauma in early childhood.

Flying Solo
A single parent's adoption story
Julia Wise(BAAF, 2007)
Price: £7.95
Julia Wise gave up a high-flying career and a hectic life in London to move to the country and pave the way for what would be a life-changing experience – adopting a child on her own. This book tells Julia’s very personal story, but it is one that will resonate loudly with single adopters everywhere. Inspiring and accessible, Flying Solo describes the realities of life as the single parent of an adopted child.

Food, Shelter and Half a Chance
Selam Kidane (BAAF, 2001)
Price: £6.50
Assessing the needs of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

The Foster Carer’s Handbook
By Ann Wheal (Russell House Publishing 2000)
Price: £29.95
This handbook has been produced for foster and residential carers in England and Wales who are looking after children under 11 years of age. It contains checklists and practical exercises for young people to use and will help carers understand and implement many of the requirements of the Children’s Act 1989.

Foster Care – Theory and practice
By John Triseliotis, Clive Sellick and Robin Short (Batsford 1995)
Price: £15.95
This is an overview of the foster care field that brings together the many strands of theory and practice into one accessible and comprehensive volume.

Foster Carers – Why they stay and why they leave
By Ian Sinclair, Ian Gibbs and Kate Wilson (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2004)
Price: £17.95
Examines the problems and the positive experiences of those providing foster care. Essential reading for social work professionals, academics and foster carers themselves.

Foster Children – Where they go and how they get on
By Ian Sinclair, Claire Baker, Kate Wilson and Ian Gibbs (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2005)
Price: £19.95
Examines the impact on children three years after they have left foster care. The authors ask what influences outcomes of foster placements, what constitutes a good outcome, and what conditions are needed to ensure placement success.

Foster Placements – Why they succeed and why they fail
By Ian Sinclair, Kate Wilson and Ian Gibbs (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2004)
Price: £18.95
How can we determine success in foster placements? Based on exhaustive research this study discusses the primary concerns in foster placement planning, and considers the high frequency of placement breakdowns, their impact on the child’s behaviour and school performance, and the challenges this places on foster families..

Fostering a Child: A guide for people interested in fostering
Henrietta Bond (BAAF 2004)
Price: £8.50
This short guide describes the sorts of children needing to be fostered and why, as well as who can foster and what to do if you want to be a foster carer.

Fostering Attachments: Long-term outcomes in family group care
by Brian Cairns (BAAF, February 2004)
Price: £9.95
Where do separated children develop "better"? This compelling book tells how one family set out to provide some answers.

Fostering Changes: How to improve relationships and manage difficult behaviour
by Clare Pallett, Kathy Blackeby, William Yule, Roger Weissman and Stephen Scott (BAAF, 2005)
Price: £100 (discount for two or more copies)
A unique training course to help foster carers of children under 12 manage behavioural difficulties and form positive relationships.

Fostering Now: Current law including regulations, guidance and standards
by Fergus Smith and Chris Brann with Deborah Cullen and Mary Lane (BAAF, June 2004)
Price: £6.00
This handy, spiral-bound pocket book is a must for all fostering workers!

Fostering Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking and Refugee Children:
A training course for foster carers
By Selam Kidane and Penny Amerena (BAAF, May 2004)
Price: £10.00
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the issues surrounding foster care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children.

Fostering: What it is and what it means
by Shaila Shah (BAAF 2003)
Price: £3.95
This colourful and informative guide clearly explains in jargon free language what fostering means. Over 10,000 copies sold.

Getting sorted!
Written by Rebecca Davidson, Illustrated by Fran Offord (BAAF , 2006)
Price: £9.95
A practical handbook for young people aged 14-19 years who are either moving into foster or residential care, or are moving out to live on their own for the first time. Packed with advice and information, easy to read and use, and illustrated with highly original cartoons, this book offers essential training on living life safely and well for young people taking their first steps to independence and responsibility.

Getting more sorted
Written by Rebecca Davidson, Illustrated by Fran Offord (BAAF , 2006)
Price: £9.95
A practical handbook for young people aged 16-19 years who are moving out to live on their own for the first time. Packed with advice and information, easy to read and use, and illustrated with highly original cartoons, this book offers essential training on living life safely and well for young people taking their first steps to independence and responsibility.

Getting it Right
By Alexandra Plumtree (BAAF, November 2005)
Price: £5.50
This thoroughly updated new edition provides comprehensive advice on the preparation and writing of court reports in Scottish child care cases. A wide range of cases and topics are covered, making this guide an invaluable tool for all those engaged in writing court reports in child care cases.

Growing up in foster care
by Gillian Schofield , Mary Beek , Kay Sargent and June Thoburn (BAAF, November 2000 - reprinted 2004)
Price: £14.95
This book is essential reading for all social workers, managers, guardians and other professionals concerned for the welfare of children in long-term care.

A guide for medical advisers -
Advocating, promoting and protecting the health of looked after children in Scotland
by Ian Millar with Eileen Fursland (BAAF, March 2006)
Price: £6.95
Many medical advisers to adoption, fostering and permanence teams and panels have little direct experience of adoption and fostering, and can find the surrounding legal and social work context intimidating. This guide sets out the main issues surrounding the work of the medical adviser, looking particularly at the work of the medical adviser in Scotland, where the legal system has a significant effect on practice.

Helping children cope with separation and loss
Claudia Jewett
BAAF/Batsford 1995 (2nd edition)
Price: £16.95
Using case histories and sample dialogues, Claudia Jewett explains how to help children come to a timely resolution of their grief.

Hoping for the Best - Jack's story
by Sheila Byrne and Leigh Chambers , illustrated by Sarah Rawlings (BAAF, 1997)
Price: £4.00
Part of the "My Story" series of books. This title is about an adoption that did not work out.

If you don't stick with me, who will? The challenges and rewards of foster care
Edited by Henrietta Bond (BAAF, March 2005)
Price: £8.95
This collection of first person accounts tells the stories of complex forms of foster care and what it is like to foster children and young people who have experienced loss, trauma, abuse, or just a very difficult start in life.

“I’m here waiting” – Birth relatives views on Part II of the Adoption Contact Register for England and Wales
By Audrey Mullender and Sarah Kearn (BAAF 1997)
Price: £5.95 (previously £11.95)
Examines the views of 1,784 birth relatives who have entered their names on Part II of the Register. Calls for major changes to create a more sensitive post-adoption system and recommends changes in the law.

In Black and White
A story of an open transracial adoption
Nathalie Seymour(BAAF, 2007)
Price: £7.95
In Black and White is and extremely honest account of one couple’s attempt to create a family. Looking back over 30 years it describes how Nathalie and Tom establish a transracial family, and how they encourage their two adopted children to remain connected to their birth family and grow up with pride in their heritage. But neither they, nor the professionals advising them, could foresee where this approach would lead and how it would affect the children, their birth family and the whole process of adoption.

In Search of Belonging – Reflections by transracially adopted people
by Perlita Harris (BAAF, May 2006)
Price: £17.95
This is the first UK publication to give voice to transracially adopted children and adults. A highly original anthology of poetry, artwork, autobiography, memoir, and oral testimony, it brings together established writers, new and emerging writers and those who have never been published before. Contributions are drawn from over 50 transracially adopted people, ranging in age from six to 56, and born and adopted in the UK and countries as different as Kenya and Hong Kong, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and El Salavador.

Intercountry Adoption: Developments, Trends and Perspectives
by Peter Selman (BAAF, December 2000)
Price: £16.95
This unique anthology provides fascinating insights into a controversial and topical issue, as well as many possible lessons.

Joining Together, Jo's Story
by Sheila Byrne and Leigh Chambers , illustrated by Sarah Rawlings (BAAF, 1999)
Price: £4.00
Part of the "My Story" series of books. This title is about a step parent adoption.

Josh and Jaz have three mums
By Hedi Argent (BAAF, 2007)
Price: £8.95
This brightly illustrated book for young children tells the story of Josh and Jaz, five-year-old twins who have been adopted by a lesbian couple. They are worried that everyone in their class will laugh because they live with two mums and wish that they were like other children who just have one mum and dad. The story helps to explain the diversity and “difference” of family groups and encourages an understanding and appreciation of same sex parents.

Just a member of the family
by Bridget Betts (BAAF, September 2005)
Price: £40.00 + £7.50 VAT
This is the first film about adoption from a birth child´s point of view. It features a number of children talking candidly about how they prepared and were prepared for a child joining their family. Guidelines and suggested questions accompany the film. Available in video and DVD.

Keeping them in the family
By Joan Hunt, Suzette Waterhouse and Eleanor Lutman (BAAF, June 2008)
Price: £14.95
This timely research study examines the medium term outcomes for children placed in kinship care through care proceedings. It provides valuable information on the benefits and challenges of this form of care and what needs to be done if it is to be used effectively.

Kinship Care: What it is and what it means
By Hedi Argent
BAAF (2007)
Price: £3.95
This short and colourful booklet for children provides an explanation of “kin” and explores why some young people live in kinship care and what is special about it.

The Lamb-a-roo
By Diana Kimpton
Illustrated by Rosalind Bradshaw(Gullane Children’s Books, 2007)
Price: £5.99
A heart-warming picture book that celebrates diversity and the strength of love. It will appeal to young children who have been or are being adopted.

Learn the Child - Helping looked after children to learn
By Kate Cairns and Chris Stanway (BAAF, July 2004)
Price: £25.00
This resource recommends ways in which looked after children - and any other traumatised children - can be best supported in their learning.

Lesbian and gay fostering and adoption
Edited by Stephen Hicks and Janet McDermott
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1998
Price: £16.95
This immensely readable book will be of enormous encouragement to lesbians or gay men considering adoption or fostering.

Life Story Work 3rd edition
by Tony Ryan and Rodger Walker (BAAF, 2007 )
Price: £15.95
An authoritative guide that will help anyone who wants to use life story work as a way of helping children. This new edition has been comprehensively revised to take into account all recent legislation and incorporates substantial new material. It presents a rich and creative assortment of useful techniques and exercises for adults working with children in different settings.

Life Story Work: what it is and what it means
by Shaila Shah and Hedi Argent (BAAF, January 2006)
Price: £3.95
A guide for children and young people
This new addition to BAAF's ever-popular children's guide series explains what life story work actually is. It describes the actual process of undertaking life story work, including when to do it, who can help and how, what can go into a life story book and who owns the work. The guide also shows how life story work can be done using imaginative techniques and different media, and that it can be fun!

Linking and Introductions: Helping Children Join Adoptive Families
by Sheila Byrne (BAAF, December 2000)
Price: £6.50
This guide addresses the vital phase of linking children with new families prior to placement, and provides a child-centred framework for thinking through the major stages of linking and introducing children to potential families.

Listening to refugee children
By Selam Kidane (BAAF 2001, reprinted 2008)
Price: £7.95
The result of a project set up by BAAF’s Refugee Young People’s Forum, this thought-provoking book gives voice to a range of experiences of young unaccompanied asylum-seekers and refugees.

Living with a New Family
by Sheila Byrne and Leigh Chambers , illustrated by Sarah Rawlings (BAAF, 1997)
Price: £4.00
Part of the "My Story" series of books. This title is about a brother and sister being adopted.

Looking after our own: the stories of black and Asian adopters
Edited by Hope Massiah (BAAF, 2005)
Price: £9.95
Essential reading for anyone considering adopting a child, especially those from minority ethnic communities, and for social services professionals concerned to recruit and retain black adopters.

Looking after Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking and Refugee Children
by Selam Kidane and Penny Amerena (BAAF, 2005)
Price: £10.00
A training course for social care professionals.

Loving & Living with Traumatised Children
Megan Hirst (BAAF , February 2005)
Price: £6.50
This book tells the story of nine adoptive parents who came together for mutual support to look at the effects on themselves of living with traumatised children.