Browse the latest publications from CoramBAAF below or search the bookshop by subject and theme.
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Child sexual abuse in foster and kinship care, special guardianship and adoption: Learning from safeguarding reviews 2007–2022
This is the first study to focus on children who were sexually abused by members of the household or family friends while living with foster carers, kinship carers, special guardians or adopters. It examines and analyses safeguarding reviews involving 87 children conducted between 2007 and 2022 and identifies what happened and why.
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Protecting looked after and adopted children from sexual abuse in care: A guide for professionals
This companion guide draws on information in the associated Good Practice Guide, 'Child sexual abuse in foster and kinship care, special guardianship and adoption: Learning from safeguarding reviews 2007–2022'. This guide details the results of a study of safeguarding reviews involving 87 children, who were sexually abused by members of the household or family friends while living with foster or kinship carers, special guardians or adopters.
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Matching children from England with adopters approved in Scotland
This Practice Note offers guidance on key aspects of children moving cross-border from England to Scotland to be placed with adopters approved in Scotland, specifically addressing common queries received by AFKA Scotland and CoramBAAF’s Advice Line.
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Exploring and assessing motivations to adopt
This guide will help social workers assess motivation to adopt, a key part of future adoption success. Information about fertility treatments, unconscious bias when assessing LGBTQ+ and single applicants, how to explore a wish to adopt for religious or environmental reasons, and discussion around the importance of expectations of family life, provide vital practice advice.
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New editions
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Adoption now
*NEW EDITION* This handy guide presents the law, regulations, standards and guidance relating to adoption today, covering all stages of the process and related information – in easily digested bite-sized chunks.
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The adopter's handbook
Thinking about, or in the process of, adopting a child? Read this book to prepare for the experience of adoption, find the right resources to help you and feel more in control through the ups and downs along the way.
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The secure base model
Secure Base is a model of caregiving in fostering and adoption that is based on theories of attachment and resilience while also drawing on child placement research.
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Promoting attachment and resilience
This practical guide is designed to support foster carers and adopters in offering the best possible sensitive care for troubled children who have often experienced trauma and loss, using the Secure Base Model.
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Good Practice Guides
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Assessing children and families for adoption support in England
This practice guide aims to enhance the quality of post-order adoption support assessments, and thereby improve outcomes and well-being for adopted children and families. It will help social work practitioners to carry out assessments that are informed by the best available evidence and practice wisdom.
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Adoption by foster carers
Adoption by foster carers is an area of practice that has attracted controversy and divergent views prevail. This Good Practice Guide explores some of the issues behind the contradictory views. It challenges practitioners to reflect on the established “practice wisdom” and adopt a more open-minded and child-centred approach.
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Dealing with disruption
This Good Practice Guide considers various aspects of disruption in both fostering and adoption placements and is an important tool for those involved in making permanent placements for children.
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Access to information for adult care leavers
2022 EDITION This Good Practice Guide aims to set out a protocol for dealing with Subject Access Requests (SARs) in order to improve services for adult care leavers and establish greater consistency and quality practice across organisations.
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Kinship care
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Kinship care and Special Guardianship: what it is and what it means
This short, colourful booklet is part of CoramBAAF’s series of publications for children and young people, which aim to explain concepts in adoption and fostering that they may find difficult to understand.
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Placing children with relatives overseas
This Practice Note emphasises the initial aspects to consider before seeking to assess a potential kinship carer who lives overseas. It is not intended to cover all aspects of the topic, but to help establish basic eligibility.
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Related by adoption
This useful handbook introduces grandparents-to-be and other relatives to information about adoption today. It offers some facts about the children who need to be adopted and discusses how the wider family can support and be involved in building a family through adoption.
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Unlawful placements in kinship care
In many situations, the reality of the placement becoming unlawful speaks more to the limitations of the regulations themselves, than whether the placement is the best place for a child to live. In an effort to help practitioners navigate these challenges, we have published the following a practice note.
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