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This Practice Note provides guidance for social workers and policy makers on managing meetings between prospective adopters and children prior to matching. A range of "pre-meets" are starting to be used by agencies, and this Practice Note sets out the benefits and challenges of this approach.

Obesity is an escalating health problem in many countries, including the UK. Obesity is also a contentious area of practice, and for social workers involved in the assessment of applicants to foster and adopt it is just one of the many important issues to be considered, and can be very challenging.

This book reports the findings of a study which compared three types of permanent placement: adoption by strangers, adoption by carers, and long-term foster care. What were the outcomes for the children? How stable were the different placements? And what were the emotional, behavioural and relationship difficulties of children in each type of home? This book provides important evidence on the outcomes of different permanent placements.

The Adoption Research Initiative was a Government-funded programme to explore the effects of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. Seven large and complex studies considered a range of areas, including adoption, disruption, long-term fostering, and matching practices. This summary brings together and analyses the results of all seven studies.

Single carers are a valuable resource for waiting looked after children, but more could be done to increase the numbers coming forward, to improve the way in which they are assessed, and ensure that they get the support they need. This practice guide reviews the research, relevant legislation, and policy and practice issues surrounding the recruitment, assessment and support of single carers, and provides authoritative practice advice for those involved.

This quick reference guide explores the important issue of recruiting new carers and welcoming a wide range of permanent families. Written in an accessible and straightforward style it provides a breadth of information and advice that will provide social workers with a framework for best practice in family-finding.

This is a book about ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. It is a collection of first-person accounts from foster carers, who tell us what it's like to foster children and young people, many of whom have experienced loss, trauma, abuse, or just a very difficult start in life. Invariably, they experience problems, challenges and disappointments, but also the successes, triumphs and rewards that fostering can offer.

Reunification has been little studied in the UK but given its place in care planning for looked after children, it certainly deserves greater attention. This study, looking at 180 children, follows the patterns and outcomes of return home; which factors are associated with successful and unsuccessful returns; and the families' views on returns. The results of the study provide important conclusions for policy and practice.

Rufus the cat loved curling up in his favourite place and dreaming of pilchards. But it hadn’t always been like this… When Rufus was a kitten, he lived with a different family who weren’t always kind. Would he ever find a safe place where he could be cosy and calm and dream his dreams?