The studies

There are seven studies in the initiative:

The characteristics, outcomes and meanings of four types of permanent placement

Principal investigator: Nina Biehal

Social Policy Research Unit, University of York

October 2004 to March 2009

The study compared four types of permanent placement for looked-after children: carer adoption, stranger adoption, long-term foster care and Special Guardianship. It also investigated the outcomes of placements for children for these various types of placement, except those for Special Guardianship. The research provided new data on which children, in which circumstances, may benefit from each type of placement.

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Protecting and promoting the well-being of very young children

Principal investigator: Harriet Ward

Centre for Child and Family Research, University of Loughborough

September 2004 to September 2010

This study explored whether very young children with similar needs or at similar risk of significant harm were looked after by some authorities, but remained at home with family support in others. It examined the reasons for variations found

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Family Finding and Matching in Adoption

Principal investigator: Elaine Farmer

School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol

January 2006 to February 2010

This study mapped adoption agencies' policies and approaches to linking-and- matching children to prospective adopters. It described and classified agencies'current approaches and compared their relative effectiveness, outcomes and costs. In addition, the study identified the indicators of a good match and suggested ways in which matching can be improved.

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Pathways to permanence for children of black, Asian and mixed ethnicity

Principal investigator: Julie Selwyn

The Hadley Centre, University of Bristol

November 2004 to March 2008

This was a comparative study of planning and decision making by professionals as it affects the progress of black and minority ethnic (BME) children, and non-BME children, towards permanent placements. The outcomes of placements for children were compared.

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Researching adoption support

Principal investigator: Beth Neil

School of Social Work and Psychosocial Sciences, University of East Anglia

January 2005 to June 2010

This study mapped, costed and evaluated services that support face-to-face contact after adoption, and those that support the birth parents and families of adopted children. The study explored the possible links between outcomes for service users, and service provision, service costs and case factors.

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Enhancing adoptive parenting

Principal investigators: Alan Rushton, Institute of Psychiatry, Elizabeth Monck, Thomas Coram Research Unit

October 2002 to March 2008

TThis study evaluated two parent-support programmes using a randomised controlled trial. It explored whether either a cognitive behavioural parenting programme or an educational programme about parenting special-needs children, when added to the standard service, was more effective at enhancing adoptive parenting than the standard social work service alone.

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Adoption and the Inter-agency Fee

Principal investigator: Julie Selwyn

The Hadley Centre, University of Bristol

January 2008 to September 2009

The study explored the costs of arranging adoptions by local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies. It estimated the costs for adoption agencies in the statutory and voluntary sectors of recruiting and preparing adopters, and placing children in adoptive families. It also looked at the costs of providing adoption support post placement and post order for children placed after 2002, and the overheads for adoption agencies.

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