CYP Now - Review triggers debate over the role of contact in adoption cases

Review finds poor contact with birth families can cause identity problems, with report author calling for a culture change among practitioners. However, social work leaders say legislation should be revised to make contact easier.

A review into the role of social workers in adoptions has found that a lack of contact with birth families can result in serious identity issues for children, potentially storing up problems for the future.

On the back of the findings, the British Association of Social Workers, which commissioned the report, is calling for a rethink of adoption law to consider a more open approach to contact between children and birth families.

However, professor Brigid Featherstone, one of the lead authors of the review, says that instead of legislative change, her preference is for a change in culture among social workers so that they judge situations on a case-by-case basis.

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