‘What is the impact of birth family contact on children in adoption and long‐term foster care?’ A systematic review

Abstract

A B S T R AC TContact plans for children in adoption and long-term foster care are decided on a case-by-case basis, as directed by the paramountcy principle in the Children Act (1989). The idea that birth family contact helps children resolve issues around attachment, separation and loss, and identity is prevalent in social work practice. However, evidence revealing the detrimental impact of contact has been used to support increasingly restrictive legislation. The current review aims to provide policy-makers and social workers with a resource to guide decisions in permanency planning by evaluating this evidence and reported outcomes for children. The research question and exclusion/inclusion criteria were formulated and used to develop a search strategy. Of the 412 potential titles returned, 11 were of sufficient quality to include in the thematic synthesis. Results were mixed and significantly influenced by moderator variables such as the pre-existing relationship between children and their birth families. Outcomes were particularly positive when there was a collaborative approach between birth families and adoptive parents or foster carers. Outcomes tended to be poorest for children who had ongoing contact with maltreating birth parents. The review findings support current policy and previous research in recommending a more reflexive approach to assessing and planning contact.

How foster carers experience agency support for birth family contact

“…This also confirms the existing knowledge base about the potential for contact to be harmful for some children (Boyle, 2017). There was general agreement that direct contact could allow meaningful birth family relationships to flourish.…”

“…For these carers, agency involvement was a buffer between themselves and birth relatives, particularly parents. Far from taking the case-by-case approach to contact that is recommended in the literature (Boyle, 2017;Neil et al, 2011), carers felt that agencies rigidly adhered to contact arrangements, sometimes even years after final court orders had been made, and failed to apply their discretion where warranted. Others wanted to ensure physical distance between their own family and the child's birth relatives due to safety concerns.…”

“…A recent systematic review of studies about direct contact in permanent care by Boyle (2017) has helped clarify the state of knowledge, finding that when contact goes well, it can assist children to resolve grief and loss, come to terms with their history, strengthen attachments to carers, and retain positive family relationships. This is, in part, an inevitable limitation of generalizing from research, which often involves small samples, qualitative methods, and a focus on specific types of contact or placement settings.…”

Promoting Contact for Children in State Care: Learning from Northern Ireland on the Development of a Framework for Assessing Contact

“…As such, while discussions and decisions about the contact arrangements for children should be predicated upon the child's wishes and what is believed to be appropriate for the child, this cannot be done without appropriate engagement with other key actors, specifically the child's birth family and carers. Too often the views of birth parents and carers are sought, but not fully considered and incorporated into the decision making process (Boyle, 2017). This can result in frustration for these key people in the lives of children, and may undermine and frustrate the potential for child contact to be both an enjoyable experience for children, and beneficial in promoting placement stability and the long term plans for children, whether this is rehabilitation to the care of their birth family or some other form of permanent care.…”

“…This can result in frustration for these key people in the lives of children, and may undermine and frustrate the potential for child contact to be both an enjoyable experience for children, and beneficial in promoting placement stability and the long term plans for children, whether this is rehabilitation to the care of their birth family or some other form of permanent care. As Boyle's (2017) systematic review highlights, children are more likely to benefit from contact when carers have an open attitude towards contact and when birth family acceptance of the child's need to form an attachment to their carer is high. This requires that adults also have an opportunity for their needs in regards to contact to be both heard and acted upon, so that everyone feels their perspective has been considered and their needs addressed.…”