Research on “Child placement” in the Centre has focussed primarily on children in foster care and adoption, though wider related issues have recently been attracting research funding.
1. Foster care – Aspects of this theme include projects examining: foster care; child placement and youth offending; residential care transitions; and care planning.
Birth parents in foster care have been a neglected group in practice and research and in 2008-9 Gillian Schofield led a qualitative study of parents’ experiences, which ran in parallel with studies in Norway and Sweden. Clive Sellick focussed on an investigation of the commissioning of placements from the independent fostering sector.
The impact of abuse, the need for permanence and secure base caregiving are core issues in child placement, and it was possible to explore them further in a particularly challenging context in the Looked after Children and Offending project, a partnership with TACT, funded by the Big Lottery. This project built on Schofield’s expertise in child placement, but also on expertise in the CRCF from psychology and criminology.
Schofield was funded (2012-2014) by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to undertake an evaluation of an innovative transitions programme at Break, a voluntary residential home provider.
A very different and innovative area of research on support for foster placements was in relation to the use of internet technology to promote communication with and between foster carers. Jane Dodsworth was funded by the Digital Technology unit of the Department of Community and Local Government to evaluate the introduction of a specially designed secure website.
2. Residential care – under development
3. Adoption - Social work research at UEA has had an impact on child placement practice since the 1980s when June Thoburn and David Howe provided leadership in the areas of permanence and adoption. Research teams since 2008 have received continuous funding from a range of sources to undertake research, as well as influence policy and practice debates, with the focus including adoption, foster care and residential care, with new areas emerging. Beth Neil has led the adoption field in the area of research on contact and support for birth parents. Since 2008, she has completed her two DCSF funded linked studies, Helping Birth Families and Supporting Complex Contact. In 2012 she began a two year Nuffield Foundation funded follow up study (Phase 3) of her longitudinal cohort of early adopted children. Click here to learn about the Contact after adoption study.
4. Care Planning - An ESRC funded project led by Jonathan Dickens is underway, on planning for children in care and the role of the independent reviewing officer (IRO). Local authorities are ‘corporate parents’ for the children they are looking after, and effective care planning is essential for ensuring their well-being and the best possible outcomes. Since 2004 there has been a system of IROs to monitor the way that local authorities implement the plans, and to ensure that the child’s wishes and feelings are fully considered. In April 2011, new government regulations and guidance came into force, which (amongst other things) strengthened the IRO’s role.
This study will:
- investigate how the new care planning regulations and guidance are being implemented;
- investigate the effectiveness of IROs for monitoring plans, promoting children's well-being, and managing their participation;
- examine overlaps and differences in the roles and responsibilities of the various individuals involved, and how disagreements are managed;
- ascertain the views of children and parents about the care planning and review process, particularly the role of the IRO.
The research will focus on four local authorities in England. It will involve a study of case files of 120 children, plus interviews with a sub-sample of social workers, IROs, parents and young people. There will also be a national survey of IROs and social work managers.
Go to project page
