Prof Beth Neil features on BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour
By: Communications
On Thursday 7 November, a new report into adoption was published by the adoption sub-group of the Public Law Working Group (PLWG): ‘Recommendations for best practice in respect of adoption’.
Prof Beth Neil, from the School of Social Work, was a key member of the group working on these contact recommendations, and the report draws extensively on the research studies that her and her colleagues have carried out at UEA.
On Friday 22 November, she was also involved in discussions around the recommendations of the report for BBC Radio 4’s Woman's Hour.
Prof Neil says: “Research shows adopted children can benefit from good quality direct contact with their birth family, yet in practice this doesn't often happen. More typically, only letter contact between the adoptive parents and birth parents is permitted, and in practice this form of contact is hard for families to keep up, leaving adopted young people with many unanswered questions about their identity.
“Contact planning needs to be based much more on what each individual child needs, with a focus on the quality of contact, rather than just reverting to letters as standard practice. Where it is safe for a child to stay in touch with a birth parent, grandparent, brother or sister, this can reduce feelings of loss and rejection, and help them build a healthy sense of who they are.
“It can also build closeness and trust between adoptive parents and children when adoptive parents support the child's need to understand their birth family.”
To listen to Beth’s discussions on Woman’s Hour, visit the BBC Sounds website (from 15:52 and 32:06-36:04).
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