Assessing Adoptive Parents, Foster Carers and Kinship Carers: Improving Analysis and Understanding of Parenting Capacity

218 Pages·2016·1.73 MB·English

by  coll.

A Second Edition
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S
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Praise for the first edition IN
ASSESSING
‘I warmly recommend this collection of illuminating essays.’ G

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–Sir Martin Narey, Chair of the Adoption Leadership
D
Board and Government Advisor on Adoption O
P
‘Assessing Adoptive Parents and Foster Parents is a fantastic, practical and TIV ADOPTIVE
easy-to-read resource for social workers in adoption and fostering services. E

It brings together the most influential academics, translating theory into P
A
practice for busy social workers charged with finding families for our most R
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vulnerable children.’ N PARENTS,
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–Sarah Carter, Adoption Service Manager, Essex County Council S
,

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Assessing prospective adoptive parents, foster carers, kinship carers S
T FOSTER
and special guardians is an extremely complex task, and one that E
R
happens within a pressurized time frame. C
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Now fully updated and expanded to cover the assessment of kinship
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carers and special guardians, this book combines the latest findings E
R CARERS
from neuroscience with research on what makes good assessments S

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and offers guidance for making thorough, analytical and effective n
d
assessments. With contributions from leading experts including Dan K
Hughes, Jonathan Baylin, Kim Golding and Julie Selwyn, it provides IN
KINSHIP
S
you with the information you need to ensure the best possible chance H
of placement success. IP
C and
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R CARERS
E
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Joanne Alper is an experienced social worker and play S

therapist who has worked in local authority child care
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social work and child protection. Joanne is currently ite
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Director of Services at Adoptionplus. David Howe PhD b
is Emeritus Professor of Social Work at the University of y Jo Improving Analysis and
East Anglia, Norwich. He has practised, researched and a
n
taught in the field of child and family work, including ne Understanding of Parenting Capacity
adoption, for over 40 years. Alp
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a
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id
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ow Edited by Joanne Alper and David Howe
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Foreword by John Simmonds
JKP
Cover design by Blue Box Design

ASSESSING ADOPTIVE PARENTS,
FOSTER CARERS AND KINSHIP CARERS
also published in association with Adoptionplus
Billy Says... Series
Six therapeutic storybooks to help children on their
journey through fostering or adoption
Joanne Alper
ISBN 978 1 84905 667 0
eISBN 978 1 78450 171
Facilitating Meaningful Contact in Adoption and Fostering
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Planning, Assessing and Good Practice
Louis Sydney, Elsie Price and Adoptionplus
ISBN 978 1 84905 508 6
eISBN 978 0 85700 924 1
Preparing for Adoption
Everything Adopting Parents Need to Know About
Preparations, Introductions and the First Few Weeks
Julia Davis
ISBN 978 1 84905 456 0
eISBN 978 0 85700 831 2
Parenting Adopted Teenagers
Advice for the Adolescent Years
Rachel Staff
ISBN 978 1 84905 604 5
eISBN 978 1 78450 069 6
of related interest
Assessing Disorganized Attachment Behaviour in Children
An Evidence Based Model for Understanding and Supporting Families
Edited by David Shemmings and Yvonne Shemmings
ISBN 978 1 84905 322 8
eISBN 978 0 85700 663 9
Nurturing Attachments Training Resource
Running Parenting Groups for Adoptive Parents and Foster or Kinship Carers
Kim S. Golding
ISBN 978 1 84905 328 0
eISBN 978 0 85700 665 3
Nurturing Attachments
Supporting Children who are Fostered or Adopted
Kim S. Golding
ISBN 978 1 84310 614 2
eISBN 978 1 84642 750 3
Attachment, Trauma, and Healing
Understanding and Treating Attachment Disorder in Children, Families and Adults
2nd edition
Terry M. Levy and Michael Orlans
ISBN 978 1 84905 888 9
eISBN 978 0 85700 597 7
ASSESSING
ADOPTIVE
PARENTS,
FOSTER
CARERS
KINSHIP
and
CARERS
Improving Analysis and Understanding
of Parenting Capacity
Second Edition
Edited by
Joanne Alper and David Howe
Foreword by John Simmonds
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
First published in 2015
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
This second edition published in 2017 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2015, 2017
Foreword copyright © John Simmonds 2015, 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
material form (including photocopying, storing in any medium by electronic
means or transmitting) without the written permission of the copyright owner
except in accordance with the provisions of the law or under terms of a licence
issued in the UK by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd. www.cla.co.uk or in
overseas territories by the relevant reproduction rights organisation, for details
see www.ifrro.org. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to
reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work
may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 78592 177 3
eISBN 978 1 78450 456 4
For Ian, Evie and Lily

CONTENTS
FOREWORD BY JOHN SIMMONDS 9
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 11
1. Introduction 13
Joanne Alper
2. Why Are You Frightened of Being Parented? 19
Understanding Developmental Trauma
Kim S. Golding
3. The Home Study and Assessment of Applicants 37
Research Evidence
Julie Selwyn
4. A Case Study in Assessment 63
Adoptionplus
Joanne Alper
5. Parenting Well and Staying Well 85
Understanding the Qualities Needed for Parenting
Children with Developmental Trauma
Kim S. Golding and Ben Gurney-Smith
6. Understanding Developmental Trauma,
Parental Attachments, Caregiving and PACE 111
Dan Hughes
7. The Parenting Brain 131
Jonathan Baylin
8. Assessing Potential Kinship Placements 149
Joanne Alper and Ailsa Edwards
9. Reflective Functioning and Parenting 175
Jonathan Baylin
10. Conclusion 193
David Howe
CONTRIBUTORS 207
INDEX 211