Change of Plan away from adoption – an exploration from practitioner perspectives

Murphy, Anne and Rennolds, Natasha ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8169-534X (2026) Change of Plan away from adoption – an exploration from practitioner perspectives. In: 9th International Conference on Adoption Research, 2026-07-06 - 2026-07-09, Porto.

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Abstract

Introduction/Background This study explores where children had plans made for adoption that were subsequently changed to a different form of permanence. Each year in England, administrative data is collected on the numbers of children whose plans change, but these figures does not provide detail on the professional decision making behind these changes. This research aimed to address this gap by speaking to the practitioners involved in these cases. This presentation will focus on practice where plans changed due to challenges in matching with suitable adopters. Methods Adoption agencies were asked to identify example cases where a change of plan away from adoption had been made in the last calendar year. Twenty cases were identified, involving 31 children. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews with thirty-four adoption professionals who had been involved in the cases. Qualitative analysis focused on what went well, professional decision-making and shared characteristics across cases. One vignette based focus group with legal professionals was subsequently held to provide context on practice issues raised from the social work interviews. Results In twelve of the cases identified, practitioners described challenges in identifying suitable adopters. For most of these children, the decision was linked to uncertainty over their health and development, and practitioners reported extremely low levels of interest from prospective adopters in matching with these children. The plans changed to long term foster care, predominantly remaining with the current foster placement. It was reported that the foster carers were unwilling to provide legal permanence due to fears of a loss of ongoing support. The decision to stop family finding was a carefully considered decision that took account of the child’s expressed wishes, time limits set by the Court and the exhaustion of avenues of searching. Discussions/Conclusions This study presents fresh insight into family finding practices, and the challenges faced in placing children who have experienced early adversity and/or have uncertain developmental trajectories. The findings highlight the importance of adoption support in achieving permanence for children.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Other)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Social Work Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	22 Jul 2026 08:38
Last Modified:	22 Jul 2026 08:38
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103939
DOI:

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