The end of non-consensual adoption? Promoting the wellbeing of children in care

In the UK, the number of children in care has been increasing for several years; such children have backgrounds characterised by trauma, abuse and neglect. The UK is almost unique in Europe in promoting adoption for children in care. Since 2010 adoption has been promoted as a favoured means of enhancing the well-being of such children unable to return to their parents or birth family members, and the number of children being adopted has increased 50% in the last 2 years. Research carried out in the US and the UK has demonstrated developmental catch up and significant improvements in adopted children’s physical and emotional well-being. However, adoption is highly contested and has come under challenge in the UK courts. This paper will link research by the two authors into this policy conflict: whether we are facing the end of adoption in the UK, and the implications for practice.