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Key messages from research about supporting birth relatives Key messages from research about supporting birth relatives

Key messages from research about supporting birth relatives - PowerPoint Presentation

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Key messages from research about supporting birth relatives - PPT Presentation

1 Professor Beth Neil Research in Practice Change project Adoption and Children Act 2002 National minimum standards Birth parents and birth families are entitled to services that recognise the lifelong implications of adoption They will be treated fairly openly and with respect throug ID: 583036

contact birth services adoption birth contact adoption services neil support relatives child parents acceptance people feelings received amp anger

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Slide1

Key messages from research about supporting birth relatives

1

Professor Beth Neil

Research in Practice Change projectSlide2

Adoption and Children Act 2002: National minimum standards

‘Birth parents and birth families …are entitled to services that recognise the lifelong implications of adoption. They will be treated fairly, openly and with respect throughout the adoption process.’

They must have access to a range of support services before and after adoption

Birth parents are entitled to a support worker independent of the child's social worker

Birth families should be enabled to contribute to the maintenance of their child’s heritageSlide3

Birth parent research at UEA

The Contact after Adoption study

Included interviews with 72 birth relatives involved in post adoption

contact, some up to 18 years post placement

(Neil 2007; Young & Neil

2004,

Neil et al, 2015)

The ‘Helping Birth Families’ Project

77 birth relatives.

(Neil et al, 2010; Neil &

Cossar

2009;

Neil

2013)Slide4

4Slide5

Birth families needsSlide6

6

A survey of take up of support services N= 495 (N

eil et al 2010)

Who was referred? Mothers (67%), fathers (20%), others (13%)

56% had used a service: fathers

significantly less likely

to

take up serviceTake up best when referral by self or others vs children's services (80% vs 57%)Take up varied dramatically by agency (19-74%)Slide7

Helping birth families (N

eil et al, 2010)

Two thirds of birth relatives interviewed had used support services

83% of these received emotional support

54% received advice and information

60% received help with contact

48% received advocacy and liaison

33% received group or peer supportSlide8

Evaluations of support services

73% of birth relatives were primarily positive about support services, 21% were mixed/neutral, 6% were primarily negative

Factors associated with satisfaction : (1) Relationship-based support

My support worker was the first person I have ever spoken to about losing the children who listened, who didn’t judge, who didn’t assume that because I had lost my children I was a bad person.Slide9

(2) Confidentiality and independence

If I felt really down and anxious I wouldn’t have dared tell social services because they’d say I’m being unpredictable, I can’t control my emotions and I’d be scared they wouldn’t let me see my kids. Where if I said that to this support worker she probably

thinks,

like me, like most people, that it’s normal to feel like that if your kids are being taken awaySlide10

(3) A flexible and proactive approach

Contact outside of scheduled appointments

Flexibility about how much and what type of support could be accessed

Being able to drop in and out of services

Flexibility about

where

support was provided

Workers ‘making the running’ and being proactive in keeping in touchSlide11

Measuring outcomes

Coping with adoption

Acceptance of dual connection

Feelings about the outcomes of adoption for the child

Coping with the impact of adoption on self

Brief Symptom Inventory (

Derogatis

) 53 item self report questionnaireSlide12

Does using services help birth relatives?

Average cost over 1 year = £511 (0-£4563)

The greater the costs and services (reported by agency) the greater the improvement in mental health scores over the follow up period

Birth relatives who had used services had significantly higher ‘coping with adoption’ scores than those who had not used servicesSlide13

The importance of a range of services

Use of a greater range of services was associated with higher levels of coping

The number of different types of services received used predicted satisfaction with service provisionSlide14

14

The helping birth families study: contact issues

Contact with child frequently lost

before

adoption

Constructive participation in contact planning, life story work, meeting adopters

etc

affected by poor relationship with SSD and poor functioning of parentMany parents reported ‘contact gap’ between child’s placement with adopters and first contact of 18 months or so; no info in this periodHelp with contact needed and valued and often a ‘foot in the door’ Slide15

Three patterns of adjustment/acceptance (Neil, 2007)

Positive acceptance

Resignation

Anger and resistanceSlide16

Positive Acceptance

Acknowledging that child is now also part of another family, and has other parents

Positive feelings about the adoptive parents

Feeling pleased about how things had worked out for the child

Positive participation in contact - staying in touch and supporting the child and adoptive parentsSlide17

Achieving positive acceptance: lessons about supporting birth relatives

Good post adoption contact in itself promotes birth relatives’ adjustment

Support for birth relatives is an essential part of supporting contact

Offering help with contact can be a ‘way in’ to supporting birth relatives more generallySlide18

Resignation

The reality of the loss is accepted, but…

The person feels they have no choice but to accept this: there is nothing they can do

Feelings of being unable to control events

Feelings of shame, worthlessness and guilt

Often anxious about child

Often unable to initiate or respond to contact

Main feelings about adoption are sadness and depression Slide19

What do these feelings suggest about support?

Passivity, resignation and low self worth may be reasons why people don’t seek out services or take up offers of services

A sense of loss is the most prominent feeling, so emotional support may be valued

Non judgemental support helps with low self esteemSlide20

Anger and resistance

The reality of the loss of the child is (usually) understood, but not accepted emotionally

Anger at others; adopters not ‘real’ parents

Anger could stop people keeping up contact:

“They do that in prison and I’m not a prisoner.”

Or it could motivate people to keep in contact:

“I don't want her growing up thinking that it's me that's done it when it's them that's done it.”Slide21

Support issues

For some, anger, hostility and lack of trust will be significant barriers to accepting support

Fair and open treatment

before

and

during

adoption may reduce anger

after adoptionIndependence and confidentiality is vital Offers to help may need to be repeated at different points in time, or by different people Advocacy, information and advice, practical support or help with contact may be more acceptable than counsellingIntense, unrealistic perceptions of adoption that don’t change may be contraindication for contactSlide22

22

Acceptance of adoption: changes over time

Most changes in acceptance happened early on. These categories then were generally stable. Changes in teenage years were between ‘acceptance’ and resignation’ category and were linked to changes in contact

Birth relatives encountered new challenges in child’s teenage years: child’s increase in problems; child’s changing views of contact; worries about what happens when child aged 18; contact suddenly ceasingSlide23

Conclusions about birth relative support

Different needs of different people at different stages: take account of birth relative type, level of acceptance, time since adoption, special needs

etc

Getting people to start and continue using services is challenging: Flexible casework services with a proactive outreach approach are indicatedSlide24

Further reading

The UEA ‘Helping birth families’ study: http://www.adoptionresearchinitiative.org.uk/study5.html

Neil, E., Beek, M. & Ward, E. (2015)

Contact after adoption: a longitudinal study of post adoption contact arrangements

. London: CoramBAAF.

Neil, E. (2013) The mental distress of the birth relatives of adopted children: ‘disease’ or ‘unease’? Findings from a UK study.

Health and Social Care in the Community

, 21(2), 191-199. Cossar, J and Neil, E. (2013) Making sense of siblings: connections and severances in post-adoption contact. Child and Family Social Work, 18, 67-76. Slide25

25

Neil, E., Cossar, J., Lorgelly, P. and Young, J. (2010

)

Helping Birth families: services costs and outcomes.

London:

BAAF.

Cossar, J. and Neil, E. (2010) Supporting the birth relatives of adopted children: how accessible are services?

British Journal of Social Work 40/5: 1368-1386.Neil, E. (2009) ‘The corresponding experiences of adoptive parents and birth relatives in open adoptions’. In Wrobel, G. and Neil, E. (Eds.) International advances in adoption research for practice. Chichester: Wiley/Blackwell. Slide26

26

Neil, E. (2007

)

‘Coming to Terms with the Loss of a Child: The Feelings of Birth Parents and Grandparents about Adoption and Post-Adoption Contact’,

Adoption Quarterly, 10

(1), pp. 1-23.

Young, J. & Neil, E. (2004

) The ‘Contact after Adoption’ study: The perspective of birth relatives after non-voluntary adoption. In E. Neil & D. Howe (eds.), Contact in Adoption and Permanent Foster Care: Research, Theory and Practice. London: BAAF.Neil, E. (2003) Accepting the reality of adoption: Birth relatives' experiences of face-to-face contact. Adoption & Fostering, 27(2), 32-43.