A marginalised resource? Recruiting, assessing and supporting single carers

Book | £9.95 inc. VAT | Available from BAAF

For many single men and women who are considering parenting, adoption or fostering is their first choice, but they have too often been regarded as a “last resort” by family placement agencies. Although there are a growing number of single people who are applying to adopt or foster, or are already successfully caring for children, they remain an under-used resource. With a national shortfall of adoptive and foster placements, agencies need to ensure that they do not deter single applicants from coming forward as potential carers – and that they work carefully and successfully to assess and support single applicants.

What is the legal position on adoption and fostering by single men and women? How can agencies successfully recruit and support single adopters and carers? What issues need to be considered when assessing single men and women for adoption or fostering?

This Good Practice Guide reviews the research, the relevant legislation across the UK, and the policy and practice issues surrounding these questions. It also discusses:

  • Ways of recruiting single men and women as adopters and foster carers
  • Issues of best practice at all stages of the assessment process
  • Ways for social workers to support single adopters and carers more effectively
  • Changing perceptions of single male carers and their future role in adoption and fostering

Throughout the book carers describe, in their own words, how they fared at different points in the recruitment and assessment process. Many tell how they are still waiting to be matched.

With a wealth of practical guidance for those conducting assessments and working with single adopters and carers, as well as signposts to further resources and references, this Good Practice Guide will be of real benefit to social workers, social work managers, and all those involved with the recruitment, assessment and support of foster carers and adopters.

Text is courtesy of BAAF.