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Maintaining contact between parents and children in the public care
Author(s) -
Masson Judith
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/j.1099-0860.1997.tb00031.x
Subject(s) - social contact , general partnership , work (physics) , social work , nursing , psychology , medicine , developmental psychology , business , political science , engineering , mechanical engineering , law , finance
Children looked after by local authorities are at risk of losing contact with parents and significant others despite emphasis in the Children Act 1989 on partnership and promoting contact. Work to maintain contact should address losses before as well as during care. Contact declines over time with lower rates for children in foster care and as social work support for families diminishes. Contact after adoption is increasing; methods of indirect contact developed by adoption agencies may help to maintain contact for looked after children. Lost contact can be restored with social work support.