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Whilst there is a general international trend towards more open adoption, there is considerable variation between agencies in the extent to which they are prepared to support different forms of contact arrangements. Agencies have a pivotal role to play in decisions about contact and early planning that is integrated into the assessment and preparation of prospective adopters is fundamental to its success. This paper reports on adoptive parents' experiences of the process of preparation and planning for direct, face-to-face contact. During preparation, agencies were clearly getting the message across to prospective adopters about the importance of contact for the child's well being. However, insufficient attention was directed at helping adopters to anticipate their feelings towards birth relatives and their responses to the kinds of management issues that might arise after adoption. There was considerable variation in the extent to which adopters were involved in the process of planning detailed contact arrangements, and this seemed to bear relevance on the success or otherwise of subsequent contact arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, the fostering and adoption of children by lesbians and gay men in the United Kingdom has gained considerable acceptance in legislation and policy This paper traces these changes, particularly those occurring during the New Labour period of `liberal equality'. Despite this progress, as evidenced by the backlash from some leaders of the religious and political right, it is argued that prejudice continues. Within this context of new opportunities, but continued prejudice, this paper identifies two important areas for adoptive parents,foster carers and social work practitioners: firstly, the challenges that might confront gay and lesbian young people and secondly, the process by which gay and lesbian people are assessed as potential carers by fostering and adoption agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]