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This paper was concerned with the changing nature of adoptive kinship. The analysis was located in the context of current sociological and anthropological theory and parallels were drawn with other alternative family forms i.e. gay and lesbian families, and families formed by new reproductive technologies. Adoption as a family form has largely been neglected in sociological and anthropological literature, yet the changing nature of adoption, particularly in relation to open adoption and gay and lesbian adoption, means that it has an important contribution to make to new discourses of kinship. Adoption is far more likely to feature in psychological and child welfare literature than that on the family and kinship, yet it is a unique addition to the heterogeneous family landscape with a profound impact on cultural definitions of family and kinship. By considering contemporary adoption practice through a social construction and kinship theory lens, the paper argues that new kinship studies are helpful in conceptualizing adoptive kinship. Adoption also has a valuable and significant contribution to make to contemporary kinship theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The importance of ongoing contact for children with members of their birth families is currently a matter of great concern to both practitioners and academics and there is ongoing debate about the merits or otherwise of the different forms of post adoption contact. Research evidence remains largely inconclusive and the Prime Minister in his review of adoption highlighted the urgent need for more research evidence to assist professionals in making decisions about adoption and contact. To date, much of the research does not adequately differentiate between types and frequency of contact, the conditions under which contact is arranged and members of birth families who are involved. Whilst the needs of the child should be at the forefront of any decision about contact, it is also important to consider the repercussions for others involved in contact arrangements. This paper reports the findings from a sample of eleven adoptive kinship networks. Adoptive parents, children and birth relatives from the same kinship networks who were sharing direct face-to-face contact were interviewed. We were able to explore the development of relationships between adults and the ways in which their interaction affected the experience of contact as reported to us by the children. By focusing on issues associated with the convergence or divergence of attitudes, feelings and perceptions we identify factors that facilitate or impede beneficial contact and contribute to its maintenance. Understanding similarities and differences between participants in the adoption triangle provides important information for adults and children involved in face-to-face contact and for those professionals attempting to facilitate the openness process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]