| Title: |
Family Routes Study: Making Decisions about Their Children's Care. Research Report |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Sarah Hamilton; Rachel Blades; Department for Education (DfE) (United Kingdom); Ecorys |
| Source: |
UK Department for Education. 2025. |
| Availability: |
UK Department for Education. Castle View House East Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 2GJ, UK. Tel: +44-37-0000-2288; Fax: +44-19-2873-8248; Web site: http://www.education.gov.uk |
| Peer Reviewed: |
N |
| Page Count: |
61 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Document Type: |
Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: |
Foreign Countries; Adoption; Child Custody; Legal Responsibility; Decision Making; Influences; Help Seeking; Child Rearing; Family Relationship; Caregiver Child Relationship; Parent Child Relationship; Family Needs; Childhood Needs; Social Support Groups |
| Geographic Terms: |
United Kingdom (England) |
| ISBN: |
978-1-83870-663-0 |
| Abstract: |
The Family Routes study is a longitudinal, mixed methods study intended to track the needs, experiences and outcomes of children leaving care on an Adoption Order (AO) or Special Guardianship Order (SGO) in England. The study aims to provide a greater understanding of families' experiences as young people growing up in adoptive and special guardianship families reach adolescence and early adulthood, and to support improved long-term outcomes. This is one of a series of reports drawing on in-depth interviews with 74 families: 40 adoptive families and 34 special guardianship families. The main report on children and young people's needs, experiences and outcomes is forthcoming, alongside further themed reports and practice guidance. Families were eligible to take part if their young person was aged between 12 and 25 years and had been in care in England prior to being placed in their family under a permanence order. In 2024, the first of 2 planned in-depth interview waves focussed on family life, support networks and services, experiences of education, and health and wellbeing. A strength of the Family Routes study is the ability of families to look back over years to identify how things changed throughout the young person's childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. These long-term retrospective reflections on decisions (in some cases, taken around 20 years ago) are used to highlight the support families feel helped, or might have helped, them with their decisions at 3 points: deciding to adopt or become a special guardian; deciding to seek help; and -- among those who were really struggling -- deciding that the young person could no longer live in their care. This report outlines how families can be better supported at these key decision-making points. |
| Abstractor: |
ERIC |
| Entry Date: |
2026 |
| Accession Number: |
ED680018 |
| Database: |
ERIC |