Practice and outcomes for special guardianship and adoptive families with safeguarding issues: A mixed methods study

Practice and outcomes for special guardianship and adoptive families with safeguarding issues: A mixed methods study

Joanna Garstang, Christine Christie, Katy Burch, Keith Moultrie, Nutmeg Hallett, Julie Taylor · University of Birmingham / Nuffield Foundation

Researchers reviewed files for 115 children receiving statutory safeguarding interventions after adoption or special guardianship in five local authorities, with follow-up to 2024. Thirty-seven were adopted. The study also interviewed professionals and carers. Case analysis identified overlapping risks, complex developmental and mental-health needs, and differing subsequent outcomes. This entry focuses on safeguarding and child outcomes.

Limitations: Highly selected safeguarding sample, not a measure of abuse prevalence among all adoptees. Adoption and special guardianship are combined in many analyses. Files and adult accounts supplied the evidence; children’s own research interviews were not included. Some authorities could not reliably identify adopted children. University research funded by the Nuffield Foundation, an independent charitable funder.

Research type

Mixed-methods safeguarding research

Source reviewed

Full text

Peer reviewed

No

Age group

Mixed