The Department for Education has published research on adoption challenges, interventions and adoption disruption, examining the reasons why adoptions break down. Key findings include:
· 9% of adoption placements break down before the child reaches 18
· Adoption placements are ten times more likely to break down in the teenage years, compared with children under the age of 4, with violence towards parents and siblings given as the main reason (80%) why adoptees had left home
· Children who were older at entry to care, who had experienced more moves while looked after, and who had waited longer to be placed with their adoptive families were more likely to have a disrupted placement
· Just over a third of adoptive parents reported no or few difficulties, but about a quarter of families described major challenging behavior, inadequate support and feeling blamed for the child’s difficulties
· 9% of adoption placements break down before the child reaches 18
· Adoption placements are ten times more likely to break down in the teenage years, compared with children under the age of 4, with violence towards parents and siblings given as the main reason (80%) why adoptees had left home
· Children who were older at entry to care, who had experienced more moves while looked after, and who had waited longer to be placed with their adoptive families were more likely to have a disrupted placement
· Just over a third of adoptive parents reported no or few difficulties, but about a quarter of families described major challenging behavior, inadequate support and feeling blamed for the child’s difficulties