Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of a Support Service for Adoptive Parents: A Case Study of Evaluating the Adopter Champions Programme ()
1. Introduction
Adoption provides a child or children, who cannot be raised by their own parents, a new family. It is a legal procedure which transfers parental responsibility for the child to the adoptive parents. In the adoption process ’adoption disruption’ is always a possibility (Wijedasa & Selwyn, 2017) . Adoption disruption refers to a breakdown in the adoption placement where a child is placed back into foster care. This area is under-researched probably because this only affects around 3% of adoptions in England (Wijedasa & Selwyn, 2017) . Nevertheless, adoption disruption has significant impacts, with financial implications to the government and potential emotional trauma for the adopted child and adoptive parents (DfE, 2014; McSherry & McAnne, 2022) .
There have been no national studies on adoption disruption in the UK (Department for Education, DfE, 2014) , while most research into post-adoption support tends to focus on the first 1 - 2 years after placement (Rushton & Dance, 2002; Rushton & Monck, 2009) . However, according to Selwyn et al. (2014) , it seems that two thirds of disruptions are instigated by parents. A report by DfE highlights that research consistently shows that one of the key factors associated with adoption disruptions relates to delay and lack of support to adoptive families (DfE, 2014) . Therefore, when aiming to reduce adoption disruption, it is important to consider how to improve parent-child relationships and how to ensure access to quality support for adoptive families. The following paper explores the role that specific support programmes play in supporting adoptive families post adoption, to overcome challenges and reduce adoption disruption. It specifically does this by focusing on the Adopter Champions Programme (provided by PACT: Parents and Children Together), which is used as a case study to understand what can help to support adoptive families.
It is important to look closer at the support provided to adopters, when exploring the gap in relation to failure to help children and families facing difficulties post-adoption, in order to support adoption success and the well-being of the new families. This is because governments are required to provide child protection and to do all they can to ensure that children are safe (Article 19, 1989). Failure to help children and families facing difficulties post-adoption could be considered a form of child neglect. In the UK, in most cases, child protection is delivered by other bodies, such as family support (DfE, 2014) , but there is little evidence around what support works. This paper addressed part of this gap, by exploring the benefits and challenges of a support service for adoptive parents, namely the Adopter Champions programme. The study focused on the key issues faced by adopters and explored the adopters experience of the Adopter Champions programme, aiming to understand and learn how such programmes can be used to help adopters.
The Adopter Champions Programme
Parents and Children Together (PACT) is a charity established in 1911 and currently based in the South of England; it runs community projects supporting vulnerable children and adults facing a range of issues while it also finds, trains, prepares and supports people who want to become a parent through adoption. One of the programmes that it runs is the Adopter Champions programme, which provides peer support for people navigating adoptions, aiming to reduce adoption disruption. During 2021-22 alone PACT placed 78 children with 56 families and 117 families were supported by the Adopter Champions team. To qualify for the role of Adopter Champion, one must have been an adopter for a minimum of 5 years and have adopted children who have been through/are currently in their teenager years. It is also a requirement to have experience overcoming issues relating to the adoption process, as this might help when supporting new adopters through the Adopter Champions service.
After being referred, a family’s needs are assessed to establish how to support them most effectively, generally resulting in them being assigned the member of the Adopter Champions team who would be most appropriate to support them in the current stage of their journey. Most families then become part of the Supporting Adopters Peer Program (SAPP), which entails a series of six calls (usually phone calls), lasting roughly an hour, over a two-month period. Adopter Champions may also communicate with families via email or text, particularly in circumstances where a family is unable to engage with telephone calls. Following this, a review assesses if further support is required. During the SAPP program, the role of the Adopter Champion is to support adopters and help them to understand their child’s feelings and actions. As well as providing verbal support, the Adopter Champions team also covers post adoption support, and referrals for things such as packages for therapy. Notably, any family that has adopted through PACT is entitled to request support directly, even if they no longer have an active social worker.
During these interactions, the Adopter Champions aims to listen to the adoptive parents and provide verbal support, understanding and empathy. They also attempt to empower parents and guide them in overcoming any problems they are encountering, either by drawing on their own experiences, suggesting therapeutic parenting strategies, or recommending research into further strategies that may best suit the child. Another important part of the role is helping a family understand their child’s past experiences and trauma and how those link to their behaviours. If necessary, the Adopter Champions can identify the potential need for a family to undergo therapy.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Key Issues
A DfE report in 2014 identified that two thirds of adoptions face some sort of challenging behaviour from the adoptive children, including one quarter in which this is described as a major issue. A range of issues can affect adoptions, with the key ones being the age of adoption and the experiences of the child prior to adoption. Key challenges include a difficulty in forming a parent-child relationship, specifically in relation to achieving a secure attachment, difficulties with managing behaviour, feeling mentally and physically exhausted, and negative impact on marital relationships (DfE, 2014) . All of these challenges seem to contribute to adoption disruption, with child to parent violence (CPV) and delays or lack of support to adoptive families being two of the key factors (DfE, 2014; Goodwin & Madden, 2020) . This is important as while adoption can ensure a normal child development when successful, adoption disruption can impact children’s development negatively, especially in relation to overall health and social wellbeing, including mental, behavioural or neurodevelopmental disorder (Johnson, 2002; Heady et al., 2022) .
On entry into care, Sempik et al. (2008) note that the focus of concern is the prevalence of emotional and behavioural difficulties. Many adopting families report that children face high levels of social, emotional and behaviour difficulties and it is very common for adopting parents to think about removing the adopted child (Selwyn et al., 2014) . These behaviours can culminate in the disruption of the adoption, particularly if the adoptive children’s behaviour includes violence and frequent running away (Sempik et al., 2008; Wijedasa & Selwyn, 2017) .
Before the 1980s, adoption largely involved relinquished babies, but since that time the children who are available for adoption are likely to have experienced trauma, neglect and/or abuse (Quinton & Murray, 2002) . Adopted children, who have been through traumatic experiences, bring these lived experiences, memories and traumas with them into the adoptive family home (Rushton & Dance, 2002) . Three quarters of disrupted adoptees had been abused or neglected and this history of abuse leaves a legacy of relationship difficulties (Selwyn et al., 2014) . To understand what is happening in an adoptive family, there needs to be an understanding of what has happened to the child(ren) in the past, their understanding of home and parents, and their expectations. For instance, “children who experience maltreatment from within their families can suffer trauma that is devastating to their physical and psychological development. The label ‘developmental trauma’ has developed to describe this trauma and to guide diagnosis” (Golding, 2020: p. 371) . The effects of abuse and neglect appear to be both cumulative and pervasive: the earlier the recognition and an intervention occurs, the stronger the likelihood of harm being minimised and eventually possibly even negated (Ward et al., 2014) . Below, a few of the different approaches to interventions are presented and discussed.
Unsurprisingly, disruptions usually happen in the teenage years (Selwyn, Wijedasa, & Meakings, 2014) but it is likely that problems leading to the ultimate disruption start much earlier. Disruptions are more likely for placements after four years old, particularly placements of teenagers. The adoption process can play a part, for example, delays to the finalisation of the adoption and multiple previous placements are more likely to lead to disruption (Berry & Barth, 1989; Wijedasa & Selwyn, 2017) . Selwyn et al. (2014) asked [adoptive] parents how they thought their child felt on leaving home. Just over half (54%) thought the young person had been either pleased or relieved to be leaving the family, whilst a quarter were thought to have been upset or troubled by it. The remaining young people were thought to have had mixed feelings or parents did not know how they felt about leaving home (Selwyn et al., 2014) . It is worth noting that the study reported on the perspectives of the adoptive parents, not the youth.
2.2. Responding to Key Issues
The trust-bond between parent and child is very important and the only way to achieve stability and enable a child to develop better communication skills (Elliott, 2013; Golding et al., 2019; Hughes, 1998, 2012; Perry, 2009) . McCrory (2020) , believes it is possible, with the right parenting and home environment, for a child to survive severe trauma or neglect and thrive in adulthood, although in cases of the most severe forms of neglect, some researchers are less optimistic (e.g. Cairns, 2002 ). However, adoptive parents have their own lived experiences and expectations which they bring to adoption, most of which are based on being brought up by birth parents. Therefore, they have built in parenting styles and preferences that have been modelled by those around them. Rushton and Dance (2002) state that a different style of parenting is required for adopted children, a therapeutic parenting style, which is for parenting traumatised and/or adopted children (Elliott, 2013) . For example, therapists working in the field of Attachment Disorder (Golding et al., 2019; Hughes, 1998; Perry, 2009) developed Dyadic Behaviour Therapy (DDP), in which the focus moves from simply teaching parenting strategies to the parent-child dyad and communication that facilitates and enables a child to trust and develop a more appropriate sense of self. Training in a therapeutic parenting style can help to prepare adoptive parents for most eventualities, however, reality is rarely the same as the textbooks (Rushton & Monck, 2009) and, over time, as the child(ren) learn to trust and feel safer the full extent of the trauma experienced is often released (Wilkinson & Bowyer, 2017) . This means that parents are constantly having to adapt and find strategies as new issues and behaviours come to the surface.
Consequently, if parents understood where the adopted child’s behaviours have come from and why a child is behaving in a specific way (Rushton & Dance, 2002) they could then develop their own strategies or understand the strategies being used during therapeutic interventions and be more willing to adapt and adopt new strategies (Archer, 2000; Bomber, 2007; Elliott, 2013) . Cairns (2002) , also notes the importance of helping the child to understand their experiences in the context of what has happened to them, neutralising some of the switches and triggers that cause dysregulation by creating “safety valves”, an emotional literacy-based means of communicating their fears and feelings with others, then rebuilding the child’s core assumptions about “self” (Janoff-Bulman, 1992) . Adoptive parents can work alongside the therapist with their child, to gradually deactivate their child’s “threat system”, and be part of the process of regression, transition and learning new life-skills, enabling their child to develop a new more accurate sense of self (Cairns, 2002) .
There is a lot of pressure on adoptive parents who end up feeling blamed, labelled, and misunderstood when their child’s behaviour remains extremely challenging. Howe (1990) , in his survey on post adoption support, found that parents need a chance to talk about how they as parents felt and to speak with people with a better understanding and appreciation of what it is like to be an adoptive parent. Sturgess and Selwyn (2007) indicate that adoptive parents may consider non-adoptive family and friends as unable to cope with the demands of looking after an adopted child, asthey fear that non-adoptive family and friends would over-simplify an adopted child’s behaviour or judge the parents for the challenging behaviours seen in the adopted child (Weistra & Luke, 2017) . Adoptive parents think that other adopters are more able to offer “appropriate help”, but location, brevity of acquaintance or the desire not to burden them are likely to restrict their use (Phillips, 1990; Ponomarenko et al., 2018) .
Despite the benefits of having access to adopters’ groups, parents of adopted children reportseveral reasons for not using such programmes, including a lack of awareness of their existence, their inconvenience, and a perceived reactive rather than proactive approach (Dhami et al., 2007) . However, when parents know about the availability of support, they use it more (Wind, Brooks, & Barth, 2007) , and the use increases over time as problems emerge during adolescence and beyond. Therefore, understanding how adopters experience programmes that allow parents who have adopted children to support new adopters (such as the Adopters Champions programme), can help to understand what works for parents and how to further develop such programmes to encourage and increase engagement.
Bearing in mind the importance of early recognition and intervention for a stronger likelihood of the harm to be minimised and/or negated, and the lack of studies examining the impact of similar adoption support services, the focus of this study was to explore the benefits and challenges of a support service for adoptive parents, specifically the Adopter Champions programmes, offered from PACT to adoptive parents. The research question was: What are the key issues faced by adopters and what are their experience of the Adopter Champions programme? The study’s theoretical framework was based on social constructivism which is the view that learning occurs through social interaction and the help of others, often in a group. This is closely in line with the key principle of the Adopter Champions programme, which is the idea that experienced adopters are supporting new adopters, therefore learning from them through social interactions. Social constructivism posits that the understanding an individual develops is shaped through social interaction (Vygotsky, 1978) .
3. Materials and Methods
The study is strongly framed within an interpretive research paradigm as we are mainly interested in understanding people’s experiences and generating a rich and deep understanding of the phenomenon being investigated. Adopting this paradigm allowed to see participants as humans who are active rather than passive. This enables to produce rich data, high in validity, despite the small numbers, as interpretivism focuses on personal meanings and motivations. However, we make no claims to objectivity within this process, and we also recognise the limitations of the small sample of parents that were interviewed (Creswell, 2014) . The approach has its limitations, and since it focuses on one specific programme and there was no control group, it was not our intention to compare or generalise the findings. Our intention is not to present the Adopter Campions as the panacea and solution to all problems that adoptive families encounter, but to merely use it as an example from which to learn from.
A sequential small-scale mixed methods approach was used to explore the opinions and experiences of those who have interacted with the Adopter Champions programme and form conclusions and recommendations in relation to this support service. In stage one we undertook an online survey (n = 55) followed in stage two by four follow up interviews. The survey was developed based on key themes identified as a result of the literature review and an annotated bibliography that was developed which mainly focused on input from Selwyn et al. (2014), Wijedasa and Selwyn (2017), Gleitman and Savaya (2011), Balenzano et al. (2018), Vinnerljung and Hjern (2011), Dhami et al. (2007), Wind et al. (2007), Reilly and Platz (2004), Barth and Miller (2000) and Hartinger-Saunders et al. (2015) (see Appendix A). The interview process was decided to stop after 4 interviews as saturation was reached. The research adopted an interpretivist approach, aiming to understand the adopters’ experiences (Creswell, 2014) . Social reality is multiple and if we want to acquire knowledge of it, we must investigate the subjective understanding of those who construct their realities through their interactions (Grix, 2004) . Therefore, we focused on exploring the lived experiences of a specific group of parents, to understand their perspectives of being involved in the Adoptive Champions programme. The study followed the ethical procedures of the University of Reading (in line with BERA guidelines) and gained ethical approval by the university’s ethics committee before proceeding with any data collection. All participants were informed of the aims of the study and their involvement in it, as well as their right to withdraw at any time and their rights of anonymity and confidentiality and provided signed consent before engaging in any form of data collection.
3.1. Data Collection Process and Sample
The data collection included a survey sent to all past and present users of the PACT’s Adopter Champions service (n = 55) (see Appendix B), followed by four interviews with adoptive parents and users of the service (see Appendix C). The opportunity to take part in the survey was offered to all 55 familiesthat received support from the Adopter Champions programme in the preceding 12 months. Due to GDPR rules, PACT could not share the contact details from their list of 55 individual families who had received support from the Adopter Champions programme in the preceding 12 months. PACT had to send out the University’s letter inviting them to take part in the research to all 55 families.
The survey consisted of 2 sections, the first of which focuses on the background and behaviours of the adoptive children, from the perspective of the parents, and the second on the parents’ experiences with the services provided by PACT. The survey was developed in parentship with the PACT representative. The survey was piloted with three adopters that currently work for PACT. The three adopters received support from the Adopter Champions in the past but would not take part in the data collection process. Their feedback helped to revise and clarify some of the questions and helped with testing the completion time as well. An invitation to take part in the survey was then sent via email (from the agency) to all the parents that had been through the Adopter Champions programme along with an information sheet and details of the study. The parents were offered the opportunity to ask any questions before completing the survey online.
In-depth follow up interviews were conducted with four families to explore issues that were highlighted from the questionnaire further. From those parents that received support from the Adopter Champions programme in the preceding 12 months, families for the interviews were selected based on work completed or nearing completion, to ensure that families had time to implement some of the parenting strategies and the support offered. Therefore, families that received 3 or fewer support sessions (meaning that the support was still ongoing) were removed from the list and the rest were invited by PACT to participate. An invitation to take part to the study was sent to all families that met the criteria via email (from the agency), along with an information sheet and details of the study. The parents were also offered the opportunity to ask any questions before signing the consent form. A total of 8 families (from those invited) consented to being interviewed and their contact details were then shared with the research team as soon as consent was received. Four interviews were then conducted with those that accepted the invitation, as the other 4 families withdrew their consent due to busy family schedules and/or COVID-19 disruptions. Notably, interview data saturation was noted after the fourth interview, so this did not have a negative impact on the study.
3.2. Data Analysis
The survey data was used to provide a descriptive picture of the sample because of the small numbers but also because the aim was to follow up with interviews. The transcripts from the interviews were read by all the members of the research team and the research assistant and were and colour coded to identify some initial patterns. The transcripts were then imputed in NVivo and systematically analysed using the software to organise the patterns into themes through a process of organisation and re-organisation. These were then further organised to allow for some further categorisation. This inductive approach allowed for a comprehensive immersion into the data through the development of the following themes: Emotional support, Empathy, Personal growth, Normative references, Strategic and knowledgeable advice, Intervention with third parties, Helpful strategies, and Structure of support. These themes are further presented in the findings chapter (Section 4.4).
The findings are presented in the following section in relation to the research question and conclusions are drawn in relation to what we can learn from these when supporting adoptive parents. The final discussion part aims to draw from both the quantitative and qualitative results, when summarising the key findings and offering some recommendations.
4. Results
The following section will present the quantitative and qualitative findings in relation to the research question and specifically a) the key issues faced by adopters and b) the adopters’ experiences of the Adopters Champions programme, but first, some descriptive statistics are provided to present the background of the participants involved in the study.
4.1. Descriptive Statistics
A total of 23 surveys were completed by parents, giving a response rate of 41.8%, of which 35% are single child households, 52% have 2 children, 9% have 3 children and just 4% have 4 children. The age of children in single child families ranged between 4 and 11 years. Of the 12 families with 2 children, most (67%) had 2 adopted children, 17% had 2 children who were placed but not yet adopted, and the final 17% had a biological child first prior to adopting. Ages for children in 2 child households ranged between 2 and 17 years, with the age difference between the two children varying from 1 to 6 years. Of the 2 respondents with 3 children, one family adopted all 3, and the other had 2 biological children prior to adopting. The final respondent, who listed 4 children, had 3 children who were biologically their own and 1, the third eldest, who was adopted. All the families with 3 or more children adopted their most recent child more than 4 years ago. Interestingly, none of the respondents, who adopted within the last 4 years, had any children who were biologically their own. Finally, just over half (52%) of respondents stated that their child was aged 2 or younger when adopted, with the youngest child of these being 6 months old (Figure 1). Only 1 child, who was 8 at the time, was older than 7 years old when adopted.
According to the survey results, the primary reason for the removal of a child from their birth family was neglect, with 48% of respondents specifying that this was the case for their child. Other reasons which were stated by multiple respondents included unsafe environment, substance abuse and violence within the home. It was specified by 9% of respondents that the child they adopted had siblings who had also been taken into care.
Respondents indicated that, prior to adoption, all the children included in the survey had at least 1 foster placement, with 29% of these having 2 or more. The maximum number of foster placements any child had was 4, as was the case for 2 children, both of whom were adopted longer than 4 years ago. One respondent specified that although their child only had one foster placement, they also had 3 stays in respite/family trial. Of the 13 families who responded, one indicated that their child had previously had an adoptive placement. No child experienced 2 or more adoptive placements.
4.2. Key Issues Faced by Adopters
The quantitative data (Figure 2) indicated that the most prevalent issue experienced by adopted children was anxiety and fear, with 75% of respondents stating that their child has had a significant problem with this. Emotional literacy and hypervigilance were also high scoring issues, with, respectively, 66% and 63% of respondents stating that their child had had significant problems with these issues at some point. The least commonly experienced issue was listed as depression, with only 13% of respondents indicating mental health had been a significant issue for their child. Depression was most commonly specified to be a significant issue for children aged 8 - 11 years. The data shows that the most frequent problems experienced by children over the age of 12 were issues with identity and self-esteem, and friendship and relationship management.
In addition, the data indicated (Figure 3) that angry outbursts/meltdowns were the most common behaviour exhibited in adopted children, with 78% of respondents indicating this was a significant problem for their child. Regression and lying were also common problematic behaviours, with, respectively, 56% and 50% of survey participants listing this as an issue for their child. Running
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Figure 2. Significant challenges for the adopted children.
away and sexualised behaviour were the least exhibited problematic behaviours, with respectively 9% and 6% of the surveyed families experiencing a significant issue with these. This might be because both issues are influenced by age, with running away tending to be more of a teenage issue, and sexualised behaviour tending to be apparent earlier in the adoption, with younger children “acting out” their trauma.
Respondents indicate (Figure 4) that their child most commonly experienced significant problems with the listed behaviours when between the ages of 4 and 7 years, with the exception of stealing—which was most common in children aged 8 - 11 years—and running away—which was listed as equally prevalent in children aged 4 - 7, 8 - 11 and 15 - 16 years. For children over the age 12 or over, the most commonly exhibited significant behaviour was lying/denying, followed by school and parent concerns about academic progress. Certain behaviours posing more significant problems when children are in specific age ranges is most likely influenced by a child’s developmental stage, with their cognitive abilities increasing as they age.
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Figure 4. Significant problems with behaviour in relation to age—unit of analysis = N.
The above findings were further reinforced by the qualitative data. Of the four interviewed adopters, only one had a biological child prior to adopting, which led to a “steep learning curve” when the adopted children first came home. All the children were placed in their adoptive homes when aged between 15 - 19 months, except for the final child in the family with three adopted siblings, who was 10 months old. The adopters reported that their children seemed to settle into their new environments relatively well, but as the children grew older, the adopters reported that they experienced an increase in problematic behaviours, with one parent stating that it got to the point where they “struggled to like” their child.
Specifically, three of the adopters specified high levels of anxiety in their child, particularly regarding change, which they were usually able to manage through implementation of routines. Problems with attachment and hypervigilance were also common with, respectively, three parents stating that their child struggled with these. Two of the adopters reported that they had experienced violence in the home, including hitting, kicking, and throwing things, with one parent receiving a significant head wound from an object thrown by their adopted child. When asked what caused them to contact the Adopter Champions team, all the adopters discussed getting to a point where they struggled to manage their child’s behaviour any longer, with several specifying that they did not know how to deescalate their child.
In relation to friendships, two of the other adopters indicated that, although their child does have friends, they have difficulty maintaining peer relationships, with one stating that her child’s friends are beginning to be “wary” of him due to his outbursts. One adopter discussed how her child could be “too physical” with peers which led to friends being unable to “cope with him for long”. This adopter stated that she predicts her child will be invited to fewer playdates in the future because of his challenging behaviour. One of the adopted children has a close friendship with another adopted child of a similar age which his parent describes as “fabulous”, stating that the intuition between the two boys is fantastic and allows them to deescalate each other’s outbursts.
4.3. Adopters’ Experience with the Adopter Champions Programme
In relation to the Adopter Champions Service, most survey participants indicated that they felt positively about their experience (Figure 5), with 70% of families strongly agreeing that they felt emotionally supported and 61% either agreeing or strongly agreeing that the service made a difference to their child (although it is worth noting that the service is primarily there to support parents, hence some forms of support would not directly impact the child). Furthermore, 74% of the participating families reported that they learnt useful information during their interactions with the service, compared to 13% who disagreed (with a further 13% selecting that they neither agreed nor disagreed). Finally, 48% of the survey participants agreed they felt empowered when dealing with third parties because of the Adopter Champions service, compared to 9% who indicated they did not feel empowered, and 43% who did not specify either way, possibly as they had not required support for this.
Seeking support regarding a child’s behaviour at home was the most frequent reason for accessing the service, with 87% of the survey participants choosing this. Support regarding parenting techniques (61%) and a child’s behaviour at school (52%) were also frequent reasons. Only one respondent sought help from the Adopter Champion Team on issues relating to their child’s disclosures, contact visits and DLA (Disability living allowance) applications. Where “Other” was selected, the survey participants specified that they received professional advice from PACT regarding online safety. Upon breaking down the data (Figure 6), it can be observed that 37% of respondents who adopted longer than 4 years ago received support regarding attachment issues and understanding attachment disorder, compared to 0% of those who adopted more recently. Only respondents who adopted within the last 4 years sought support with settling a child into a family.
In further comments relating to this section, one survey participant hailed their Adopter Champion as a “life saver” and another described the Adopted Champions service as an “amazing resource”. One respondent, who indicated that their experience of the Adopter Champions service had not taught them useful information or made a difference to their child, gave the following explanation indicating that there were at least some benefits experienced:
“It didn’t really help me anymore apart from knowing another family had the same problems and understood why I was anxious about the safety of my child now and in the future”.
Overall, the survey participants reported that they were overwhelmingly happy with their experience of the Adopter Champions service (Figure 7), with 96% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement compared to just 4% who indicated they were unhappy with their experience of the service.
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Figure 5. Benefits of the Adopter Champion Service—unit of analysis = N.
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Figure 6. Support from Adopter Champions Service—unit of analysis = N.
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Figure 7. Levels of satisfaction with the Adopter Champions Service.
When asked to explain, respondents identified the pragmatic and wide-ranging nature of the advice:
“The advice has been invaluable and so practical. It has cemented in the theory from our reading and helped us to implement it” (Parent C)
As well as specific sharing of knowledge:
“The Adopter Champion was extremely knowledgeable, reassured us when having to deal with school issues which helped us feel more confident and able to manage the issues with clear outcomes in mind” (Parent A)
Respondents also valued the opportunity to talk, referring to the empathetic nature of the support (“It was great to speak to someone who could empathise from personal experience” Parent F) and the empowering and re-energising nature of the experience (“We always come away from a session with renewed vigour”; “Every time I left the call, I felt like I had been in therapy for myself.” Parent D)
The qualitative data confirmed the above and added some further depth to the data. All interviewees expressed that they had a positive experience with the Adopter Champions programme, with one stating that they are “experiencing a far better home life” since seeing their Adopter Champion. When analysing the qualitative data, the following themes were derived:
Emotional support: The adopters described their Adopter Champion sessions as a “place to vent” and that made them feel that they “had someone in their corner”. One stated that their Adopter Champion helped them see the “light at the end of the tunnel”. Several adopters expressed that they “valued the honesty” of their Adopter Champion, as it allowed them to establish rapport and trust.
Empathy: The adopters appreciated having someone who could understand and empathise with them. Two of the adopters noted that PACT had paired them with an Adopter Champion who had experienced similar circumstances with their children which they found “really helpful”. The adopters described their Adopter Champion as having “an empathetic ear”. One adopter specified that it wasn’t simply the adoption experience that made the Adopter Champions so helpful but that they have “experience of a high need in adopted children”. One adopter also highlighted their appreciation of the lack of judgement when talking to their Champion, stating “I could have the same conversation with anybody else in my network, and there would be judgment” (Parent C).
Personal growth: The adopters described their Adopter Champion sessions as providing an “opportunity to reflect”. Three of the adopters also described how their Adopter Champion helped them understand their own needs, which led to them being calmer and better able to support their child.
Normative references: The adopters stated that they valued the helpful advice that the Adopter Champions were able to offer. Two adopters expressed that it was “really helpful to know what was considered normal behaviour for an adopted child” and that their Champion helped reassure them that they are ’not alone’ in their struggles.
Strategic and knowledgeable advice: All four of the adopters stated they received advice and support from their Adopter Champion regarding third parties. Several adopters shared that it was helpful to receive advice from someone who was “knowledgeable” on the topics. One adopter discussed how PACT were able to help liaise and arrange assessments “much quicker” than other authorities and said their Adopter Champion advised them on how to get certain assessments through the adoption support fund. Two adopters said that they received support and advice from their Adopter Champion around educational matters, with one stating that his Adopter Champion’s “skills and experience” were helpful in guiding him through interactions with his child’s school. They stated that they were much more receptive to advice from their Adopter Champion as they had a “wide range of experience” to draw upon when recommending courses, workshops, and parenting strategies.
Intervention with third parties: One of the adopters stated that their Adopter Champion has not only put them in touch with PACT’s education team but has also been in direct contact with the child’s teacher to assist the school with supporting the child’s needs. One stated that they felt that their Adopter Champion “empowered them” to challenge what was best for their child.
Helpful strategies: Adopters appreciated that their Adopter Champion would always recall and refer to previous conversations, which made them feel heard. Furthermore, the Adopter Champions were “really good” at highlighting the improvements that had been made since previous sessions which enabled the adopters to recognise their progress and “see how far they’ve come”. Several adopters also expressed how useful their Champion was in helping them see the “bigger picture” and implement long term strategies. Two of the adopters expressed that they found the “informal” nature of their session helpful, with one saying that it felt like “talking to your mum or older sister”. The other stated that the “peer relationship” that was established was what makes the programme so “useful” and “unique”.
Structure of support: All adopters stated that the length of time they spent interacting with their Adopter Champion worked well for them. They valued the flexibility of the programme, with the adopters stating they were able to spread their sessions over several months or extend their contact time with their Adopter Champion. One adopter stated that phone calls were the ideal means of contact for them as it was less of a time commitment whereas another discussed how “lucky” they were that their Adopter Champion lived locally as it meant they could meet in person. They elaborated that meeting in person meant they could use the hour to “walk in the fresh air” and it also enabled their Adopter Champion to briefly meet their child which they felt was “really helpful”. Two of the adopters stated that the time-limited nature of the sessions worked well as it encouraged them to make the most of their Champion and “do things within a timeframe”. Both also noted that they found the Adopter Champions service most useful when they were in crisis. Several of the adopters concluded that they feel reassured knowing that they can get back into contact with the Adopter Champions service should they need to, with one stating that “PACT is there with a waiting hand that you can turn to” (Parent A).
Interviewees were asked about potential ways the Adopter Champions service could be improved, and three of them suggested that the service could facilitate an informal chat for adoptive parents who may not be at crisis point but would benefit from being able to talk about their feelings and provide mutual support. If this could be organised on a geographical basis it could allow physical meetings, as one interviewee suggested. Another suggestion was that it would be helpful for PACT to check in with adoptive parents when key milestones for their child’s development were occurring or upcoming. They specifically expressed that it would be useful if PACT were proactive about tracking when adopted children are about to enter school, if only to iterate that they have people who can give advice on educational matters. One adopter stated that they felt PACT could have “really helped” with the attaining of their child’s EHCP but, but at the time, they were unaware that this was an option. They further said that they may had made different choices regarding their child’s education if they had been able to get “advice and help” from PACT regarding school placement, which they think would have helped their child’s early years in education be “less traumatic”.
Finally, one of the adopters suggested that PACT allow adopters to opt-in to having their contact information shared with other adopters in their area. This would enable the adopters to form relationships with other parents facing similar experiences and potentially lead to friendships being established between the adopted children. The above suggestions signify how much adopters need and appreciate opportunities to interact with people that have had similar experiences and can offer support.
5. Discussion
When exploring the role that charities like PACT play in supporting adoptive families post adoption, our findings reveal that the main strategies for remediation include training in therapeutic parenting skills, therapy for adoptive child and others, developing knowledge of causation in parents and teachers, and providing emotional and practical support to parents. This agrees with other studies that show that such strategies can be successful and are highly desired by parents (Elliott, 2013; Golding et al., 2019, 2020; Hughes, 1998, 2012; Perry, 2009; McCrory, 2020) .
The survey and interview findings show that the issues and behaviours identified in the literature were experienced by the families that took part in this study, and that these were particularly prevalent in primary-school aged children. In families with multiple adopted children, the first adopted child was indicated to experience more significant issues than the second child. Our findings show that when adoptive parents have support from the adoption agency as well as other adoptive parents, they feel more able to deal with challenges (Hughes, 2012; Perry, 2009) . Multiple approaches of therapy, parental training and practical guidance are particularly valuable (McCrory, 2020) .
The findings also indicated that although they are likely to seek advice and emotional support from other adopting parents, they would not rely on this group for practical support. However, they would rely on them for practical advice instead. Sometimes this might be simply because they do not want to burden other adoptive parents, feeling that they are perhaps already overextended and not able to offer practical support. Another reason could be that practical support might be difficult to organise (Phillips, 1990) , with location playing a significant role. Additionally, adopters may not know any other adoptive parents (Ponomarenko et al., 2018) or have only recently befriended them, and hence may feel more comfortable seeking practical support from long term friends and family, with whom they have established relationships.
Finally, the participants recognised the importance of services like PACT and its resources in the adoption process and as a support during challenges, especially around child’s behaviour at home, schooling and dealing with other educational stakeholders, like the SENCo. However, they also recognised that they may have been underusing resources such as the Adoption Hub and referring to such points of support when the need arose. They also recognised that when the family is in crisis it is difficult to have time and the “head-space” to stop log onto their computer, log into the HUB, research what they need to know, whilst keeping the children safe.
A supportive network of friends and family is always important for new parents, but particularly crucial for new adoptive parents. Regrettably, the interviewed adopters discussed how friends and family were unable to support them in the ways they needed and sometimes disappeared completely. The adopters stated that their networks lack of understanding and experience of adoption meant they were unable to provide practical support and sometimes even emotional support and advice (Frost & Goldberg, 2020) . As such, support from organisations such as PACT can be crucial in this context, and this is further discussed below in relation to the Adopter Champions programme.
In addition, the participants indicated that they have had overwhelmingly positive experiences with the Adopter Champions programme. The data highlighted the value and impact of the Adopter Champions programme with 96% survey respondents stating that they had a positive experience with the Adopter Champions programme, 74% expressing that they had received useful information and 70% indicating that they felt supported. The adopters stated that they particularly value the flexibility of the programme and expressed appreciation for the dedication and expertise of the Adopter Champions. When interviewed, the adopters highlighted the value of interacting with other adoptive parents, stating that they sometimes found that nonadopting friends and family were unable to provide appropriate support and advice.
5.1. Implications for Policy and Practice
The findings confirm that the Adopter Champions programme supports adopters in multiple ways, including providing emotional support and practical advice. The Adopter Champions are particularly effective as they can draw upon their own experiences as both adopters and parents who have overcome issues. The Adopter Champions express that they think the programme works well but suggest that it could be improved if it operated on a larger scale and offered face-to-face interactions between both the adopters and their Adopter Champion, and between multiple adoptive families, in line with Barth and Miller (2000) . Of particular value seems to be the informality and flexibility of the programme, and the commitment and experience of the Adopter Champions. The adopters also express the importance of having a strong support network and specifically highlight the helpfulness of interacting with other adopters, something also noted by Frost and Goldberg (2020) .
Physical meetings between multiple adoptive familiescan provide a beneficial environment for both the children and the parents (McCrory, 2020) and something that participants thought would be beneficial. Administering these activities can be expensive and difficult due to issues with location and time commitments, so an alternative means of facilitating contact between adoptive families could also be effective. Having the funds to offer more interactive and therapeutic activities would be ideal. Potentially, the Adopter Champions programme could be further improved by offering more therapeutic activities, as these allow the opportunity for both parents and children to meet and befriend one another. This is particularly important when considering that Sturgess and Selwyn (2007) indicate that there are drawbacks to using non-adopting family and friends for practical support, including that they may struggle to cope with the demands of looking after an adopted child (Sturgess & Selwyn, 2007) .
In a 2007 study conducted by Weistra and Luke, participants discussed how non-adopting relatives and friends often have misunderstandings about adoption, which can lead to them either over-simplifying an adopted child’s behaviour or judging the parents for the challenging behaviours seen in the adopted child. The study’s participants further highlighted the importance of being able to seek support from other adopters, as they are able and more likely to offer appropriate help (Weistra & Luke, 2017) . A complementary list of helpful materials and courses for the friends and relatives of adopters to make use of, could also have a positive impact as it would allow them to better understand the adopted child and more effectively support their parents.
The above findings are important if support services consider setting up systems to offer peer support (such as “Buddy’s” or “Mockingbird”), including practical support to adoptive parents. Our findings indicate that care and planning should be taken to formalise such support systems effectively. Similar adoption support schemes have been implemented with success in the UK. Ott et al. (2020) describes one such Mockingbird system, which aims to replicate the support available through an extended family network by offering sleepovers, advice, and peer support to foster families. The outcomes of this model were shown to be extremely positive, reporting increased wellbeing for both children and families (Ott et al., 2020) and increased workforce stability. The study states that the Mockingbird model has been adapted for adopting families with positive preliminary results, but studies remain scarce.
5.2. Strengths, Limitations and Future Directions
The key finding is that the Adopter Champions programme seems to offer emotional support and practical advice which enables the adopters to better support and understand their adopted children. Following the analysis of the data, several key insights related to the Adopter Champions programme and the adoption experience were revealed, offering useful insight to the experiences of adopters. The findings also suggest that the Adopter Champions programme is a unique and extremely valuable service which allows adopters to be supported by those who have been through similar experiences (Barth & Miller, 2000) but it can still be improved by offering more face-to-face meetings and more therapeutic activities. The study has limitations, and it would be inappropriate to generalise the findings, but it offers useful insights into the adopters’ experiences and their needs.
In countries where there is close state supervision of adoptions, with counselling for adopting parents and prompt referral of adopted children to medical and mental health services, the outcomes for adopted children are more positive, with adopting children reporting good relationships with parents and peers and high self-esteem (Gleitman & Savaya, 2011) . This study has highlighted the importance for organisations like PACT to continue to be able to offer their services to the community and to be able to continue to run programme such as the Adopter Champions programme. The impact to the lives of families and adopted children is significant and programmes like the Adopter Champions can play a catalyst role in the adoption being successful or not. Therefore, funding to support the sustainability of such services, and also their further development and expansion (e.g. to be able to offer peer support and practical support as discussed above) is essential and its importance should not be overlooked by government.
6. Conclusion
A report by DfE highlights that research consistently shows that one of the key factors associated with adoption disruptions relates to delay and lack of support to adoptive families (DfE, 2014) . It is common for adopting families to experience behavioural challenges, which in rare and extreme cases lead to disruption. This is likely to be due to the impact of pre-adoption experiences of the child including abuse, trauma and neglect which commonly manifest themselves as problematic behaviour as the adoptive child reaches puberty (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2015; McCrory, 2020; Peterson et al., 2014; Wilkinson & Bowyer, 2017; Zung, 2017) .
This paper explored the role that charities like PACT play in supporting adoptive families post adoption, to overcome challenges and reduce adoption disruption. It specifically focused on the Adopter Champions Programme offered to adoptive families, which was analysed and explored as an example to lean what works and what can be improved when aiming to support adoptive families more widely. The survey data was used to provide a descriptive picture of the sample whereas the interviews helped to identify key themes. The findings were presented in relation to the research question and the key themes identify and conclusions were drawn in relation to what we can learn from these. While the study highlights the importance of having support available and for government to invest in this, it is also important to continue to explore what type of support is more beneficial for adopted parents, and it is recommended that more studies like this are conducted in order to further address the gap in the literature.
Appendix
Appendix A. Annotated Bibliography Reviewed to Develop Survey Questions: Families.
Appendix B. The Survey.
Appendix C. Interview Questions: Families.
Families Interview Questions
1) Tell me a little bit about you and your child/ren.
2) How was your experience when your child/ren moved in with you, how they settled in? Did you anticipate it would be like that?
3) What were the child’s needs/issues? What behaviour was a problem?
4) What caused you to seek the help of the Adopter Champions service? How old was the adopted child that caused the need for help? How long had he/she been in your family?
5) If you have more than one child, how do their needs differ? Do you think your second adopted child experienced problems at an older/younger age than your first adopted child?
6) How did your child’s needs affect your family—your relationship with your other children, their relationships, your relationship with your partner and extended family?
7) How did the Champions support you and your family? Share some ideas about advice & support about parental coping strategies & child behaviour approaches that you received. How was that information communicated & how effective was it for you?
8) What are key strengths of the Adopter Champion Service? what weaknesses?
9) What would you suggest are key points for the Adopter Champion Service to develop further?
10) Share any “breakthrough” moments when you realised something that gave you the keys to unlocking your understanding or ability to help your child.
11) What advice would you give to new adopters?