The article covers the state of play of adoption from local authority care in the UK and research into the factors influencing placement outcomes. The major contentious issues about placement are discussed in relation to competing opinions and available evidence. Ways of intervening in adoptive families in difficulty are considered, together with current efforts to establish what makes for effective support services. This article recommends comprehensive assessments of the children to be placed and carefully targeted adoption-aware psychosocial interventions.

Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 2007

Outcomes of adoption from public care: research and practice issues, Alan Rushton. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2007) 13: 305-311. doi: 10.1192/apt.bp.106.002816