Testimonials

Professor Simon Hackett
Head of the School of Applied Social Sciences
Durham University

The School of Applied Social Sciences at Durham University has had an extensive and highly productive relationship with DFW Adoption over a number of years. This has been built on the success of a CASE studentship, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, which has produced a major research study into the factors contributing to successful adoptive family life. This study, conducted by Dr Christine Jones with the support of colleagues at the University and at DFW, is already having a significant influence in informing both the academic literature and adoption practice at both national and international levels. The commitment of DFW to being a learning led, research informed agency is exemplary and provides a tangible model for developing evidence based practice in the field. 

We have built on the success of our research collaboration well and DFW has offered the University a series of high quality placements for our Master of Social Work students who have benefited from the range of specialist knowledge offered by the DFW team, as well as broad based learning opportunities relating to DFW's services. Students have been offered excellent supervision and have been integrated well into the team as a direct result of colleagues' enthusiasm and generosity.

I am passionate about the work of the agency and look forward many more years of fruitful collaboration between DFW Adoption and the University.

Dr. Chris Jones
University of Edinburgh

I first became involved with DFW Adoption in 2005 when I became a postgraduate student at Durham University. Durham University and DFW had been granted an award by the Economic and Social Research Council to undertake a study of adoptive parents’ experiences of adoption between 1976 and 2001 and I was appointed as the research student working on the study.

Throughout the research, staff, trustees and volunteers at DFW adoption have been consistently enthusiastic and committed to the study. Everyone with whom I have come into contact has been highly supportive and very generous with their time and expertise. The organisation as a whole has shown a deep commitment to integrating research into its practice.

Our original study is complete and I am now employed as a postdoctoral researcher at Edinburgh University. I am happy to say that my relationship with DFW Adoption continues. We are working together on both the dissemination of our completed study and developing new research projects. I am very grateful to DFW adoption for all of the support they gave allowing me to achieve my doctorate and look forward to continuing my work with them.

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Latest News

Press release from the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies (CVAA)

DFW Adoption is a member of the CVAA alongside 31 other VAAs in the UK. CVAA welcomes the current government focus and commitment to adoption as one of a range of options for achieving security and stability for children in care, where they cannot be raised within their family of birth Read More

Adoption Action Plan for Tackling Delay

Information about the Government's adoption action plan - which sets out a range of proposals to speed up the process for children, to overhaul the service for prospective adopters and to strengthen local accountability for the timeliness of adoption services. Read More

The need for effective post-adoption parenting training. (Article by Dave Harrop published in The Guardian - Tuesday 13 March 2012).

An agency in Durham has started running parenting training to provide support for families who have adopted Read More