The conference was lively and well attended and it felt as though everyone present shared many concerns about current practice, and a desire for and commitment to change. Many new and innovative schemes and policies were discussed, as well as some very moving descriptions of the emotions involved from first-hand presentations from adopters and foster carers.
There was a spirit of hope and excitement about the future and a real commitment to improving this area of policy so that children's feelings are kept centre stage every step of the way. This is going to be a challenging task and there will never be a straightforward answer. Nevertheless it feels very positive that these things are beginning to be taken more seriously, and the complexities really taken on board. We are very glad that CoramBaaf devoted their conference to this topic, and came away feeling much more hopeful about the future.