It is now over 20 years since 'open adoption' was first introduced, but it remains a controversial and contested part of social work practice. This innovative and far ranging book sets out to understand why the practice of keeping adopted children in touch with their kinship origins is still so questioned in contemporary adoption work. Written by an experienced practitioner in the field, this book applies, for the first time, Foucauldian methodology to analyze and understand adoption social work, making it essential reading for a wide audience in the social sciences.
'Sally Sales's book is a very welcome addition to the 'Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life' series and makes a significant and important contribution to the literature on adoption.' -Stephen Kicks, Reader in School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Salford, British Journal of Social Work