This Briefing Paper summarises what is known (and not known) from recent key research about the adoption of disabled children. We know from the Adoption Research Initiative (ARi) and a number of other sources that disabled children are regarded as “hard to place” for adoption. We know that there are issues
that are particularly pertinent for disabled children for whom adoption is the plan, including the influence
of local practice culture on decision-making; the need for clarity and flexibility in assessing disabled
children and prospective families; delays at different stages of finding families for disabled children; and
support to meet individual children’s specific needs within their placements.