Public service or private affair? The application of ‘kinship by design’ to intercountry adoption in England

Abstract

This article examines the status of intercountry adoption (ICA) within adoption and family policy in England by analysing the extent to which the preventive ideals of ‘kinship by design’ are applied to ICA, particularly in the provision of adoption support. The discussion is set in the context of adoption reform under the New Labour and Coalition governments, broader family policy ideals of prevention and early intervention and state objectives in adoption, as well as global policy standards. This article argues that ‘kinship by design’ is not equally applied to intercountry adoptive families in England.