Last month, Professor Anna Gupta was interviewed by the BBC on her research on adoption, as well as the role of social workers in the area.

Professor Anna Gupta is involved in a number of research and impact projects involving children, families and professionals working in child protection and with children in care. She is the supervisor for a European Commission Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships on poverty, child protection and parental advocacy.

In 2016, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) commissioned an Enquiry into the role of the social worker in adoption with a focus on ethics and human rights. In response to that Enquire, Prof. Gupta worked with Professors Brid Featherstone (University of Huddersfield) and Professor Kate Morris (University of Sheffield) to develop a social model of child protection and family support. Her research was first published in 2018 and it can be consulted here.

The interview with the BBC revolved around the topic of whether a mother, who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, should have the right to contact her children, who were adopted in their infancy. Professor Gupta commented on the support that local authorities and social workers are allowed to provide under the law.

Professor Gupta, who practised as a social worker for 30 years, suggested that the law in the area should change, in order to give to the mother the chance to see her children before she dies. Otherwise, professor Gupta warned that not simply the mother, but also their children may come to resent of not having been given such opportunity.

The full interview is available here.