Why AFDiT matters in practice
AFDiT is a framework that supports better conversations and better decisions when placing children from minoritised racial and ethnic backgrounds with adopters of a different background. It helps professionals and adopters to move beyond good intentions and towards racial intentionality and cultural consciousness through clear understanding, realistic preparation, and thoughtful support.
The value of AFDiT is that it provides structure. It gives professionals a shared way to assess adopters’ ability to support a child’s identity, culture, heritage, language, and lived experience throughout their lifespan. It also gives adopters a clearer picture of what transracial adoption can involve, and what children may need from them over time.
Most importantly, it encourages reflection. It supports adults to recognise what they do not know yet, to educate themselves, and to take responsibility for the learning required.
Bringing AFDiT in at the beginning of the journey
One of the strongest themes in our approach at Adopt London West is that we recognise identity support needs to be built into the process from the start, so that adopters have time to learn, reflect, and prepare.
We are using AFDiT as an assessment framework during adopter assessments. This begins in stage one of the process, such as our use of cultural genograms which helps prospective adopters explore their own sense of self. In stage 2, the wheel and scale are used in order to explore prospective adopters’ race intentionality and cultural sensitivity, openness to learning, and the practical ability to meet a child’s identity needs. It also helps us to speak with clarity and consistency about what transracial adoption involves, and what good support looks like.
This early focus creates a more honest foundation. It helps adopters understand that love and commitment are essential, but they are not the only requirements. Children need adults who are prepared and able to protect their identity, respond to racism, and build a home where culture and heritage are respected and present, not occasional or symbolic.
Turning good intentions into practical readiness
Many adopters come into the process with positive intentions. They may say they are open to adopting a child from any background, or that they will celebrate a child’s heritage. Those statements can be a good starting point. However, on their own, they do not show readiness.
At Adopt London West, we have been using AFDiT to support a shift from a good basic understanding to a more holistic understanding of the complexities transracial adoption can bring, and to equip adopters to move from intention to practical planning. We have used the framework to assess and explore what that looks like in real life.
For example, AFDiT prompts adopters to consider how they will support a child’s identity needs in ways that are specific and sustained. This includes how they will approach culture and heritage in the home, how they will talk openly about race, and how they will respond when the outside world is unkind. It also supports professionals to challenge adopters appropriately. This does not mean pushing people away. It means helping them understand what the child may face, and what the adopter must be prepared to do.
By using AFDiT in this way, we have found adopters are not only more open to transracial adoption but have the tools to talk and support aspects of their child’s identity they did not have before. One adopter said, “Doing the AFDiT training with ALW was such an important framework for us to build understanding on how to embrace transracial adoption. Understanding how to make the children’s heritage a part of our lives and to build confidence in their identities that will lay strong foundations for them to thrive in the future. It's laid the groundwork for an ongoing lifelong education”.
This approach can open doors in people’s thinking. It helps adopters notice what they may not have had to think about before, and it supports deeper self-reflection.
Creating shared language and stronger partnership working
A consistent challenge in this area is that professionals can sometimes struggle to find the right language. Conversations about race, identity, and culture can feel sensitive, and people may worry about saying the wrong thing. Without a shared framework, these conversations can become vague, or avoided, or left to individual confidence.
We have found that AFDiT gives professionals a clearer structure and a more confident language. This benefits the whole service because it creates consistency across the adopter journey. It also supports better partnership working, because professionals can communicate concerns clearly. For example, if a child’s identity has not been thoroughly thought about, we can signpost professionals to AFDiT and talk through what needs to be thought about for that specific child.
In practice, this helps us make more informed decisions for that child, including plans that think about identity through the lifespan and not just at the beginning of any match. It also supports stronger work with adopters, because expectations are clearer, conversations are more purposeful and the learning becomes embedded. One prospective adopter couple stated our use of AFDiT supported “discussions about race, privilege, identity and belonging both honest and nuanced, and helped us move beyond awareness to intentional, child centred practice, including practical guidance on everyday scenarios such as navigating public interactions, challenging assumptions, and making conscious choices about how we will raise and educate our children in line with the framework”.
Connecting assessment to adoption support
Another important part of this work is the link between assessment and adoption support. Transracial adoption does not become easier over time by default. In many cases, it becomes more complex as a child grows, asks deeper questions, and experiences the wider world more independently.
We have been clear that support must continue beyond assessment and matching. Adoption support social workers have an important role here. They help families keep learning, keep reflecting, and keep adapting. They also help families build confidence in talking about identity, in handling difficult experiences, and in putting practical support in place.
This is a key message for the sector. We should not position transracial adoption as a one time decision. It is an ongoing responsibility, and families need support to do it well.
Ongoing learning, training, and reflective practice
A final theme from our work is the importance of continuing development. We recognised that future training will be valuable, particularly around complexities and the language we use. This matters because language shapes practice. It shapes how we describe identity, how we challenge assumptions, and how we make space for a child’s lived experience.
We also emphasise self reflection as essential. This includes reflection by professionals and by adopters. AFDiT supports this by encouraging people to educate themselves, to seek guidance, and to stay open to learning. This is how practice improves. It is also how we create better experiences for children.
Why this work matters for children
This work is not about having perfect language. It is about children feeling seen, protected, and valued in a home that may not reflect all parts of their identity.
When adults take identity seriously, children are more likely to develop a stronger sense of self and belonging. When adults avoid these conversations, children can receive the message that parts of who they are should be kept quiet. That can create isolation and confusion, especially when the outside world reflects difference through racism or stereotyping.
By embedding AFDiT into practice, we at Adopt London West are strengthening how we prepare families and how we plan support. We are building greater consistency across the journey, and we are creating space for more honest and meaningful conversations.
