‘New doors are opening up all over’: Modernising post adoption contact - findings from adopters and birth relatives in evaluations of the ‘Letter Swap’ digital platform.

One hundred years after the introduction of legal adoption in England, there is a strong focus on safely maintaining relationships between adopted children and their birth families, including using digital contact tools. This research draws on the development and evaluation of Letter Swap, a bespoke digital platform for contact in adoption. Letter Swap offers flexible options for adoptive and birth families to stay in touch including online letter exchange and video and voice notes. Sixteen birth relatives and 32 adopters (predominantly foster care adoptions) taking part in the Letter Swap pilot in eight English Regional Adoption Agencies (2022-2025) were interviewed. We briefly describe the digital platform, pilot and evaluations, then report findings using a Normalisation Process Theory framework, paying particular attention to relational impacts of ‘going digital’ on kinship networks. Positives included contact feeling more meaningful and real, enabling birth and adoptive families to build closer connections and move towards in-person meetings. Challenges included technical difficulties, and emotional and relational challenges of new ways of communicating. We conclude that to realise the benefits of a new digital system, changes in wider professional attitudes and practices are needed, including addressing issues of digital poverty and know-how, providing individualised planning and support.