The median separation was seven weeks; that is to say that half the children separated had returned home within that time. Since a common destination following adoption breakdown is the parental home, adoption can no longer be considered a guarantee against a return home. One item in the table – whether the child was looked after again in the year subsequent to return – must be interpreted with caution, as around a quarter of these were looked after under arrangements for a programme of regular respite care. Particularly significant for understanding the complexity of return patterns are those young people who seem unlikely to go home. A child is considered to have gone home where he or she has gone to live with relatives with the expectation that his or her period of being formally looked after has come to an end.