This article takes a close look at the openings of 12 different Dutch adoption assessment sessions. In
the first of a series of 4 adoption assessment sessions, social workers perform different actions that are
analyzed in detail. The overall focus is on how contact and relationships are established in the openings,
and how the social workers work toward the first topic. We found that adoption assessment is a
non-self-evident occasion, and this is due to the potential risk of a negative assessment being made—it
is oriented to as a delicate setting. In the openings, social workers take time to explain and justify the
need for assessment and construct a relationship in which they claim entitlement to conduct an assessment,
while also stressing cooperation with the prospective adoptive parent(s).
