THE EVAN B. DONALDSON ADOPTION INSTITUTE
July 2003 E-NEWSLETTER
IN THIS ISSUE
1. Laws, Policy & Practice
2. Research
3. News
4. Resources
5. About the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
1. Laws, Policy & Practice
CONGRESS
SEEKS TO PROMOTE ADOPTION OF OLDER WAITING CHILDREN
Senator Bunning (R-KY) recently introduced legislation
(S1439) reauthorizing adoption incentive payments to states,
providing $6,000 for each older child adoption (defined
as the final adoption of a child 9 or older) over the
base number (beginning with 2003) of such adoptions. Current
law provides states $2,000 for each special needs adoption,
defined as birth family income eligibility based on pre-1996
standards, above the baseline. The bill also authorizes
$43 million for adoption incentive payments in fiscal
year 2004, the same amount as 2003. S1439 does not incorporate
other aspects of the Administration’s proposal to
convert Title IV- E entitlement funding to a block grant.
The Senate Finance Committee is considering the bill;
there is currently no companion legislation in the House.
To read the bill, go to: http://thomas.loc.gov/
and type S1439 in the bill number field.
DELAYS
EXPECTED AS RESULT OF NEW GUATEMALA ADOPTION PROCEDURES
According to the State Department, the Guatemalan
Central Authority for Adoptions “will not accept
post-June 30, 2003 cases in which children have been referred
under the old notarial process.” Since the Central
Authority is now the referring body, the State Department
warns prospective adoptive parents not to accept referrals
from agencies or attorneys. State also informs parents
to expect delays as a result of backlogged pre-June 30
cases and implementation of the new procedures. For more
information, go to: http://travel.state.gov/guatemala_notice.html.
INDIA
RATIFIES HAGUE CONVENTION ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION
In June, India joined the growing number of countries
that have ratified the Hague Convention on Protection
of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry
Adoption. The Convention will enter into force there on
Oct. 1, 2003. In 2002, Americans adopted 466 children
from India, making it the eighth largest sending country.
As reported in last month’s newsletter, a group
in India is challenging the legality of several intercountry
adoptions from that nation, alleging corruption and child
trafficking, and is advocating a nationwide moratorium
on international adoptions pending an investigation and
changes in domestic practices. For more information on
other countries’ Convention status, go to: http://www.hcch.net/e/conventions/menu33e.html.
UK
REGISTER FACILITATES PLACEMENTS OF WAITING CHILDREN
The Adoption Register for England and Wales,
a national databank of children waiting to be adopted
and of approved prospective adoptive parents, has generated
30 adoptions and 600 “viable” matches in its
first year. The Register holds information on 3,200 waiting
children and 3,000 prospective adopters. Analysis of Register
records finds that a majority of potential adopters want
young children, but a majority of the waiting children
are age 6-8. The majority of children also have special
needs, and evidence indicates “adopters are generally
unable/unwilling to meet these needs, although approved
for them.” To read the annual report, go to: http://www.doh.gov.uk/adoption/register-annrep-may03.pdf.
2. Research
RELATIVES,
FOSTER PARENTS MOST LIKELY TO ADOPT SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN
New research by the Urban Institute on the characteristics
of parents who adopt children from foster care found that
children’s relatives and foster parents are more
likely than “general applicants” (those who
are not foster parents or relatives) to adopt children
with special needs. “Who Will Adopt the Foster Care
Children Left Behind,” a June 2003 report by Rob
Geen also shows that general applicants and foster parents
are comparable in terms of age, marital status and race.
The report highlights that general applicants account
for the greatest proportion of transracial adoptions,
at 28%, compared to 22% for foster parents. Geen recommends
encouraging foster parenting prior to adoption to increase
the pool of parents for special needs children in particular,
and dismantling obstacles to relative adoption to increase
adoptions in general. To read the report, go to: http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=310809.
STUDY
SHOWS ORIENTATION INCREASES PARTICIPANTS’ DESIRE
TO ADOPT
A study of 78 prospective adoptive parents who participated
in Pre-Adopt, a psychosocial educational orientation program,
found that 82% “report a firm decision to adopt”
post-orientation, up from 40% who “had decided to
adopt” pre-orientation. The research, by Michaela
Farber et al, of Virginia couples who participated in
Pre-Adopt from 1999-2001, showed changes in participants’
approach to adoption after the orientation, with greater
percentages reporting: taking opportunities outside of
orientation to prepare for adoption, “expanding
their energy focus to include” birth parents and
foster families, feeling less concern about adoption issues,
and being more accepting about children’s birth
family backgrounds. The study, reported in the June 2003
issue of Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, found
that pre-orientation, 54% of the participants had “less
than adequate … knowledge about adoptive parenting”
but improved their knowledge as a result of the orientation.
To order the journal, go to: http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/0738-0151.
LESBIAN
COUPLES REPORT BONDING DIFFERENCES IN THEIR ADOPTED CHILDREN
In a recent qualitative study, Susanne Bennett explored
the existence of a primary mother-child bond among a sample
of 15 lesbian couples and their internationally adopted
children. Participants reported that at the time of adoption,
all 15 children developed attachments to both mothers.
However, in the first 18 months post-adoption, despite
mothers’ reports of shared parenting and equal division
of household labor, 12 of the 15 couples reported that
their children exhibited a preference for one parent over
the other. Analysis showed that quality of care (i.e.,
mother’s degree of nurturance, patience, maternal
behavior, etc.) was the most influential factor in the
children’s parent preferences. Time spent with the
child and a parent’s legal status were not found
to be defining factors. To read an abstract of this article,
go to:
http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/0738-0151/contents.
ANALYSIS
CITES DRAWBACKS IN ASFA PROMOTION OF TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION
In an impact analysis, “A Family Perspective on
Transracial Adoption,” Maureen Ittig examines what
she describes as drawbacks in the Adoption and Safe Families
Act’s (ASFA) promotion of transracial adoptive families.
Ittig explains that the law does not address maintaining
the adopted child’s extended family, community,
or cultural and ethnic background in matching adoptive
families with children in foster care. ASFA neither requires
that birth relatives be involved in permanency planning
nor facilitates open adoption. Furthermore, families deemed
unstable or financially insecure are generally considered
unfit adoptive resources, thereby excluding extended family
members from becoming caregivers. To read this report
and others in this series, go to: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/familyimpact.
BIRTH
RELATIVES’ ACCEPTANCE OF ADOPTION ASSOCIATED WITH
CONTACT
A British study of birth relatives of children placed
for adoption in 1996-1997, who experienced face-to-face
contact with the children, found that “almost all
relatives described a process of acceptance increasing
over time through the experience of contact.” The
research, “Accepting the Reality of Adoption: Birth
Relatives Experiences of Face-to-Face Contact,”
by Elsbeth Neil, in the July 2003 Adoption and Fostering,
consisted of 15 interviews of 19 relatives (some interviews
were conducted in pairs) of 15 children. Neil reported
that contact “primarily” enabled participants
to know that the children were “all right”
and indicated that beneficial contact may be more likely
with children who are placed at a younger age. The study
also found that 11 of the 15 interviewees demonstrated
a “realistic and accepting” understanding
of the “reality of roles and relationships after
adoption,” after a mean time of 26 months in placement.
To order the article, go to: http://www.baaf.org.uk/.
3.
News
MEDIA
CONSIDERS BOTH SIDES OF “SAFE HAVEN” DEBATE
Increasingly, media coverage of infant abandonment and
“safe haven” laws is focusing on the perspectives
of critics of legalized anonymous infant abandonment,
in addition to safe haven advocates. For instance, a July
24, 2003, article in the Christian Science Monitor points
out that newborns who are left at safe havens spend a
minimum of nine months in foster care, as opposed to infants
whose parents make an adoption plan and are quickly placed
in pre-adoptive homes. A July 14, 2003, National Public
Radio report includes the views of a woman who unsafely
abandoned her infant and states that she was not in a
sufficiently rational state of mind at the time to consider
accessing a safe haven. And a July 16, 2003, column in
the Baltimore Sun reports that the city’s Department
of Social Services suggests more research on the issue
is needed. To read the Christian Science Monitor article,
go to: http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0724/p14s02-lifp.html;
to hear the NPR report, go to: http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1335825;
and to read the Baltimore Sun article, go to: http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.kane16jul16.story.
GROUP
PROPOSES AN ORPHANAGE IN COLUMBUS, OHIO
A group of adoptive parents has convinced some child welfare
professionals to support an orphanage in Columbus, OH,
according to a July 22, 2003, Cleveland Plain Dealer article,
“Advocates Seek to Start Orphanage.” One reason
the group wants to establish an orphanage is to avoid
multiple foster care placements that some children experience.
The concept runs counter to statistics showing that 70%
of the state’s adoptions are by foster parents,
and conflicts with research and expert opinion that is
highly critical of outcomes when children live in orphanages.
To read the article, go to: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1058866483310463.xml.
TEXAS
DELAYS SOME ADOPTIONS DUE TO BUDGET CRISIS
The Texas Department of Protective & Regulatory Services
is delaying adoption placements handled by private agencies
under contract until Sept. 1, 2003, because it lacks funds,
according to a July 27, 2003, Houston Chronicle article,
“State Budget Crisis Puts Kids’ Adoptions
in Limbo.” Private agencies handle about one-third
of foster care adoptions, and 433 such pending adoptions
are experiencing delays as a result of the state’s
budget crisis. There are 3,800 Texas children in foster
care waiting to be adopted, and it costs the state much
more to keep them there than it does to pay private agencies
to find them permanent homes. Next year’s budget
for contracts with private agencies is even smaller. To
read the article, go to: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/metropolitan/2012819.
SAME
SEX COUPLE TESTS UTAH BAN ON ADOPTIONS BY UNMARRIED COUPLES
A Utah lesbian couple is legally challenging the state’s
ban on adoption by unmarried, cohabiting adults. According
to the July 7, 2003, article, “Lesbian Couple Challenging
Gay Adoption Ban in Utah,” in the Salt Lake Tribune,
the prohibition seems to have affected single parent adoptions
as well: 30 single parents adopted foster children in
1999, the year before the ban, while fewer than half that
number adopted in each of the following two years. To
read the article, go to: http://www.sltrib.com/2003/jul/07072003/utah/utah.asp.
GEORGIA
BIRTH PARENTS PERMITTED TO INITIATE SEARCHES
As of July 1, 2003, birth parents can legally access the
Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry to search for children
they placed for adoption. For the Registry to facilitate
contact, the adopted person must be 21 or older and both
parties must consent. According to the July 2, 2003, article,
“New Law Lets Birth Parents Seek Children They Gave
Up,” in Savannah Now, the Registry has helped 95
adopted people or siblings start searches, 40 of which
have resulted in reunions from July 1, 2002, to May 31,
2003. The state Office of Adoption reports that “about
85-90 percent of the birth parents we contact do want
contact” and each year about 1,000 people sign up
for the Registry. To read the article, go to: http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/070203/LOCadoption.shtml.
4. Resources
JOURNALIST
GUIDE TO ADOPTION
The Adoption Information Institute’s “A Journalist’s
Guide to Adoption” provides the media appropriate
language, facts, issue overviews, and resources to inform
their coverage of adoption-related news items. To access
the Guide, go to: http://www.adoptioninformationinstitute.org/JGuide.html.
NEW
ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE LAW WEBSITE
The National Center for Adoption Law and Policy at Capital
University Law School has launched a free adoption and
foster care law website, providing statutes, regulations,
case law, and journal articles. To access the website,
go to: www.adoptionlawsite.org.
5. About The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
Since
its establishment in 1996, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption
Institute has been a pre-eminent, independent voice for
improving adoption for everyone it touches - particularly
children - through innovative programs, educational initiatives,
research and analysis, and advocacy for better practices,
policies and laws.
Our award-winning
web site, www.adoptioninstitute.org,
is a popular and reliable source for accurate adoption
information. Read past e-Newsletters at http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/whowe/nl_archives.html.
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