Adoption in the Aftermath of Crisis

What are the current issues regarding adoption in the United States right now?

Before concluding, we wanted to look at our topic of adoption in light of current events, specifically the historic earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12^th. As we have already talked about how difficult international adoption can be on a regular basis, it is no surprise that a natural disaster of this level has caused havoc around Haiti’s adoption processes, which was notorious for taking years to begin with. The United States had just over 300 adoptions from Haiti in 2008, and many families were in the midst of their own adoption procedures when the earthquake occurred. (“Haiti Adoption”). Hopeful adoptive parents were suddenly scrambling to find out if their prospective children were even still alive, and if they were how they could continue their adoptions in order to retrieve them from the disaster as soon as possible. In order to aid this process and help families trying to bring their adopted children to the United States, the Department of Homeland Security passed a humanitarian parole policy on January 18^th that allows orphans to come to the US temporarily on individual bases to make sure that they undergo the care they need. (“US Citizenship and Immigration Services”). This policy applied to children who fall in to two categories: those we have been confirmed as orphans eligible for international adoption, meet the logistical criteria, and were in the process of being adopted before January 12 – and those in the same situation who were not in the process of being adopted, but who were matched with prospective parents prior to the same date. In this way, all children who were about to be adopted are being given the chance to unite with their adoptive families in the United States as soon as possible. However, one of the problems after disasters such as this one can be the loss of legal documents and the chaos or breakdown of communication lines and authorities/government departments. (“Haiti Information”) Therefore, it still has not been easy, and there are kids who may have been in the adoption process who are now stuck. However, the efforts of the US government in terms of adoption policy reflected their continual efforts to aid Haiti in as many ways as possible, and in many cases it has paid off. Below is a youtube clip of a couple in Wisconsin who recently united with their adopted two-year-old Haitian girl as a result of this new legislation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-SHT_Od-Vs&feature=related

The Department of State is also asking couples who have not yet been able to bring their children to the United States to send them as much detailed information about their child and adoption case as possible, in case their documentation in Haiti was destroyed during the earthquake. Another way for anyone to help is to make a donation to specific humanitarian organizations working in Haiti on adoptions, such as the Joint Council on International Children’s Services.

The other side of the adoption frenzy is Haiti right now is a blessing, but a difficult one, as many United States families are now wanting and hoping to adopt in light of the earthquake. While this is extremely heartwarming, and even though legislation in the United States has been loosned, the same legal documentation and confirmations need to be met in Haiti in order to start the process. Due to the fact that so many deaths are still unknown, and children may have been separated from families, sadly it is still being determined which children are actually orphans. Therefore, it needs to be confirmed that these children have no remaining family in Haiti who still wish to be their caretakers before they can become eligible. This will be a long process, but is clearly severely important. Sadly, there have been many people who have taken advantage of this situation and tried to adopt children without regards to the international adoption laws. These have been dubbed, “cowboy adoptions” and while people may think they’re helping, in actually they are abducting children who may be families. (“Protecting Haiti’s Children from “Cowboy Adoptions”)

Therefore, it is important for people in the adoption process to keep pushing agencies and government offices to get their children home! And those hoping to adopt are encouraged to do so, as long as they follow the laws that – while they may seem arduous and take far too much time – are there to protect children and their families. Lastly, this link is to an interesting MSNBC article regarding these issues and families who are working through them.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34962518/ns/today-today_people/ 

Discussion Questions:

1) How do you think you would react as a person in the midst of an adoption of a Haitian child?

2) Are these issues regarding adoption things you would have expected or thought about in the aftermath of a natural disaster like this one in Haiti? Are you surprised by the issues brought up? Did you consider adoption when you thought about what problems are now facing Haiti?

Sources:

“Haiti Adoption”

http://haiti.adoption.com/

“US Citizenship and Immigration Services”

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9c22546ade146210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

"Haiti Information"

http://www.adoption.com/haiti-disaster-january-2010/

"Protecting Haiti’s Children from “Cowboy Adoptions”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8491981.stm

Posted by: Courtney Vataha, Kendall Eifler, Cassandra Knox, Nancy Chen, and Jessica Powell

Technology and Adoption Reunions

One of the most important parts of the adoption process is the big conversation that parents have with their child to inform them that they were adopted. Parents choose to do this in all different ways, and at many different times. Some children are as young as five, while others are in the late teenagers years when they find out. However, no matter when this realization occurs, one of the most common concerns is whether or not the adopted child will want to find or reconnect with their birth families. This is a loaded topic, and it is handled differently from family to family. But from a sociological perspective, one of the interesting things to look at is how the progression of technology, particularly in regards to the internet, has affected the number and types of adoption reunions that occur every year. In a 1996 study, researchers found that 72% of adopted adolescents wanted to know the reason for their adoption, 65% wished to meet their birth parents, and 94% wanted to know which birth parent they looked like. (“Adoption Statistics: Birth Family Search”) This shows how many adoptees are curious about their birth families, and with the rising number of social networking sites including Facebook and Myspace, it is simply easier to find people these days! Often, searching a person’s name and place of residence is enough to get multiple results. In addition, a plethora of sites and registries have now been created online with the purpose of helping adoptees and birth parents reconnect. One writer says that, “Since the advent of the Internet, and entire industry has sprung up to meet the growing demand.” (“Using the Internet to Find Birth Parents”). This includes sites that have legal documents and birth records available, reunion registry search sites such as AdoptionRegistry.com, genealogy websites such as Ancestory.com, and web forums and chat rooms dedicated to reconnection. Overall, this revolution can be a great thing to help adoptees learn as much or as little about their families as they wish. It allows for more and more reunions that lead to positive results. However, it has also become controversial for the many problems it can cause as well. For instance, social networking sites and chat rooms have been publicized greatly regarding their dangers and insecurities. This applies to adoption searches as well, as people have paid money to investigators who are fakes, or even talked to people impersonating family. (“Using the Internet to Find Birth Parents”). Adoption searches are not any more safe than any other form of internet networking, and therefore children especially need to be educated and monittered to go about this process safely. In addition, the difference between closed and open adoptions was discussed earlier, and this can become an issue as well. For instance, in a closed adoption, adoptees and birth parents cannot contact one another until the adoptee has reached the age of 18. However, giving up a child is extremely difficult, and some birth parents are getting anxious to find and contact their children before this deadline. And now, they have plenty of resources through which to do it. Even in an open or semi-open adoption, it can be problematic if birth parents contact their children without permission or before the child knows or is ready to deal with these circumstances. For example, here is an account given by a woman on About.com regarding this issue…

“How Social Media Has Affected Our Lives”

“Social media has created a difficult situation for me. My 14-year-old daughter's birthmother contacted her through Facebook without my knowledge or permission. Fortunately, my daughter told me immediately and we have worked through this. The issue for me is that while I have always been very upfront about the fact that my daughter is adopted and that she could access information about her birthparents when she was 18, what her birthmother did is an invasion of our privacy. The birthmother had no idea how this might affect my daughter, and I see it as a very selfish act on her part. I have always freely shared information with the birthparents because I am so grateful to them for this precious gift given to me, but I have shared information because it is the right thing to do. Also, I have an older adopted daughter whose birthparents have respected the age boundaries and I am concerned this makes her feel less worthy, even though we've discussed that this isn't a reflection of her worth.”  (“Social Media and Adoption”)

This is an example of how these societal changes can actually led to unfortunate reunions that do not benefit the child or their families. However, as said before, the exact opposite is the case for many people who are excited and relieved to have so many ways to search and find their families. When it comes down to it, the most important part is that when kids go looking for their birth relatives, they are educated and prepared for the various results. In addition, birth parents need to remain loyal to their adoption agreements and respect their children and their adopted families.

  I have a friend whose half-sister found her through Facebook not long ago, and she was kind enough to share her thoughts and feelings about the situation with us for the blog. I REALLY encourage you to read it!! It’s a very touching interview, and an overall happy reunion story! 

Adoption Interview 

1) How old were you when you were told you were adopted? What did your parents tell you about your birth parents at the time?

 I've always known my whole life that I did not come from my momma's belly, but from another woman. When I was younger I understood that surprisingly well but as I got older I had to know more. They really only told me she was from kansas, she had a daughter before me and was really struggling in life. She kept my older half sister but gave me away. Come to find out november last year I have a 22 year old half sister Ashley, I'm 20, a 14 year old half sister Hannah (who has the same birthday as me, August 1st), and a 5 month old half sister Journie. I was the only one she decided to put up for adoption to have a better life. I thank God for that everyday!

2) Who from your birth family contacted you? And how? (aka facebook, search engine, etc.)

My half-sister Ashley found me through facebook after a year of knowing I existed. Even though I've known about her my whole life. She was angry with her mother enough to go against her wishes to find me and succeeded.

3) Did they contact your parents first to ask if it was okay to get in contact with you?

Ashley didn't really know my parents, or have any legal papers or anything with our information to get in contact with them first. Just had our last name my name and birthdate. Being over 18 they have to right to contact me and I have the right to contact them according to the rules of a closed adoption.

4) Growing up, did you ever have an interest in reuniting with your birth family at all? (Would you have pursued it if they didn’t?) Why? Why not?

Yes, I've always had the desire to know where I've come from. Who I look like, where I should have been raised. I always wondered. My mother (Marla) who was adopted has no desire at all to contact her birth family. It's a preference. Eventually I believe I would have found a way to find them, but God worked it out in His perfect timing and brought them to me.

5) What was your initial reaction when your family contacted you?

My initial reaction was complete and utter shock! I was screaming and almost crying when I saw the friend request from Ashley LaCroix. I couldn't believe it. I was so excited.

6) Overall, how do you feel about it now? Are you glad they did?

I feel really good about knowing my birth family now, even though my birth mother does not seem to want to contact me. To me that's not rejection or whatever... it's just gotta be hard to see or talk to the child you gave away so many years ago. But my two half sisters Ashley and Hannah are so accepting and very curious as to why I was the one that got the good life when their mother has stolen from them to get money for drugs and alcohol their whole lives. They call me "the lucky one" and often ask about my life and what it's like to travel and go to college and to have a great family.

7) How do you think things will go from here out? Will you keep in contact with them? Visit? Let things go?

I really believe this happened for a great reason only God knows for right now. I believe I'm supposed to be somewhat of an example for them and show them that life doesn't have to be a dump or families don't have to lie and steal from each other. Especially Hannah who is 14 and still very moldable and open to new things. I definitely want to keep in contact with them for the rest of my life and to eventually visit my half sisters and to meet my half nieces (Ashleys two daughters.. Kylee and Emma) Yes the name Kylee was kinda a coincidence... though she thought she'd heard it before and really liked it for some reason.

8) Has this experienced changed your perspective at all about who you are?

This experience really has changed a lot about who I am! God has shown me even more the ministry I have in helping to restore and rescue the young girls or even boys that have been unloved or are just stuck in a bad lifestyle.

 9) How did your family handle the situation? Were your parents and/or sister upset? Supportive? Do you feel like it changed your relationship with them at all?

My family was pretty shocked at first just like I was, and often reminded me to be careful and not expect anything from them or for them to be bitter or to hate me for the life I've had compared to theirs. This is not the case at all! Ashley and Hannah understand that I was just given this life for a big purpose and it's not coincidence that I was the one that was given up. But I think my sister Jillian felt a little like I had found new sisters and wanted to replace her or just felt like I loved them more. Which is not true. I feel like my family is very supportive now because I don't hold my birth sisters over my real family. As far as I'm concerned this is how it should be. 

10) As someone who has gone through this experience, do you think that it is a good thing that new technologies have allowed for easier or more casual reconnections with birth families? Why or why not?

Yes I'm really thankful for the chance to get to know them, and to realize God knew exactly what he was doing 20 years ago when he gave a young woman the desire to give her baby a better life. Technology is getting crazy now but I'm very thankful! My parents watched her cry in the lawyers office as she said she believed God told her to give me up as I was still in her belly, and from there on I think she knew I wasn't hers.

11) And, do you think birth families should seek out their kids? Or do you think kids should be the ones to initiate the process if they would like?

My thought is the child should be the one to reach out to the birth family. The birth parents should understand when they give a child up that that child is no longer theirs. They really have no place to... though I always thought my birth mother would when I was younger. I think the way my birth sister reached out to me, was perfectly acceptable. Non invading or making me get to know her/them. She asked over and over if I wanted to know them, if this was too weird or too much to handle. I was just so curious I couldn't help it. I still feel like my birth mother doesn't want to know me or get to meet me. She really didn't even approve of finding me. But she asked to see my pictures on facebook and asked Ashley about my life. I respect her very much and I don't believe the strength she had came from herself. I really believe God gave her temporary strength just for that. I think I'm going to write her a letter sometime soon to share that with her. God only knows what will happen! I'm sorry again if this is too late... I hope you get this on your blog in time! I hope I answered everything good enough! Ask any questions if something is unclear! Thank you I love telling this story!

A few revealing things about the process...

v The interviewee is a girl of great faith, and was clearly prepared and mature enough to handle her reunion. This is evident in her confidence regarding her mother’s decision not to contact her – which otherwise could be somewhat devastating, and as well in her ability to handle the fact that her birth mother has lived an extremely hard life, along with her siblings. Rather than allowing it to get to her, she is grateful and ready to help her siblings in any way she can.

v Many people ask – what makes the difference people adoptees who wish to meet their birth parents and those who don’t? One article says that it truly comes down to personal preference and personality! It has less to do with environment and conditions and much more to do with simply what the tendency of the adoptee is. (“Do Adopted Children Ever Want to Meet Their Birth Parents”). The interviewee here confirms that! She has a wonderful adoptive family who she loves, but she wanted to know about her birth family, and even as the statistics say, who she looked like! She says she believes it is just personal preference.

v Her situation was perfectly legal and appropriate because she was over the age of 18, and she was glad to have been contacted! However, randomly finding a friend request on Facebook from a family member could also have the opposite affect depending on the adoptee and their desires regarding reunion. The interviewee also expressed that even though her situation was different, in general she thinks that children should be the ones to initiate contact.

Considering the information and interview, some food for thought….

1) Do you think these new avenues allowing families to find one another are positive progressions, or are just causing more issues or problems for adoptive families?

2) Do you think parents should be the ones to contact children, or visa versa?

3) How do you think adoption reunion affect the adoptive families? How might you deal or view this situation if you were an adoptive parent?

Sources:

“Do Adopted Children Ever Want To Meet Their Birth Parents”

http://www.americanadoptions.com/adopt/article_view/article_id/3625

 “Social Media and Adoption”

http://adoption.about.com/u/ua/searchandreunion/social_media_adoption_search_reunion.htm

 “Using the Internet to Find Birth Parents”

http://www.life123.com/parenting/adoption/birth-parents/using-the-internet-to-find-birth-parents.p2.shtml

“Adoption Statistics: Birth Family Search”

http://statistics.adoption.com/information/adoption-statistics-birth-family-search.html

Posted by: Courtney Vataha, Kendall Eifler, Cassandra Knox, Nancy Chen, and Jessica Powell

Growing Up an Adopted Child

A child who is growing up adopted faces many benefits and advantages of being an adopted child. Of these many benefits the most significant one is growing up with two loving parents. These two parents put all their time, energy and love into providing the child with as much care as possible in order to assure that their child comes before anything and grows up a good life. What comes along with the opportunity of having two parents is financial security. In most cases the adopted child does not have to watch their parents struggle to pay rent or other everyday costs. This financial security creates a sense of happiness among the adopted child and his/her parents. Because of this financial security and the fact that the two parents want their child to be happy, the adopted child has the opportunity to fulfill everyday dreams. They can pursue trying new activities such as sports, painting, piano, etc, that they may not have been able to do if not been adopted. This creates an open mind frame for the child to pursue any goals or hobbies they want to accomplish in life. Another huge factor that comes along with being adopted is the chance to grow up in a safe neighborhood which then leads to a better education. Providing a better education for the child leads them for the opportunity to go to college and explore what they want to be when they grow up. The chances of completing college are much higher for an adopted child.

One of my close friends from home is an adopted child so I thought it would be interesting to hear first hand experience what it actually is like to grow up being an adopted child.

Me: When did you first find out that you were adopted and how did you feel about this?
*Courtney: “I don’t know when I found out when I was first adopted. My parents weren’t trying to keep it from me. They told me when they thought I would be able to comprehend what adoption was. They had no problem letting me know though. When I found out they explained it and it was kind of confusing. Whenever I wanted to have questions answered they were always willing to answer them and what not.”

Me: What is it like to grow up knowing that your parents are not your biological parents? Do you think this had a great impact on your life or the way you acted?
*Courtney: “No it doesn’t have a big impact. I don’t really think about it to be honest. At first it was kind of like “oh” it’s still not like I don’t know them I was adopted right from birth so that’s all I ever knew. If had been in a foster care till age 3 or 4 and had recollection of that it would have been different. It didn’t feel like they were strangers because of the fact I was adopted right at birth.”

Me: Because you were adopted do you feel this will influence you to adopt children in the future as well?
*Courtney: “I want to have my own kids but if for some reason I’m not able to of course I would. Also I may adopt a kid even if I am able to get pregnant. But it hasn’t been like oh just because I’m adopted I’m going to go adopt.”

Me: Do you hope/or have contact with your biological parents? If so what is it like? How often do you talk?
*Courtney: “Yes I have contact. Sometimes it’s a little much because she wants to be so much part of my life but at the same time she does understand I have my own thing going on with my parents and she respects that. She is eager to meet me in person and keeps pushing that so it makes it a little more stressful on me to make a decision that will please everyone.”

Me: Do you think that you will meet her? If so when?
*Courtney: “Yea. I’m not sure yet. But it has to be when I have more time to really think about that decision.”
* Name was changed.

Some questions to think about...
1) Do you agree with all these benefits of growing up an adopted child? Just because the child is adopted is it always granted that they will be brought up financially secure and with two loving parents as the sources state?
2) Do you know anyone who is adopted and grew up a life that was not so happy and had financial struggles? Do you know anyone who is adopted and grew up happy with a good life? How did being adopted turn out for that person to be?
3) What are your feelings towards adoption in general?

Sources:
http://www.comeunity.com/adoption/adopt/growingup-html.html

http://www.americanadoptions.com/pregnant/article_view/article_id/3267
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cafc8MnixwY&feature=related
posted by Cassandra Knox, Nancy Chen, Kendall Eifler, Jessica Powell, Courtney Vataha

Parenting an Adopted Child

Parenting an adopted child is a difficult, rewarding process.  There are so many variables in this topic that it is impossible to touch on all of them.  A few important ones are talking about adoption, assimilating an adopted child into a family, and issues of race, ethnicity, and culture.

Talking about Adoption

When parenting an adopted child, it is important to have open communication about the issue of adoption, but even more so it is important for the parents to show the child that he or she is a part of the family.

Talking about the adoption process with a young child is called telling an ‘adoption story’

According to Parents Magazine, one example of an outline of an adoptions story is as follows:

·      He was born the same way as everybody else in the world.

·      He grew inside another woman, but that woman wasn't ready or able to be a mother to any baby at that time.

·      You wanted to be a parent very much.

·      You adopted him and he will be your child forever.

As children get older, they often become more inquisitive about the adoption.  Parents are presented with many questions from their child that they may not necessarily know the answer to about the biological family/parent(s).  Although there are many different suggestions about how to answer these questions, the overwhelming theme seems to be honesty. 

Adopted children have different reactions to the issue of being adopted.

Children cope with these feelings in a variety of ways: some are open and talk about their feelings, some are defensive and use denial to cope, some are angry and disruptive, [and] some think that adoption is no big deal (Parents Magazine)

This is an award winning picture book about adoption.

I Wished For You

Assimilating an Adopted Child into the Family

Sometimes, families will have both biological children and adopted children, or multiple adopted children.  This can present both unique challenges and opportunities for assimilating a child into an adoptive family.

An important strategy for parents in this situation is to avoid comparing the siblings.  Also paying individual attention to each child is important.  Reassurance that, yes, they really are brothers and/or sisters is also important. (adoptionissues.org) http://www.adoptionissues.org/same_families_different_stories.html

One strategy for assimilating a child into a family is to honor the day he or she was adopted with a celebration called ‘adoption day’ or ‘gotcha day’.  This is sort of like a birthday and provides an opportunity for a family, or even an extended family and/or network of friends to show a child how much they are glad he or she is part of the family and to be open about the adoption. (Adoptive Families Magazine) http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/

Happy Adoption Day

Issues of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity

There are many opinions on whether interracial adoption is desirable, and there are many reasons why someone would choose to adopt a child of a different race, but once a child is adopted and there is a racial difference, no matter what the situation, there are certain ways to help a child and family become cohesive.  It is important for the parents to understand this issue, be on the same page, and work through it with the child as well as any other member of the family.  Even if there is no racial difference between an adoptive family and a child, there are usually ethnic differences and almost always cultural differences between an adoptive family and the biological family.  Sometimes people choose to adopt siblings, when this is possible, or two children from similar backgrounds in order to create continuity and a stronger cultural identity within the family.

Cultural Identity is an important factor to encourage a child to develop and so is cohesion with the adoptive family.

This is a picture book about interracial adoption that sends the message that even if you look different from someone, you are still very much the same.

I Don't Have Your Eyes

There is a lot of difficulty involved in some interracial/international adoptions.  This is a clip from the movie Adoption by Barb Lee. <http://www.adoptedthemovie.com/adopted-synopsis/> This movie is about the adoption of two Asian girls, one who is Chinese and very young, the other is a thirty-two-year-old who was adopted as a child from Korea.

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think some of the struggles of being a parent to an adoptive child might be?

2. Do you think that parents should talk to their children about adoption? When? How?

3. Do you know someone who was adopted, or were you adopted yourself? If so what was the process of assimilating into the family like?

4. How do you think parents should deal with the issue of interracial or international adoption?

5. What did you think about the story presented in the video clip from Adopted?

6. Do you have any other thoughts or opinions about parenting adopted children?

posted by Cassandra Knox, Nancy Chen, Kendall Eifler, Jessica Powell, Courtney Vataha

Sources:

http://www.adoptionissues.org/adoption_resources.html

http://www.parents.com

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.adoptionpolicy.org/speak.html

What Are My Adoption Options?

When it comes to adoptions, there are many choices that are available to both the adoptive families and the birth families. Some of the choices include open, semi-open and closed adoptions, international adoptions, new born adoptions, special needs adoptions, foster adoptions, embryo adoptions, agencies and independent adoptions. There is an extensive list of possibilities that families can choose from. There are also legalities that surround adoptions; laws that can vary from state to state, country to country when adopting internationally, sealed and unsealed records, and even families bringing in attorneys during the lengthy process.

For an introduction to open adoptions, please see the video provided from YouTube below from The Adoption Center of San Diego.

Introduction to Open Adoption


Closed adoption is the process in which the adoptive families and birth parents do not meet and have minimum to no contact with each other. The families will also know very little information on the other family. Although most international adoptions are considered closed, birth parents do have “some very basic information about the birth parents such as medical history, ethnicity and cultural information” and it has become the exception. However, an adoptive child may choose to search for his/her birth parents at the legal age in which he/she can make a decision.

International adoption is exactly what the word international implies. Adoptive families and birth families are from all corners of the earth. However, there are more hurdles in this process. The laws of the country in which you plan to adopt your child from are observed; additionally, documents and translation of said documents must also be completed. When an adoptive family is considering an international adoption, some things to consider could include race and medical needs in addition to their age and gender. Some of the laws surrounding international adoption include:

• If you want to adopt from Korea, you cannot weigh more than 30% over the normal weight for your height when you work with certain agencies.
• If you are single, male or female, forget about adopting from Armenia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka (among others). No single adoptive parents allowed.

Surrounding the adoption process, the family dynamics are changed. Upon the completion of an adoption, families’ now have to divide resources differently. If an infant is adopted, things such as diapers, formula, bottles, clothes, and education are added to expenses. Will the family decide to relocate to a different neighborhood because of schooling options? Will the family begin saving for the child’s college education or pay for college when the time comes? All these factors change the mental and emotional state of the family unit.

1. If you are considering adoption in your future as a parent, which method would you choose?
Open? Closed? International? Other?

2. What are your thoughts surrounding some of the laws and requirements surrounding international adoptions? Do you think they should be kept, amended, or abolished?

Sources:
What Are the Different Types of Adoption
http://adopting.adoption.com/child/what-are-the-different-types-of-adoption.html


Posted by Nancy Chen, Kendall Eifler, Cassandra Knox, Jessica Powell, and Courtney Vataha

Introduction to Adoption and Policy Focus

Adoption is an integral part of culture in the United States as it crosses the borders of ethnicity, race, socio-economic status, and touches hundreds of thousands of individuals each year. Specifically in 2009 there were 12,753 international adoptions in the United States, signifying a 25% drop from 2008 state statistics posted by the Center of Adoption Policy. Every year there are single parents, families, and individuals who pursue adoption for a variety of reasons. The process embodies a legal issue as well as a lifelong family commitment. The draw may be derived from family connections to infertility or the lifelong dream of adoption, whatever the driving motivation the presence is undeniable throughout our society. As the range of reasons behind the pursuit of adoption amongst individuals varies so does the type of adoption. From the full spectrum of open to closed cases, to issues of trans-racial adoption, orphanage issues, single parent adoption, inter-country adoption versus domestic adoptions the process is lengthy and comes with many tolls. The reach of adoptions stretches into the financial, emotional, family, and cultural spheres of life.
The process begins for most by isolating the focus of their search and educating themselves. With the focus of the families or individuals process is further directed through legal avenues of either a licensed private agency adoption, where families relinquish parental rights to the agency and work with the agency as they decide about a prospective match for a fee of up to 40,000 dollars. This agency must also qualify and meet the expectations of the State standards for licensure. To independent adoption which conducts the process through an attorney and typically works directly with the birth parents and this type of transaction must agree with the standards of the bar association and State regulations. This Independent type of adoption is not identified by all states and typically is also less expensive than the aforementioned private agency adoptions. Facilitated/unlicensed agency adoptions are significantly less supervised and assured as they are directed by an unlicensed individual who links birth parents with looking prospective adoptive parents or individuals. However these types of processes are further affected by the specific type of adoption being conducted from inter-country to foster care adoptions.
Especially, as Intercountry adoptions signify further processes in filing with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Determining the type of adoption dependent upon whether it is subject under the Hague Adoption Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, which was formally inducted into placement within the United States on April 1, 2008, and establishes standards to protect inter-country adoptions. The Hague Convention preambles states;
“The child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding. Intercountry adoption may offer the advantage of a permanent family to a child for whom a suitable family cannot be found in his or her State of origin.”
The process continues with further legal due process in choosing between forms I-800A, Application for Determination of Sustainability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, or I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition.
While the legal process of adoption is pervasive in the first steps of obtaining a child the focus of the paradigm shifts dramatically as the child grows to issues of assimilation into the family and community as well as issues of diversified ethnic background and even the role of biological parents in the adult adopted individuals life.


Also, as we’re embarking on our week long topic of adoption:
What are your preliminary responses?
Do any of you have personal connections to adoption?
What are your thoughts on the different policies regarding adoption processes in the United States?


Sources:
Taken from:http://www.adoptionpolicy.org/facts.html
http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adoptoption.cfm
http://adoption.state.gov/about/who/eligibility.html)

Posted by: Jessica Powell, Cassandra Knox, Nancy Chen, Kendall Eifler, Courtney Vataha

Introduction to how varying International Perspectives affect Child Rearing

Having an international perspective on some essential issues involving families shows how differently the same social institution can function in different cultural circumstances. In some countries, as mentioned in the blog on Tuesday, spanking is an accepted form of discipline and circumcision is a tradition expected to be followed for all generations. In other countries, these behaviors are considered abusive. When interacting with families from other countries, acknowledging these differences in beliefs could mean distinguishing abusive parents from caring, traditional parents.

It is easy to misunderstand the nature of families from unfamiliar cultures and origins. As discussed with the blog on Media, many television shows, news reports, movies, and other forms of media wrongly portray international families, or only portray a small percentage of the population. These messages the viewers receive influence how they perceive international families because they may display only the stereotypical aspect of the families or misrepresent or not represent some other families at all.

Throughout the week, the topic of self-esteem of children in different cultures was also touched on. The different child-rearing approaches, as mentioned in the introductory blog, have a major influence on the child’s development no matter what culture they belong to. It is shown that in different cultures, some of the traditions and structures of the families cause the children to generally have a lower self-esteem, while others have the opposite effect and the children develop positive images of themselves. Not only does child-rearing affect how the child will develop morals, norms, behaviors, and so on, but it will also have an impact on the child’s self-esteem in the future.

Another part of this week’s blog was discussing whether or not there are adversities to adopting babies from across our borders. One of the factors discussed was a family adopting a child who is of a different ethnicity and race. Many people and organizations are opposed to this thought because they feel that the child will lose their traditional values. Another key factor of adoption that was expressed was on how the child would adjust to the new family. It seems that even though a family may give their adoptive child love and affection, it is hard for many children to adjust to their new environment.

The last topic discussed this week talked about how international perspectives of child rearing are rubbing off on American parents. We have seen how the international influence has impacted the way American parents care for their children and even how parents name their children. The Baby Wearing technique as an example has made a noticeable surge amongst American parents.

All children across the globe are raised differently. I am sure that every single parent feels that they have their own individualized way at rearing their child. There are probably over a thousand variations of ways to raise a child. Although there may be many ways, there are also cultural norms that are followed by people of each country. A great article discussing this is: (http://www.babyzone.com/toddler/toddler_development/discipline/article/child-rearing-around-world) Child rearing is in my mind one of the most important worldly issues to be talked about. The future of the world relies on the children that each generation produces. Depending on how that child is raised often times foreshadows what that child may be like as an adult.

I challenge all those who have read all of this week’s posts to think to themselves on how this weeks blog has impacted the way they think on child rearing.

This post was presented by: Annika Ecklund, Carolyn Kaufman, Sally Pitcher, Stephanie Vassillion, Karl Daruwala, Elissa May