Abstracts

Adoption & Fostering abstracts are selected by Miranda Davies in collaboration with the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), London. Although care is always taken to be as exact as possible, the editors cannot guarantee the accuracy of material received from outside sources.

Adoption

BRODZINSKY David M and GOLDBERG Abbie E

Contact with birth family in adoptive families headed by lesbian, gay male and heterosexual parents

Children and Youth Services Review 62, 2016, pp. 9–17

This study examined the extent and type of contact with birth family in adoptive families headed by sexual minority and heterosexual parents prior to or at the time of placement, following placement, and currently. Data were drawn from the Modern Adoptive Families project, a US nationwide, non-random survey of adoptive parents' beliefs and experiences that was conducted from 2012 to 2013. The current sample consisted of 671 families headed by heterosexual parents, 111 families headed by lesbian parents, and 98 families headed by gay male parents whose oldest adopted child was less than 18 years old and who was placed domestically either from the public child welfare system or from a private agency or independent adoption facilitator. For child welfare adoptions, sexual minority parents reported higher levels of contact and tended to have more positive relationships with birth family compared to heterosexual parents. Fewer differences by family type were found for private agency adoptions. Higher rates of contact and more positive relationships with birth family were found for private domestic placements compared to those from foster care. Secondary analyses suggest that family demographic and adoption placement differences between sexual minority and heterosexual parent families do not account for family type differences in contact with birth family. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

BURGE Philip, BURKE Noelle, MEIKLEJOHN Erin and GROLL Dianne

Making choices: adoption seekers’ preferences and available children with special needs

Journal of Public Child Welfare 10(1), 2016, pp. 1–20

This pilot study on the child profile preferences of 5830 adults registered with a province-wide adoption agency in Canada found that those who were most open to considering children with special needs had been formally seeking to adopt for some time and had completed government required SAFE assessments and training. Most preferred younger children and half would consider sibling groups. Between 43% and 60% indicated willingness to consider adopting children with degrees of learning disabilities, emotional behavioural disorders and physical disabilities, although the willing proportion decreased as the level of each disability’s specified impact progressed from ‘mild’ to ‘moderate’ to ‘severe’. Most preferred, among 20 categories of available children’s possible exposures and health diagnoses, were past abuse exposures versus diagnosed disabilities or enduring conditions. Possible explanations for these findings and their implications are explored and ideas for further research proposed.

JONES Christine

Openness in adoption: challenging the narrative of historical progress

Child & Family Social Work 21(1), 2016, pp. 85–93

One significant change in adoption practice that has occurred over the last four decades is the shift away from an expectation of confidentiality towards an expectation of openness in adoption. Openness is typically conceived in terms of the level of contact between adoptive and birth families following adoption or the extent to which adoption is openly discussed within the adoptive family. While these shifts in practice have generated controversy, they are largely supported by research evidence and have become a feature of contemporary adoptive family life. As a result, the narrative that has emerged in relation to openness in adoption is one of historical progress. The author argues that the lived reality of adoption is less straightforward than this narrative suggests. An analysis of the social and cultural context in which adoption operates suggests instead that the persistent feature of adoption throughout this historical period of increasing openness can be more accurately described as a state of enduring ambiguity regarding the nature of post-adoption relationships. The article highlights the potentially damaging consequences of overlooking this aspect of adoptive family life and comments on the role of policy in shaping openness in adoption.

O'NEIL Denise, MCAULEY Colette and LOUGHRAN Hilda

Post-adoption reunion sibling relationships: factors facilitating and hindering the development of sensitive relationships following reunion in adulthood

Child & Family Social Work 21(2), 2016, pp. 218–227

This article explores findings from an exploratory study on sibling relationships following adoption reunion in adulthood. The qualitative data was gathered through in-depth interviews with 33 adopted adults who were reunited with their birth sibling(s) through an adoption agency in the Republic of Ireland. The findings throw light upon the development of the emotional, often complex relationships that may emerge when siblings meet for the first time in adult life. Factors influential in facilitating or hindering these post-reunion relationships are discussed. The important insights are then considered in the context of the wider international literature on adoption, search and reunion.

Fostering

MINKHORST Floor AM, WITTEMAN Cilia LM, KOOPMANS A Carien, LOHMAN Nickie and KNORTH Erik J

Decision-making in Dutch child welfare: child’s wishes about reunification after out-of-home placement

British Journal of Social Work 46(1), 2016, pp. 169–185

The child is a major stakeholder in the decision whether to continue placement in foster care or to reunify her or him with the biological family. This study investigated whether Dutch social workers are influenced by the child's wish in their recommendations about reunification. Data were gathered from 120 child welfare professionals and 120 students who read a vignette about a child in foster care and completed a questionnaire about their reunification recommendation. Results showed a weak but significant relationship between the child’s wish and the recommendation (Cramer's V = 0.295 and 0.188, respectively). Also, a moderating effect was found: participants who explicitly mentioned the child's wish in their justifications gave a recommendation that was significantly associated with the child’s wish (p < 0.05) while, with those who did not mention the child's wish, there was no association. The results might seem obvious, but they are not consistent with prior research. The findings show that children may influence the decision-making process by stating their wishes. Raising children's awareness about this could be useful. Believing that they are active agents regarding their own care may enhance motivation, co-operation and faith in their future. Explanations and implications of the results are discussed.

PETERS Clark M, SHERRADEN Margaret Sherrard and KUCHINSKI Ann Marie

From foster care to adulthood: the role of income

Journal of Public Child Welfare 10(1), 2016, pp. 39–58

This study explores the role of income for young people with experience in foster care transitioning to adulthood. It draws on in-depth structured interviews with eight staff members and 38 current and former foster youth aged 18 years and older, who were participants in an innovative programme to build their assets and financial capability. Interviews took place in four sites in three US states. This study illuminates how those with experience in foster care seek to obtain and manage money to transition successfully to adult financial roles. Findings suggest that early and practical experiences with money are important for gaining financial capability. The study also highlights the need for child welfare professionals to develop expertise in financial literacy and understand the pitfalls that lie in both traditional and non-traditional financial services. By deepening understanding among staff of the economic realities facing the young people today, child welfare agencies will be more likely to prepare former foster youths for life on their own.

CAMERON Claire, REIMER Daniela and SMITH Mark

Towards a theory of upbringing in foster care in Europe

European Journal of Social Work 19(2), 2016, pp. 152–170

Across Europe, foster care is the preferred intervention for children who cannot live with their birth families, yet just what states look for from foster care is rarely articulated. Its use and intended purpose can reflect not only historical peculiarities but also the nature of the welfare regime existing in a particular country. This article reports on a preliminary exploration of fostering across 11 European countries, reflecting different care and education traditions. Irrespective of variations in history and welfare ideology, and any specialist tasks, the authors argue that foster care, by its nature, fulfils elements of what might be described as an upbringing role on behalf of society. What is meant by upbringing and how might it be theorised? In this article the work of the German social pedagogue, Klaus Mollenhauer, is drawn upon to develop a model of upbringing that might help elucidate what is involved in bringing up children, including those in state care. The idea of passing on a valued cultural heritage is central to Mollenhauer's understanding of upbringing. This happens regardless of social policy intent merely by virtue of shared daily living and the development of pedagogical relationships. We argue that a concept of upbringing might offer an integrating cross-generational theoretical framework for foster care across different welfare regimes.

LIGHTFOOT Elizabeth and DEZELAR Sharyn

The experiences and outcomes of children in foster care who were removed because of a parental disability

Children and Youth Services Review 62, 2016, pp. 22–28

This study examines the experiences and outcomes of children in the US foster care system who were removed from their homes at least partially in relation to their parent’s or caretaker’s disability. The study uses administrative data from year 2012 of the Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS), the federal reporting system that collects case-level data on all children in foster care through state and tribal IV-E agencies. The system also collects data on parental disability as a removal reason for children in foster care. In 2012, 19.0% of children in foster care had parental disability indicated as at least one reason for removal and 5.18% had this as their sole reason. Logistic regression was used to explore how a removal reason of parental disability correlated with removal manner, type of placement, location of placement, current case plans, discharge reasons and termination of parental rights. T-tests were used to compare children with and without parental disability as a removal reason in regards to number of placements, age at removal, length of time since last removal, length of stay in current placement and total days in foster care. Findings indicate that children who have parental disability as a removal reason have different experiences in child welfare and different child welfare outcomes than those without this reason. The study points to a need for closer attention to parental disability within the child welfare system to ensure appropriate services and supports, as well as fair treatment.

Other

CARDY Simon

Indignity in Solihull: an activist response

Ethics and Social Welfare 10(2), 2016, pp. 177–184

This article discusses a short piece of activist social work practice against an austerity measure designed to remove the right of undocumented sans papiers or unaccompanied children at the age of 16 to remain with their out-of-home foster carers. The local authority’s elected representatives voted on a proposal to meet a £1.2 million financial budget shortfall by ‘encouraging’ young people to move out of foster care into less supported, less secure and ultimately less costly accommodation. The ‘revised service model’ was an overtly discriminatory policy as it explicitly proposed a differential and less favourable treatment for unaccompanied children in its care compared to what it termed, its ‘local citizen’ children who could remain in foster care until they reached the age of 18 – or indeed longer in certain more specific circumstances. The author explores a response taken by a small group of social workers working in a triple alliance with a service-user advocacy organisation and a trade union that successfully challenged the policy, while reflecting on some of its difficulties and limitations.

EUSER Saskia, ALINK Leneke RA, THARNER Anne, van IJzendoorn Marina H and BAKERMANS-KRANENBERG Marian J

The prevalence of child sexual abuse in out-of-home care: increased risk for children with a mild intellectual disability

Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities 29(1), 2016, pp. 83–92

This study examined the year prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in children with a mild intellectual disability in Dutch residential and foster care, and compared it with the prevalence in out-of-home care for non-disabled children and children in the general population. Professionals (n = 104) from out-of-home care facilities reported cases of CSA which occurred in 2010 for the children they worked with (n = 1650). In out-of-home care for children with a mild intellectual disability, 9.8 per 1000 children were victims of CSA. This prevalence was significantly higher than in regular out-of-home care and in the general population. Children with a mild intellectual disability in out-of-home care have an increased risk of CSA. Adequate education and support for both children and caregivers is necessary to recognise and prevent further sexual abuse.