Adoption & Foster Care

Question 1

3 types of long-term care by someone other than the child’s parents

Answer 1

• Adoption: permanent, legal placement of an abandoned, relinquished, or orphaned child within a family of relatives (kinship adoption) or within an unrelated family (non-kinship adoption)
• Foster Care: temporary long- or short-term out-of-home placement for children whose parents are unable to care for them (government is legally responsible for that child)
• Institutionalization: in which a child’s placement is with an established organization (orphanage, children’s home, etc.)

Question 2

Adoption in Canada

Answer 2

• 1 in 5 Canadians “touched by” adoption in some way
• No “standard” adoption:
• • Costs vary
• • Process times vary (can be a few months or a few years)
• • Domestic vs. International
• • Provincially mandated

Question 3

Types of adoption in BC

Answer 3

• Adopt a “waiting child” through Ministry of Child or Family Development (about 50% of adoptions in BC happen this way)
• Inter-country/international adoption -> through private, licensed agency (4 in BC, each have to follow requirements set out by various countries)
• Domestic/local adoption through private agencies (ex. Adopting an infant a parent puts up for adoption, getting “matched” with someone)
• Adoption by relatives or step-parents (goes directly through the court system)
• Direct placement adoption (parents select someone they know)
• “Custom Adoption”: particular to Aboriginal children (different laws regulating it)

Question 4

Foster Care in BC

Answer 4

• 2011 Census: 29,500 foster children <14 years reported (.5% of children)
• Regulations:
• • Series of steps to become a foster parent
• • Regular foster home can have up to 6 children
• • Receive around $700-$900/mo from government for care of children

Question 5

History of Adoption

Answer 5

• Adoption is not new, and is not uniquely human
• Many examples from history/literature (ex. Moses, Muhammad, Julius Caesar)
• Animals adopt others in the wild

Question 6

Modern shifts in adoption

Answer 6

• Increase in international adoption (birth control means less unwanted North American children being born; international events like fall of Communism, Vietnam war, etc. making more international kids available)
• Broader range of families adopting children (used to be wealthy, middle-class couples; now more single, older, or same-sex households)
• Open adoption (birth family has some contact with child after adoption)

Question 7

3 reasons for adoption from an evolutionary perspective

Answer 7

• Inter-species survival: helping human race succeed even if your own specific genes aren’t being passed on
• Reciprocal altruism: you’re getting something out of it (ex. Social connections, not going through pregnancy, etc.)
• “Baby lust”: humans are evolutionarily attracted to babies

Question 8

Why might a family adopt a child?

Answer 8

• variety of reasons:
• • Infertility
• • Don’t want to pass on genes (due to disease, etc.)
• • Might not want to experience pregnancy
• Want to give a good home to a child in need
• • etc.

Question 9

Why might a child get put up for adoption?

Answer 9

• Not financially secure
• Young
• No access to/use of birth control, abortions, etc.
• Cultural attitudes
• Overpopulation

Question 10

Outcomes of adoption

Answer 10

• Whether adoption is a risk factor or a protective intervention depends entirely on the comparison group
• Compared to biological siblings left behind, adopted kids do much better (protective intervention)
• Compared to current adopted siblings/peers, adopted kids to worse (risk factor)

Question 11

adoption as a risk factor

Answer 11

• Disproportionate numbers of adopted children in mental health settings (both because adoption is a risk factor and because adoptive parents tend to be more aware/willing to send kids to see mental health professionals)
• Adopted children at greater risk for problems in school, learning disabilities, behaviour problems (externalizing), substance abuse

Question 12

why are adopted children at a greater risk for problems?

Answer 12

• Struggles with identity development
• Temperamental mismatch between children and adoptive parents
• Genetic factors
• Struggles with attachment
• Adverse pre- and post-natal environments (ex. Trauma in early life)

Question 13

factors to consider when looking at adoption as a risk factor

Answer 13

• Age of child (the earlier child is adopted, the less likely they are to have problems)
• Adverse pre-placement environments (ex. Exposure to abuse, neglect, etc. increases risk factors)
• Gender of child (males tend to have higher negative outcomes)
• Openness in adoption (both structurally – ie. In a legal sense; and in terms of communication – ie. How much parents talk about adoption -> communication seems to matter more than structure)
• Cross-racial/international adoption (mixed results)

Question 14

Adoption as a protective intervention

Answer 14

• Adoption seen as a “catch-up”: more physical growth, trust, cognitive development, school achievement, self-esteem
• Most children experience increase in SES with adoption (big confound)

Question 15

Foster Care (in general)

Answer 15

• Intended to be a temporary arrangement: goal is typically reuniting child with birth parents (but only happens ~50% of time)
• • Other 15% get adopted to new families, remaining 25% age out of foster care
• Child is legally the responsibility of the government
• • Foster arrangements open to supervision
• • Expectations/responsibilities of all involved may be unclear

Question 16

Why would a child be placed in foster care?

Answer 16

• Lots of variability
• Maltreatment: abuse, neglect (approx. 10% of children who are maltreated get placed into foster care)
• Failure to protect child from maltreatment by others
• Child delinquency; behavioural problems
• Parent substance abuse, psychological, or physical illness
• Homeless
• Incarceration
• Parental abandonment
• Poor parent-child relationship

Question 17

types of foster homes

Answer 17

• Short-term foster home: providing home for child expected to return home
• Long-term: for children who are unlikely to return home, where adoption isn’t an option (ie. If child is in late teens and doesn’t want to be adopted)
• Emergency: very short-term; until a more secure placement is found
• Specialized: provide specialized care for children with certain characteristics; foster parents have specialized training (ex. Care for kids with HIV, etc.)
• Treatment: similar to specialized; dealing with children with severe levels of problems (ex. Behavioural issues); professional staff may be on-hand
• Kinship: foster care provided by family members (about 30% of cases; most kids are in non-relative foster family care)

Question 18

impacts of foster care compared to general population

Answer 18

• Compared to general population, being/having been in foster care associated with greater risk
• More likely to commit crimes, substance abuse, become homeless, etc.
• But, individuals in foster care differ from general public in other ways (ex. Maltreatment, other adversities, SES, unstable placements)

Question 19

impacts of foster care compared to children who remain in home

Answer 19

• Compared to children who remain in home with history of maltreatment, mixed findings exist (not always better to remove them from home)
• Weighing 2 potentially negative impacts:
• • Dangerous home environment (maltreatment)
• • Disruption of removing child from home

Question 20

Lawrence, Carlson, and Egeland Study: what did they do?

Answer 20

• Compared behavioural problems in 3 groups:
• • Children placed into foster care
• • Children who remained with caregiver with “propensity for maltreatment” (ex. Verbally abusive parents, parents who spank kids a lot, etc.)
• • Matched low SES control group with caregiver with no history of maltreatment

Question 21

Lawrence, Carlson, and Egeland Study: what did they find?

Answer 21

• Control group consistently less behavioural problems
• Foster and maltreatment group don’t really differ -> only difference is that foster care group shows slightly higher behavioural problems when they were actually in care

Question 22

Berget et al. study

Answer 22

• Examined impact of foster care while controlling for other important factors (SES, maltreatment, etc.)
• Found no association between out-of-home placement and child behavioural/cognitive outcomes

Question 23

what policy could be implemented to improve outcomes for children in foster care?

Answer 23

• Keeping connections to birth family open (ie. Through meetings/supervised visits)
• Placing children in kinship care as much as possible
• Parent/training support programs (ex. BC Foster Care Education program: 53 hours must be completed within 2 years of becoming a foster parent)

Question 24

differences between adopted and non-adopted children in clinical settings

Answer 24

• adopted children younger upon entry, stay longer, more likely to have had previous hospitalization
• adopted children’s problems less likely to be associated with marital/family dysfunction
• parents of adopted children more likely to endorse biological/early experiences as roots of problems (rather than looking at their own role)

Question 25

adoptive family life cycle

Answer 25

• decision to adopt a child: if due to infertility, confronting/resolving that issue (emotionally) leads to better outcomes
• becoming adoptive parent: apply, homestudy to prove fitness, probationary period, variable timeline, stigma, less role models, etc.
• preschool: family differentiation usually begins (telling child they’re adopted), although kids don’t fully understand until 5-7
• school-age: more curious about adoption, may feel more intense feelings of loss (for birth family, culture, etc.), may become ambivalent -> parental openness important here; “acknowledgement-of-differences”
• teens: more aware of biological/psychological differences between adopted child and adopted family; identity development; desire to seek out birth family

Question 26

adoptive parents compared to non-adoptive parents

Answer 26

• generally older, more financially secure, married longer
• may feel more powerful fulfillment when child arrives (if struggled with infertility)
• working with adoption agencies makes them more formally prepared for parenthood
• more positively adjusted at initial arrival of child (but may be “honeymoon phase”)

Question 27

3 parts of the adoptive identity

Answer 27

• intrapsychic: cognitive/affective processes associated with the meaning/salience of adoption in the person’s life (ex. is it a key part of your identity?)
• meaning in context of family memberships: influenced by openness
• internalization of meaning within context of sociocultural factors: feedback about unique family status from peers, teachers, society, etc.

Question 28

Special Needs Adoption

Answer 28

• 2 groups: disabilities with predictable manifestations (ie. physical/developmental; chronic health issues) and those with unpredictable manifestations (ie. emotional/behaviour problems)
• adoptions of kids with predictable manifestations are more successful
• older, single parents more likely to adopt special needs kids
• stages: anticipation -> accomodation -> resistance -> restabilization
• important factors: flexible parenting styles and realistic expectations, maintaining pre-existing relationships with other people in adoptive family, and managing external stressors (ie. peer difficulties) and using supports (ie. mental health professionals)

Question 29

Domestic Transracial Adoption

Answer 29

• faced opposition from African American and Native American communities (“cultural genocide”)
• many have positive outcomes, but some show identity issues
• outcomes are better when parents are sensitive to complexities of being a person of colour, advocate for their children, promote strong sense of ethnic and racial pride, and provide opportunities to connect with people of same racial/ethnic background

Question 30

Intercountry adoption

Answer 30

• critics argue this deprives children of their national identity and takes them away from their own racial/ethnic group
• mixed results in adjustment of children
• language/communication may be an issue, as is impact of early institutional life
• outcomes may be better when parents expose kids to info about their heritage

Question 31

Open Adoption

Answer 31

• positive effects occur as long as parents CHOOSE to have open adoption
• • ex. more secure parent-child relationships, more understanding/empathetic towards birth parents, adoptive parents more adjusted, less regret, etc.