Adoption & Foster Care Flashcards
1
Q
3 types of long-term care by someone other than the child’s parents
A
- 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.)
2
Q
Adoption in Canada
A
- 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
3
Q
Types of adoption in BC
A
- 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)
4
Q
Foster Care in BC
A
- 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
5
Q
History of Adoption
A
- 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
6
Q
Modern shifts in adoption
A
- 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)
7
Q
3 reasons for adoption from an evolutionary perspective
A
- 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
8
Q
Why might a family adopt a child?
A
- 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.
9
Q
Why might a child get put up for adoption?
A
- Not financially secure
- Young
- No access to/use of birth control, abortions, etc.
- Cultural attitudes
- Overpopulation
10
Q
Outcomes of adoption
A
- 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)
11
Q
adoption as a risk factor
A
- 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
12
Q
why are adopted children at a greater risk for problems?
A
- 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)
13
Q
factors to consider when looking at adoption as a risk factor
A
- 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)
14
Q
Adoption as a protective intervention
A
- 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)
15
Q
Foster Care (in general)
A
- 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
16
Q
Why would a child be placed in foster care?
A
- 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
17
Q
types of foster homes
A
- 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)
18
Q
impacts of foster care compared to general population
A
- 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)
19
Q
impacts of foster care compared to children who remain in home
A
- 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
20
Q
Lawrence, Carlson, and Egeland Study: what did they do?
A
- 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
21
Q
Lawrence, Carlson, and Egeland Study: what did they find?
A
- 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
22
Q
Berget et al. study
A
- 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
23
Q
what policy could be implemented to improve outcomes for children in foster care?
A
- 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)
24
Q
differences between adopted and non-adopted children in clinical settings
A
- 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)
25
Q
adoptive family life cycle
A
- 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
26
Q
adoptive parents compared to non-adoptive parents
A
- 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”)
27
Q
3 parts of the adoptive identity
A
- 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.
28
Q
Special Needs Adoption
A
- 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)
29
Q
Domestic Transracial Adoption
A
- 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
30
Q
Intercountry adoption
A
- 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
31
Q
Open Adoption
A
- 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.
