Adoption and Kafala

Adoption is the formal, permanent transfer of parental rights to a family other than a child’s own and the formal assumption by that family of all parenting duties for the child. Where a child’s parents are living and their parental rights have not been terminated, they must provide informed consent for adoption. In some countries it is not culturally acceptable to give the parental rights to a non-family member, and therefore alternative long-term care options must be pursued e.g. kinship care. In some Islamic countries, the term ‘Kafala’ in Islamic law is used to describe a situation similar to adoption, but without the severing of family ties, the transference of inheritance rights, or the change of the child’s family name.

Given the permanency of adoption, it should be used very carefully and only when it is in a child’s best interests. In some cases difficult choices must be made between keeping a child in a temporary care situation in the hope of eventual family reunification, and a child’s developmental need for permanent attachment and care within a family environment. Adoption should not be considered an option in an emergency context. In the case of family separation in an emergency all tracing activities must be exhausted before adoption can be considered.

The long term care of a child requires thorough assessment and planning, and should include the participation of all those affected, especially the child in question. The choice for adoption must meet the child’s long term needs and wishes, and enable their healthy development into adulthood. Wherever possible, children should remain with siblings and encouraged to maintain contact with relatives. All adoptive placements should be in keeping with applicable national law and international standards.

Ideally adoptive parents should come from a similar cultural and religious background to the child, so that the child can retain her heritage and sense of identity. This will be more likely when the adoption is within the country of the child’s origin. The child care policies of a country must therefore provide mechanisms for formal state adoption procedures, and provide workers to support this process. Intercountry or cross border adoptions should be used with caution since the child is likely to grow up in unfamiliar surroundings, and may therefore be more isolated and exposed to risk. When intercountry adoption is in the best interests of a child, international protection agencies should ensure standards are met and procedures should be in keeping with the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption.

This section of papers includes country and policy examples of the use of adoption and guidance on practice.

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Go To The Mattresses

Elna Baker - This American Life, 26 Jul 2019

This radio segment from the program 'This American Life' tells the story of Shamyla, who grew up as the adoptive child of her aunt and uncle in the United States but whose biological parents in Pakistan wanted her back in their care.

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Children forever: The search for origins among Chilean adults who were adopted

Irene Salvo Agoglia, Diana Marre - Child & Family Social Work, 21 Jul 2019

In this article, the authors present some results from the first qualitative study that explores the experiences of some Chilean adults who were adopted and searched for their origins in Chile through the National Service of Minor's Search for Origins Program.

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Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and any other child sexual abuse material

UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and any other child sexual abuse material, 15 Jul 2019

In the present report, the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, describes the activities undertaken in relation to the discharge of her mandate since her previous report to the United Nations General Assembly. The report presents a thematic study on safeguards for the protection of the rights of children born from surrogacy arrangements, highlighting the rights of the child to identity, access to origins and to a family environment.

Country Care Review: Côte d'Ivoire

Better Care Network, 12 Jul 2019

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Affective attunement in peer dyads containing children adopted from institutions

Carrie E. DePasquale & Megan R. Gunnar - Developmental Psychobiology, 09 Jul 2019

This study sought to understand how post‐institutionalized children interact with unfamiliar peers and the factors that predict the quality of these interactions in order to shed light on the processes contributing to the persistent, often increasing social deficits seen in post‐institutionalized children.

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‘My children are my world’: Raising the voices of birth mothers with substantial experience of counselling following the loss of their children to adoption or foster care

Hannah CM Morgan, Lizette Nolte, Barbara Rishworth, Clarissa Stevens - Adoption & Fostering, 08 Jul 2019

The aim of this article is to raise the voices of a group of birth mothers, a historically stigmatised, powerless and neglected group, with substantial experience of counselling following the loss of a child.

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Care of Abandoned Children in Sunni Islamic Law: Early Modern Egypt in Theory and Practice

Ahmed Fekry Ibrahim - Filiation and the Protection of Parentless Children, 03 Jul 2019

In this chapter of Filiation and the Protection of Parentless Children, the author shows the ways in which premodern Muslim jurists and judges (with focus on early modern Egypt) were able to circumvent the prohibition of adoption through discursive moves and practices, which helped create a family life for many parentless and non-biological children.

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Country Care Review: Tonga

Better Care Network, 02 Jul 2019

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Country Care Review: Cabo Verde

Better Care Network, 27 Jun 2019

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Country Care Review: Malta

Better Care Network , 26 Jun 2019

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.