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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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Institutionalization of Children and Alternative Family-Based Care Options for Children in Kenya

Association for Alternative Family Care of Children, in collaboration with the National Council for Children Services and Department of Children’s Services, 01 Feb 2021

This booklet emphasizes the importance of family based care for the care of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in Kenya, provides answers to regularly asked questions, and lists current government efforts to support OVC, including the policy and legal frameworks and existing forms of family and community-based care.

Committee on the Investigation of Intercountry Adoption Report [unofficial translation]

Committee on the Investigation of Intercountry Adoption, Government of the Netherlands, 01 Feb 2021

This report presents the results of an independent investigation into abuses in intercountry adoption in the Netherlands during the period 1967-1998, and the role of the Dutch government in this regard.

Governing belonging through attachment: marriage migration and transnational adoption in Denmark

Mons Bissenbakker & Lene Myong - Ethnic and Racial Studies, 31 Jan 2021

Based on analysis of legal documents on family reunification and educational material concerning transnational adoption in Denmark, this article suggests that the concept of attachment may be conceptualized as a specific operationalization of belonging, and that belonging and biopower may be viewed as intertwined (rather than opposites).

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The right to identify one’s ancestors, ‘limping parentage’ and origin deprivation

Alice Diver - Korean Adoptee Adoption Research Network, 27 Jan 2021

This seminar was given as part of the Korean Adoptee Adoption Research Network's inaugural seminar series, The Right to Know. Each speaker of the series discussed the concept of the right to origin and examined the broader social, legal and political implications in South Korea as a sending country along with experiences from North America and Europe as receiving countries.

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Evidence of Son Preference in the Child Trafficking Market for Illegal Adoption in China

Wanru Xiong - Journal of Human Trafficking, 24 Jan 2021

This article presents evidence of son preference in the child trafficking market for illegal adoption in China, where son preference is explicitly revealed by choice and quantified by the price premium of a boy.

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Enhancing diurnal cortisol regulation among young children adopted internationally: A randomized controlled trial of a parenting-based intervention

K. Lee Raby, Kristin Bernard, M. Kathleen Gordon and Mary Dozier - Development and Psychopathology, 11 Jan 2021

The current study used a randomized controlled trial to assess whether Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) improved the diurnal functioning of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis among 85 children who had been adopted internationally when they were between the ages of 4 and 33 months

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Adoption from Care: International Perspectives on Children’s Rights, Family Preservation and State Intervention

Tarja Pösö, Marit Skivenes and June Thoburn - Research in Social Work series, Bristol University Press, 2021

This book introduces general topics on human rights and attachment, as well as a country-specific in-depth analysis of the legal and policy imperatives guiding adoptions from care, with a particular interest on the rights of children and their care-taking adults, including their birth parents

Development and Validation of a Measure of Attachment Disorders Based on DSM-5 Criteria: The Early TRAuma-Related Disorders Questionnaire (ETRADQ)

Sebastien Monette, Chantal Cyr, Miguel M. Terradas, Sophie Couture, Helen Minnis, Stine Lehmann - Assessment, 31 Dec 2020

This study sought to validate the Early TRAuma-related Disorders Questionnaire (ETRADQ), a caregiver report which was developed to assess attachment disorders in school-age children based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–Fifth edition criteria.

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The Emotional Nature of Birth Family Relationships for Care-experienced and Adopted Young People: A Longitudinal Perspective

Montserrat Fargas-Malet and Dominic McSherry - Journal of Family Issues, 16 Dec 2020

In this article, the authors describe young people’s emotional responses to birth family, and highlight implications for theory, research, and practice.

Equipping resource parents with the knowledge and attitudes to effectively parent teens: Results from the CORE Teen training program

Alanna Feltner, Angelique Day, Lori Vanderwill, Emma Fontaine, Sue Cohick - Children and Youth Services Review, 14 Dec 2020

The Critical On-going Resource Family Education (CORE) Teen is a comprehensive foster parent training program designed to provide resource parents with the knowledge and skills to support teens in their care. This study examined results from trainings conducted across four states and one tribal nation in the U.S.

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