Adoption and Kafala | Better Care Network

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’ of Islamic law is used to describe a situation similar to adoption, but not necessarily with 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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Children in care: Where do children entering care at different ages end up? An analysis of local authority administrative data

Elsbeth Neil, Lisanne Gitsels, June Thobur - Children and Youth Services Review, 20 Aug 2019

This paper explores the usefulness of undertaking a longitudinal analysis of administrative data on children in care at local authority level to determine the care pathways for children entering care, differentiating by age at entry.

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General public perceptions and motivations to adopt children from out-of-home care in New South Wales, Australia

Betty Luu, Amy Conley Wright, and Melanie Randle - Children Australia, 19 Aug 2019

For this study, a general sample of the New South Wales (NSW) public completed an online survey about adoption practices and their willingness to consider adopting from out-of-home care, with background questions on perceived social support and life satisfaction.

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Culturally Competent Parenting: A Test of Web‐Based Training for Transracial Foster and Adoptive Parents

Jordan E. Montgomery - Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 19 Aug 2019

This study tested a web‐based parenting course called FosterParentCollege.com (FPC) Culturally Competent Parenting (CCP) for transracial foster and adoptive parents.

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Rethinking institutional care using family-based alternative child care system for orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria

Chinwe U Nnama-Okechukwu & Uzoma O Okoye - Journal of Social Work in Developing Societies, 16 Aug 2019

This paper is based on field work experience, review of relevant literature and studies on alternative child care system in Nigeria.

Living with the past: the creation of the stolen generation positionality

Stephanie Gilbert - AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 12 Aug 2019

This article describes how the disconnect experienced by Aboriginal children removed from their families and communities in Australia is understood as a dysphoria holding both body-focused aspects and cultural aspects.

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Who do they think they are: Making sense of self in residential care, foster care, and adoption

Mariela Neagu, Judy Sebba - Children and Youth Services Review, 03 Aug 2019

This article explores how the type of placement in children's social care influences identity formation and contact with the birth family. It draws on 40 life history interviews with Romanian-born, care experienced young people who entered adulthood from different types of placement: 16 from residential care, eight from foster care, seven from domestic adoption and nine from intercountry adoption.

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Let’s Raise Children in Families Programme Case Study: Michelle

National Commission for Children, UNICEF, USAID, 01 Aug 2019

This case study profiles the reintegration experiences of one child who has participated in the Tubarerere Mu Muryango (Let’s Raise Children in Families - TMM) programme in Rwanda.

On hope, loss, anger, and the spaces in between: Reflections on living with/in adoption and the role of the social worker

Anna Gupta & Brid Featherstone - Child & Family Social Work, 30 Jul 2019

This article explores the findings of a study on the role of the social worker in adoption with a focus on ethics, concentrating on the perspectives of adopted people, birth parents, and adoptive parents.

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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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