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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Perspectives on kinship care, foster care and adoption in Scotland. Insights for policymakers and practitioners

Helen Whincup - University of Stirling, 01 Sep 2019

Part of the 'Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland' study, this briefing draws upon the voices of children, carers and adoptive parents in Scotland, offering perspectives on kinship care, foster care and adoption.

Child-Parent relationships in Russian families of different types

Yashkova, Aksana N.; Buyanova, Valentina V.; Sukhareva, Nadezhda F.; Alaeva, Maria V. - Dilemas Contemporáneos: Educación, Política y Valores, 01 Sep 2019

This paper examines the data of empirical research on child-parent relationship in the Russian adoptive and birth families.

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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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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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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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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.

The National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation (QIC-AG) Implementation Lessons Learned Webinar Recording

QIC-AG, 31 Jul 2019

The National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation (QIC-AG) is a five-year project working with eight sites that will implement evidence-based interventions or develop and test promising practices which if proven effective can be replicated or adapted in other child welfare jurisdictions. This webinar presented learning from the project related to staffing and staff support, recruitment and retention, cost/sustainability, stakeholder collaboration, and logistics.

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