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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Care Reform in Ghana: Achievements and Challenges

Fred Sakyi Boafo, Yvonne Norman and Kwabena Frimpong-Manso, 11 Sep 2017

This presentation by key actors in children's care reform in Ghana provides an overview of the demographic data of Ghana and offers a thorough review of the situation of children's care, and care reform efforts, in the country.

Care Reform in Uganda: Achievements and Challenges

Jane Stella Ogwang, Principal Probation and Welfare Officer, 11 Sep 2017

This presentation by the Principal Probation and Welfare Officer of Uganda outlines the basic demographic data of Uganda and provides an overview of the situation of children's care, and care reform efforts, in the country.

Fostering for Adoption: A child-centred solution - A guide for prospective FfA carers

CoramBAAF, 01 Sep 2017

This guide from CoramBAAF describes Fostering for Adoption (FfA) as "one part of that solution and is a route to achieving early permanence (an umbrella term which covers the placement of a child through FfA or concurrent planning – see below) for a child."

Preventing Parent-Child Separation: Myths and Facts from a KAP Survey in Central and Western Liberia

Mónica Ruiz-Casares, Russell Steele, Rashid Bangura and Geoffrey Oyat - Global Social Welfare, 16 Aug 2017

This paper presents the findings from a population-based, multi-stage random cluster knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey of child caregivers in Liberia, revealing the primary reasons for parent-child separation and common misconceptions about alternative care.

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The adoption of children from out-of-home care: The understandings of key decision makers in Victoria, Australia

Anna Butlinski, Heather Rowe, Christopher Goddard and Nicholas Freezer - Child Abuse & Neglect, 09 Aug 2017

This study examined the way adoption of children from out-of-home care is understood by the professionals involved in making decisions about their permanent care placements in Victoria, Australia.

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Interventions Designed for Children with Histories of Institutionalization and Placed in Foster or Adoptive Families

Maureen Riley-Behringer and Victor Groza - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This paper provides evidence-based guidance on the use of family interventions involving children with a history of institutionalization prior to their placement in family-based care through foster care, adoption, or reunification with their families.

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The Evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund

Sadie King, Matt Gieve, Giorgia Iacopini, Anna Sophie Hahne, Heather Stradling – The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, 01 Aug 2017

This report presents the findings of an evaluation of the UK's Adoption Support Fund undertaken by the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations.

Rescue, red tape, child abduction, illicit adoptions, and discourse: Intercountry adoption attitudes in Spain

Beatriz San Román & Karen S Rotabi - International Social Work , 24 Jul 2017

This study investigated how adoptive and prospective adoptive parents in Spain deal with signs of fraud and corruption within the intercountry adoption process, illuminating the dismissal of the systemic failures of intercountry adoption and the rights of birth families.

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Kinship Secrets and Narrative Work: The Shifting Political Economy of Adoption in Vietnam

Ann Marie Leshkowich - SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 21 Jul 2017

This article draws from three narratives of secret adoptions in Vietnam to further examine and analyze the complex nature and practices of domestic adoption in the country.

Child and family-related predictors of psychological outcomes in children adopted from abroad; what is the role of caregiver time?

Niina Rita, Marko Elovainio, Hanna Raaska, Pekka Lahti-Nuuttila, Jaakko Matomäki, Jari Sinkkonen, Helena Lapinleimu - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 18 Jul 2017

This study explores whether child and family-related factors are associated with later psychological problems in international adoptees in Finland. Researchers then investigated whether the length of time a child spends at home after adoption and before daycare moderates the aforementioned associations.

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