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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Country Care Review: Zambia

Better Care Network, 14 Jul 2016

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

Displays of parent suitability in adoption assessment reports

Judith Lind and Cecilia Lindgren - Child and Family Social Work, 08 Jul 2016

This paper analyzes the concluding sections of assessment reports on applicants for intercountry adoption in Sweden to answer the following question: what must be said about an individual or a couple in order for her/them to be seen as a suitable adoptive parent?

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Development and Initial Validation of the Transracial Adoption Parenting Scale—Revised

Jaegoo Lee, Josie Crolley-Simic, M. Elizabeth Vonk - Research on Social Work Practice, 07 Jul 2016

The purpose of this research is to provide an initial validation of a revision of the Transracial Adoption Parenting Scale—Revised (TAPS-R) with international transracial adoptive parents.

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Locating the Study of Adoptive Parenthood

Mandi MacDonald , 06 Jul 2016

Establishing the context of this study of adoptive parenthood and open adoption, MacDonald describes the legal, policy, and social frameworks that shape the experience of adoptive parenthood. The role of adoption in child welfare policy is identified, specifically in the UK and USA where it provides permanence for significant numbers of children in State care.

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The Role of Parenting and Family Factors in the Developmental Catch-Up for Children Adopted Internationally

Jennifer M. Katzenstein, Brenna LeJeune & Kathy E. Johnson - Adoption Quarterly, 23 Jun 2016

The present study focused on whether parenting and family factors explain variance in cognitive and linguistic catch-up in children adopted internationally.

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Foster and Adoptive parent training: A process and outcome investigation of the preservice PRIDE program

Jordanna J. Nash & Robert J. Flynn - Children and Youth Services Review, 02 Jun 2016

This study investigated the widely-used but under-researched program for training resource parents (i.e., foster, adoptive, or kinship parents) known as preservice PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education). The sample consisted of 174 participants in Ontario, Canada.

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Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data for Fiscal Year 2015

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, 01 Jun 2016

This report provides preliminary estimates of U.S. Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data for Fiscal Year 2015.

A conceptual model of psychosocial adjustment of foster care adoptees based on a scoping review of contributing factors

Andrea del Pozo de Bolger, Debra Dunstan and Melissa Kaltner - Clinical Psychologist, 28 May 2016

The purpose of this article is to provide psychologists and adoption researchers with a conceptual model for the psychosocial adjustment of foster care adoptees with a background of maltreatment.

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Adoption and Foster Care Placement Policies Legislatively Promoting the Best Interest of Children Amidst Competing Interests of Religious Freedom and Equal Protection for Same-Sex Couples

Samantha R. Lyew - Journal of Legislation, 27 May 2016

This article examines adoption and foster care placement policies as they pertain to the competing interests of religious freedom and equal protection for same-sex couples.

Country Care Review: Slovakia

Better Care Network , 17 May 2016

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.