Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that the adoption process is one that should not be entered into lightly and one that professionals should take great responsibility ethically in providing necessary services to the birth parents who are considering entering into an adoption proceeding. The inequity of adoption laws are historically noted in this work as well as the failure of the legal system in protecting the birth parent from suffering associated with denial of information as to her child's well being. It is the belief of the researcher that provisions for adult disclosure of birth parent information and identification should be inclusive in laws and regulations governing adoptions in order to protect the individual who has everything to lose, and specifically for protection of the birth parent.

Outline:
Objective
Introduction
Statement of Thesis
Literature Review
Summary and Conclusion

From the Paper
"The rights of the birthparents should be given the most weight in the adoption process as compared to the adoptive parents. While the adoptive parents have much to gain, the birthparents are those who have much to lose if the adoption process is not handled properly, ethically, according to prescribed laws, and responsively as to the psychological needs of the birthparents who are giving up their child for adoption. The intention of the birthparents who give up the child for adoption generally is one that is noble and is directly based upon a decision to allow the child the opportunity for a better life than the birthparent is able to provide. However, after the child has become an adult, the goal of adoption has been successfully concluded and there should be no reason whatsoever that the birthparent and child should be hidden from one another legally."

Tags:adoption, child, mother, family, infant

From the Paper
"Problem Identification
Relationships between adolescents and their parents frequently are characterized by conflict and disharmony. The character of such relationships may be characterized by even greater turmoil when the child is adopted. Among a sample of 90 adolescents (aged 14-to-21 years old), Lahti (1993, pp. 67-74) found the 18.9 percent of the adolescent subjects suffered for problems at a neurotic level, and that an additional 13.3 percent of the subjects suffered from more severe disorders. Lahti, 1993, pp. 67-74) found further that approximately 45 percent of the adoptive fathers and ... "

Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that there are approximately 120,000 adoptions in the United States each year, many of which are successfully completed. However, the writer points out that while substantial amounts succeed, nearly twenty percent disrupt before legalization can occur. The writer maintains that this is due, in part, to the high level of rights retained by the biological parents in adoption cases. This paper discusses the rights of biological parents and the court's reasoning for upholding these rights. The writer then looks at the consequences of such rights to adoptive parents. This shows that while adoptive parents do hold some right to their new child, the biological parents have far more rights during the adoption process, and even following birth.

From the Paper
"The consequences for the adoptive parents can be devastating. In open adoption cases, where the adoptive parents have provided monetary support, physician care, and other necessities to the biological mother, a pre-birth consent is still not binding. This means the time, money, and effort exerted by the adoptive parents may be for nothing, clearly showing the biological mother's rights to be valued higher than those of the adoptive parents. Even in agency adoptions, the adoptive parents are forced to relinquish the child if the biological parent revokes consent, even if the child has already been placed within the home."

Tags:biological, parent, adoptive, child

Abstract
This paper presents convincing arguments on the benefits of adoption, both for adoptive parents and children. Those who may want to consider adoption include people who may be experiencing problems conceiving their own children or even those who already have children, yet want to expand their family. The author cites current trends in adoption, and cautions that adoption is not something prospective parents should undertake lightly. There are some significant legal obligations and responsibilities that go hand in hand with adoption.

Outline:
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview
Lack of Follow-Up in Adoptive Services.
Current Trends in Foster Care and Adoption.
Conclusion

From the Paper
"While states have increasingly focused on changing law, policy, practice and agency culture to increase the number of adoptions across the country, there has been less emphasis on what happens to families after they adopt. The social and emotional wounds caused by abuse, neglect and frequent moves among foster homes are not healed by the issuance of an adoption decree. In this regard, one adoption service head reports that, "Adoption is not the cure for every problem a child has experienced. But we've acted like it is for a long time" (Christian, 2002, p. 31). In fact, child welfare agencies have traditionally regarded adoption as the end of their responsibilities to adoptive children and their new families alike, and this author notes that many American families have reported feeling abandoned by these social services once their adoption has been finalized. Many foster children are adopted by their foster parents, who often see a substantial reduction in the array of services and supports available to them (Christian, 2002). "

Tags:adoption

Abstract
The paper presents a study to compare families that have adopted pre-teens and teen-aged children with those who are still with their birth parents, in order to understand how generational boundaries develop. The paper outlines the research problem and relates the hypothesis that children from adoptive families will demonstrate a higher degree of parental or mate-like qualities than those who are still with their birth parents. The paper also presents the research design as well as a literature review on attachments, relationships and adoption. The paper contends that the study will contribute to an overall understanding of generational boundary dissolution and will play an important role in the development of future therapy techniques.

Outline:
The Research Problem
Literature Summary
Research Design
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Generational boundary dissolution presents as a crisis in many families. Generational boundaries are important for the development of the individual, within the framework of the family system. The area of generational boundaries is a relatively new concept in the field of family therapy. At this point, many of the techniques used are based on theory, rather than empirically tested ideals. Research into this area is young, presenting many avenues for exploration and research.
"Much of the research into generational boundaries is based on the two-parent family model (Madden-Derdich, Estrada, Ulloa, & Updegraff, et al., 2002). This research will utilize theory and methods developed to date, only it will apply it to a unique situation within the family structure. This research will utilize interactional analysis to examine generational boundary dissolution among families of adoptive children. The premise is based on the theory that parental boundaries are established early in life (Barber, 2001). By adolescence, these patterns are destined to have a dramatic impact on the development of adolescents."

Tags:adoption, attachment, parents, mate, relationship, intrusions, identity, development

Abstract
This paper discusses the issues surrounding the role that the adoption social worker plays in finding good families to adopt children. The paper also explains the qualities needed for this job and the challenges it involves.

Outline:
Social problem or human need focused upon and clients
Setting or types of agencies/organizations where practice takes place
Functions of adoptive social work: duties, responsibilities or specific assignments
Functions of adoptive social work: knowledge and skills necessary for the social worker to effectively perform her/his duties
Challenges

From the Paper
"As couples wait longer and longer to have children, the reality prospective parents often face is that their fertility has declined over the years. The increase in the number and range of options for adoptive parents, including interracial adoption and international adoption, has caused a corresponding increase in the need for and demand for adoption social workers. The primary goal of the adoption social worker is to find good families for children and to protect the rights of the children being adopted, along with the rights of the adoptive and birth parents as well. The clients of adoptive social workers may include birth and adoptive parents and extended families, private and public agencies, and also older children undergoing the adoptive process as adoptees. The social workers may have contact with international organizations in cases of international adoption ("Social workers," 2008, Encyclopedia of Adoption)."

Tags:options, clients, interracial

Abstract
This paper explains that the opponents of rights for gays and lesbians claim that gays and lesbians are not merely unsuitable as potential adoptive parents but also entirely immoral. The author underscores that, overwhelmingly, the opposition to adoption by gays and lesbians is based on religious arguments. The paper relates that, although opponents of homosexual adoption have long tried to make a case that a child raised by a homosexual couple is at greater risk than a child raised by "straight" parents, serious research to support this is virtually non-existent. The author stresses that there is overwhelming scientific support, from such authorities as the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, that gays are entirely suitable as adoptive parents.

From the Paper
"Despite these studies, there are bitter opponents of gay adoption, and it is notable that a tiny group of people remain dedicated to the idea that there is a "scientific" basis for opposition to gay adoption. One of the most credentialed opponents of gay adoption is Lynn Wardle, a professor of law at the Brigham Young University Law School. Wardle has been most vocal in custody disputes, in which he contends if a biological parent is found to be gay, this creates a rebuttable presumption that the parent is unfit and should therefore by denied custody."

Tags:religious, scientific, custody, development, research

Abstract
This paper explains that the number of children adopted by gay men and lesbian parents has increased as more state laws have relaxed the prohibition on these types of adoptions and as more social workers and agencies now are willing to accommodate and intervene for them. The author points out that this changing trend has lead to critical concerns about sexual orientation, the probability of molestation, teasing and harassment of the child, which have created a dilemma for the social workers between the need for adoptive families and the principles of his or her profession. The paper relates that research suggests that the adopted children of gay and lesbian parents develop normal or straight relationships with their peers and satisfying relationships with adults of both sexes; therefore, social workers should support this type of adoption as guided by their professional code of ethics.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
History of Adoption
Reasons for Accepting Adoption by Gay or Lesbian Parents
Issues and Concerns
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The revolutions of the 1960s and 1970s further influenced and modified adoption practices. These revolutions were the women's liberation, civil rights movement, sexual revolution, the adoptee's liberty movement, and the birth fathers' rights, birth control, legalized abortion and a dominant single parenthood culture. One consequence was that social workers were encouraged to adjust their role as educators for adoptive parents in helping them recognize and cope with raising adopted children as against raising natural children. Adoptive parents now demand more information on the child they take and whose future is entrusted to them."

Tags:same-sex, second, parent, code, reseach, laws

Abstract
This paper proposes a study to determine whether closed adoption, as opposed to open adoption, where the adoptive parents and the birth family all work together in varying degrees to provide the child with the most optimal upbringing, is really better for the child. It examines previously published literature in the quest to find the answer and explores several child theories regarding the best interest of the child when it comes to having open or closed adoptions. The study concludes that open adoption is the best solution for the general well-being of the child.

From the Paper
"The argument for open adoption is strong when one looks at the evidence and the research that has been done on the topic. Experts agree that one of the problems for adopted children and adults is the fact that they do not have any sense of who they are. In addition, who they are is supposed to be ignored and forgotten as they pretend this new family is the only family they have ever had(Smith, 2001).
Kirschner also draws from the writings of B.J. Lifton, an adoptee who has generalized her own unhappiness with adoption."

Tags:parents, birth, biological

Abstract
A review of the change in recent years towards more open adoptions.This proposal argues that, because of the advantages of these open adoptions, social workers, and adoption agencies should encourage both birth and adoptive families to develop lines of communication. Such an arrangement, this paper argues, will benefit both families and, more importantly, the adopted child.

From the Paper
"However, most birth parents now are far from this picture. Most birth mothers are in their 20s and 30s. Most of them are already parents, who are struggling to make ends meet. Many are married immigrants, who are working two jobs to send money for children left behind in their native countries. What they have in common, observes Judith Freedman of the Massachusetts-based Jewish Family and Children's Service, is that most of them do not believe in abortion, and that all of them love their child (Keva). Typical birth parents include Joe Polenzani and his girlfriend, who faced the dilemma of an unplanned pregnancy when they were in college. Both did not believe in abortion, and were leery of the old adoption system which severely terminated the role of birth parents."

Tags:children, natural, legal, right, abortion, family, parent