Today’s reality is far different as a result of the Internet, and the changes – some or better, others for worse – are accelerating every day. That means people who want to make connections are being enabled to do so more easily and more quickly than had ever been possible before, but it also means that for-profit brokers and facilitators are expanding their reach, with virtually no monitoring or regulation. And so, for instance, highly commercialized and aggressive marketing is being aimed at expectant mothers and prospective adoptive parents, promising easy and quick solutions to very complex human situations. Ads pop up alongside almost any search related to adoption, sometimes offering “a baby in less than 3 months” or “a free college education” for women who place their infants. Would-be families advertise online, describing an almost perfect future for any baby they might adopt, the kinds of ads one adoptive parent in our study described as “butterflies and rainbows,” while ignoring the pain, loss and grief inherent in adoption. And “desperate” mothers-to-be (who may not be desperate or even pregnant) reach out over the Internet to offer unborn children in exchange for money.!

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This report was researched and written by Dr. Amy Whitesel, Assistant Research
Professor of Psychology, George Washington University, and Dr. Jeanne Howard,
Policy and Research Director, Donaldson Adoption Institute.

It is difficult to describe the extent to which the Internet is changing the everyday realities of adoption – and the lives of the millions of people it encompasses – without using words that sound hyperbolic. But a yearlong examination of the effects of this very new technology on a very old social institution indicates that they are systemic, profound, complex and permanent. Social media, search engines, blogs, chat rooms, webinars, photo-listings and an array of other modern communications tools, all facilitated by the Internet, are transforming adoption practices, challenging current laws and policies, offering unprecedented opportunities and resources, and raising critical ethical, legal and procedural issues about which adoption professionals, legislators and the personally affected parties, by their own accounts, have little reliable information, research or experience to guide them.

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All contents (c) 2012 by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
Send questions and comments to info@adoptioninstitute.org

Presented by:

Marie Dolfi, LCSW

Volunteer Advocacy Chairperson, NYSCCC

On April 9, 1912, the U.S. Children’s Bureau became the first national government agency in the world to focus solely on the needs of children. During the past 100 years, the Children’s Bureau has played a critical role in addressing vital issues affecting families—from reducing infant mortality and eradicating child labor, to preventing child maltreatment and promoting permanency for children and youth.

This report is the first in a series the Institute plans to publish that will address the phenomenon of openness in domestic infant adoptions. It summarizes research knowledge on the topic and presents findings from a survey of 100 infant adoption programs in the U.S. regarding their practices around openness and the qualities that facilitate successful open adoption relationships. The institute is also in the final stages of preparing a related curriculum for pre-adoptive parents and expectant parents considering adoptive placement for their children.

Policy & Practice Perspectives are research-based publications that focus on important and timely issues in the field. This report was researched and written by Dr. Deborah H. Siegel, Professor of Social Work, Rhode Island College, and Susan Livingston Smith, Program and Project Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. It was edited by Adam Pertman, Executive Director of the Institute. We are deeply grateful to several graduate student interns who assisted with this research – Rebecca Knickmeier, Sarah Malloy-Good and Preeti Vissa. We also appreciate the assistance of several adoption scholars and professionals who reviewed this paper and provided research and editorial assistance. They include Dr. Ruth McRoy, Leslie Pate Mackinnon, and Dr. Harold Grotevant.

Send questions and comments to info@adoptioninstitute.org.

All contents (c) 2012 by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.

For a variety of reasons, adopted individuals and their families are more likely to use mental health services than is the general population. Helping adoptive parents manage these life complexities for themselves and their children can be a challenge, often requiring the help of professionals. Adopted individuals, as children and through their life cycles, can encounter a range of concerns (e.g. ones related to identity) with which they want and need professional assistance. Furthermore, birth/first mothers and fathers also frequently need the services of mental health counselors as they struggle to cope with their loss and, for a growing number of these individuals, to find satisfying ways of managing ongoing relationships with their children and their adoptive families. Mental health and allied professionals must be prepared to meet the needs of these individuals and families. They must possess not only the foundations for competent clinical practice, but also a deep understanding of the unique issues involved.

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Policy Perspective
August 2013
Funded by: The Donaldson Adoption Institute