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.

This factsheet discusses how you can help children in your care by educating yourself about child sexual abuse, establishing guidelines for safety and privacy in your family, and understanding when and how to seek help if you need it. Reading this factsheet alone will not guarantee that you will know what to do in every circumstance, but you can use it as a resource for some of the potential challenges and rewards that lay ahead.

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.

Published by:

Policy Perspective
August 2013
Funded by: The Donaldson Adoption Institute

This guide shares information about the importance of fathers in the lives of their children, and it identifies potential consequences if they are not involved. It also offers strategies for systems and families, especially those who are involved in systems of care, to help fathers become more involved. Section I discusses statistics about the presence and absence of fathers in families.

There are approximately 175,000 youth ages 10–18 in foster care in the United States.1 Of these youth, an estimated 5–10 percent—and likely more—are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ).

Older foster children and youth have a pressing need for permanency. Almost half of the 538,801 children in out-of-home care at the end of the federal 2000 reporting period were ages 10 to17 (Gibbs et al., 2004). As one youth explained, “Our time is almost up. We want a home, and people we can call parents.” Still, tens of thousands of foster youth emancipate from the system without connections each year. This crisis has provoked a groundswell of action by youth advocates, and a call from young people themselves to change the system. It is not typical for youth to leave foster care and function effectively on their own. Older children need parents and the support of committed adults. Research shows that disadvantaged young people who are connected to adults do better: They relate to others with ease, take fewer risks, have better health, and overcome adversity more easily.

Published by:
The North American Council on Adoptable Children
for The Annie E. Casey Foundation Family to Family Initiative