Family Preservation Week

This week on REFORM Talk, we will feature stories about individuals and groups that assist at-risk families in staying together.

We strive to cover all the aspects surrounding at-risk minors and orphans. We will strive to give our readers a look at the whole forest of child welfare needs. Poverty, disease, death of parent(s), neglect, abuse and criminal elements are reasons that children are at risk. Family Preservation is one important aspect that MUST be a PART of every child welfare system. We are NOT saying that it solves the problems of neglect and abuse, but it needs to be taken into account as an option in discerning what is best for each individual child. For every single child.

In order for Family Preservation to be a viable option in a country, coercion, shame-mongering and trafficking need to become extinct. That is a tall order, but we need to get started in working towards reducing these barriers. It begins by fully recognizing that these issues are pervasive in the adoption industry today. Organizations walk a fine line when they have one hand in Adoption and the other in Family Preservation. There is no oversight of this fine line. That needs to be taken into account when prospective parents are doing due diligence.

We would be remiss if we did not point out that Adoption is also merely one of these child welfare aspects. Adoption cannot exist separately from the overall child welfare of a country. Adoption is not a panacea for the reasons that children are at risk nor can it rise above corruption within a country. It coexists with corruption and trafficking. This is the dirty little secret that the adoption industry never wants to share with potential clients.

There are ways to improve the ethics of the process and we at REFORM Talk strive to share ideas about steps that can be taken. We invite you to re-read one of our first posts regarding ethical adoption.
Ethical Adoption and Prospective Parent Expectations

REFORM Puzzle Piece