Let’s Get Real: International Adoption Risks Known From a Decade Ago Still Being Ignored Today

Over the weekend, I happened upon my 2nd edition,Year 2000 Parent Network for the Post-Institutionalized Child (PNPIC) booklet called International Adoption: Challenges and Opportunities . This adoptive parent organization is no longer in operation but it compiled the most comprehensive information back in the day. Chapter Four shares the known risks of international adoption.  Contrast the following with where the adoption industry is headed today.

The chapter is titled  Some Recommendations from a Study of Romanian Orphans adopted to British Columbia by Elinor W Ames, Sara J Morrison, Lianne FIsher and Kim Chisholm. What is interesting about this study is that they are looking at children 3 years postadoption.

Here are the recommendations from back then and some quotes:
(1) Parents should adopt the youngest child possible

• The discussion surrounds educational needs -“intellectual remediation” in combination with behavioral issues.

(2)Adoptions of children from orphanages should be considered special needs adoptions
(3)Parents adopting from institutions should get specialized preparation

• It mentions 5 categories: behavioral, emotional, social, medical and intellectual

(4)Preadoption preparation should generally include advice to adopt only one child at a time
(5)Preparation should involve families’ careful evaluation of their own resources

“We found that another important predictor of how many serious problems the child was having 3 years after adoption was parent and family characteristics. Having a larger number of serious problems was related to having been adopted by a family that had lower socioeconomic status and income, and a younger mother…All the families in our study were families with reasonable incomes and socioeconomic status, and mothers who were old enough to be experienced in life.

Although the differences among families were subtle and would not ordinarily constitute risk factors for a child’s development, the
adoption of children who have spent time in orphanage puts a strain on family resources that it may magnify the importance of small differences.

Having the knowledge, experience, and contacts to gain access to (and even fight for) needed information and services, or having a bit of
extra income to pay for a child’ preschool or for a sitter to provide some relaxation for a stressed parent may make a large difference in
outcome. These differences are especially important when the child’s initial problem are more severe, or when two children are added to the family at one time.

The best predictor of the child’s later problems, we feel, is how well the child’s needs match the family’s resources.”

The authors of this blog have known this information for years and that is why we remain concerned about the prospective adoptive parents who fundraise; adding multiple special needs children simultaneously; the pathetic 10 hours of Hague preadoption preparation requirement that was written by adoption agencies;  and the Both Ends Burning/adoptive parent-adoption agency consortium’s movement. We do not highlight these harmful actions in our columns to be “mean” or “unGodly” but because the outcomes for these children based on studies have been known for more than a decade.

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 And please refresh yourself on Reformatina’s tips on ethical adoptions here.

For our other 6 entries in the Let’s Get Real series, see here.