Keeping the Promise:
The Critical Need for Post-Adoption Services to
Enable Children and Families to Succeed
Decline in Infant Adoptions
Since the early 1970s, infant
adoptions have declined about nine-
fold.
During past 20 years, public foster
care & intercountry adoptions have
increased dramatically.
These adoptions are best for the
children and cost-beneficial for
society.
Numer 0f Adoptions with Public Agency Involvement
1988-2005
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Proportion of Nonstepparent U.S. Adoptions/Type
Proportion of Non-stepparent U.S. Adoptions by Type
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How do adopted children fare after adoption?
The Good News
Only 15% of adoptive parents (of all types) report their
relationship with their adopted child is “more difficult”
than they ever expected.
Over 90% of adoptive parents in any type of adoption
are satisfied with their adoption experience
Most adoptive parents report feeling very close to their
children across all types of adoptions
(National Survey of Adoptive Parents; Howard, Smith & Ryan, 2004)
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The Challenges
The utilization of clinical services by adoptive
families is triple the rate reported by birth families
Over 1/3 of adopted children receive at least one
type of counseling or mental health service
Behavior problems for many of these youth are
chronic
Underlying emotional issues drive behaviors
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Risk Factors for Ongoing Challenges
Prenatal malnutrition/ Physical, sexual &
low birth weight emotional abuse
Prenatal substance Multiple placements
exposure
Emotional conflicts re:
Older age at adoption loss & identity
Early deprivation & Genetic vulnerabilities
chronic neglect
Percentage of Children (6-17) Receiving Mental
Health Care (Nat’l Survey of Adoptive Parents)
46% Foster care adoptions
33% Private domestic adoptions
35% International adoptions
10% General population
(National Survey of Children’s Health)
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Issues in School Performance by Family Type
Birth Infant Int’l CW
n=175 n=481 n=89 n=1340
Unmet educational needs 15% 18% 27% 39%
Special education services
for learning problems 9% 24% 32% 40%
Teacher complaints/behavior 18% 35% 34% 54%
On medication for behaviors 3% 28% 21% 31%
Repeated 1 or more grades 6% 4% 3% 26%
(Howard, Smith, & Ryan, 2004)
Families Need Post-Adoption Services
Financial supports
Education/information & referral
Support: support groups, mentors
Respite care for children with intense needs
Therapeutic counseling services
Service coordination, advocacy
Barriers to Receiving Help
Professionals lack adoption competence
Effective treatments just now developing
Complexity of problems & needs-hard to
get effective help in a timely way
Inadequate funding of post-adopt services
Some problems cannot be remediated and
need ongoing support
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When Can’t Find Help—
Common Family Dynamics
Severe power struggles
Mother takes brunt of child’s anger
Marital tension
Conflict thru family / sibs
Isolation
Running on empty/exhaustion
Parents feel like failures/hopeless
Difficulty connecting or empathizing
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We were lost, sinking, destroying our family rapidly
before these services. We spent thousands upon
thousands of dollars, not counting the time
involved in seeking help. This was the only place
we could find help, information, relief…an
understanding of how to try and cope …how to
deal with the emotions these kids stir up in us.
How to still love them…It’s so hard to try to put
into words the devastating effects on the family
these kids could have…the destruction, the
financial drain, the breakdown of the marriage, of
physical health…
Recommendations
Dedicated federal funding and assistance to
develop continuum of supports
Identify high risk children & intervene early
Research on interventions & educate
professionals about these
Educate professionals to understand
adoptions & how to support families
Intensive services needed for top level of
difficulty (advocacy, crisis, etc.)
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For more information:
Paper on Post-Adoption Services:
Keeping the Promise
http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/resear
ch/2010_10_promises.php
