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This book presents new and vivid findings concerning the extensive vulnerability of this population of children at the point of entry to care. It also shows that there is much to learn at an international level from the experiences of those involved in mandatory face-to-face post adoption contact - a uniquely Australian policy. The book provides evidence which shows how continuing post-adoption contact was experienced by adoptees and their adoptive parents.
This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access.
Abstract
This study explores issues on post-adoption services in intercountry adoptions based on the perspectives of adoption professionals from Taiwan and Australia. Findings revealed that both birth and adoptive families identify service needs for material and emotional support and connection after the adoption process is finalized. However, the current lack of government funding for post-adoption services result in gaps in service delivery. Adoption agencies experience challenges in funding and balancing the interests of the child and the two families. Implications for practice and…
Adoptions Australia 2019–20, the 30th report in the series, covers the latest data on adoptions of Australia children and children from overseas, and highlights important trends in the number of adoptions dating back to 1995–96. Data cover characteristics of adopted children, their parents and adoptive families, as well as applications and vetoes for contact and information exchange.
Read previous reports here.
Abstract
Intercountry adoptees face many challenges in developing their identity and achieving a sense of belonging in post-assimilation Australia. This study uses a constructivist approach to analyse narrative interviews with a sample of Taiwanese intercountry adoptees in Australia ranging in age from early to middle adulthood. Social identity theory and postcolonial theory are used to frame thematic findings about the impact of micro, meso and macro influences on identity development and belonging. The article concludes with discussion of the importance of analysing the impact of…
Australian Indigenous Advocates have long sought the passage of Indigenous child-welfare legislation similar to the United States’s Indian Child Welfare Act. Recently, the Australian government has indicated it is receptive to the enactment of such legislation. However, an Australian version of the ICWA is not as simple as it sounds. The legal status of the Indigenous communities of Australia and American Indian tribes is vastly different thus, many of the ICWA’s provisions, particularly those based on a recognition of Indigenous sovereignty, would require significant modifications before…
Living in unstable long-term government-supported ‘out-of-home’ care (OOHC) is causing harmful and often lifelong impacts for increasing numbers of Australian children. There is a growing awareness that all children need stable homes and families to thrive. This has led to policymakers facing mounting calls from adoption advocates (myself included) to increase the number of ‘open adoptions’* from out of care in Australia.
The difficulties in giving more children safe and permanent homes through adoption led the Federal Parliament’s Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs to…
Abstract
Recent reforms in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, prioritise adoption over long-term foster care. While previous research has examined motivation to foster, less is known about the interest by the general public in adoption from out-of-home care. A general sample of the NSW public (N = 1030) completed an online survey about adoption practices and their willingness to consider adopting from out-of-home care, with background questions on perceived social support and life satisfaction. Barriers to pursuing adoption were identified, including concerns about the characteristics…
Abstract
That you could look down to your arm and hands and see brown skin, but it connote nothing but disgust or confusion, is one consequence of the assimilationist policies implemented on Aborigines throughout Australia in the 1900s. Some removed children had little exposure or experience of Aboriginal culture, family and no reinforcement to live “as an Aborigine”. Understanding the disconnect experienced by these removed children, between being visually perceived as Aboriginal and living an identity they have been forced to create is important. This article describes how this…
This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee's recommendations on the issues relevant to children's care are highlighted, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review and Hague Intercountry Adoption Country Profile.
Summary
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are members of the Stolen Generations (people who were forcibly removed from their families as a result of government policies across Australian jurisdictions) are recognised as experiencing worse outcomes in a range of areas, including health, socioeconomic, justice and housing, compared with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were not removed from their families.
This report provides a new perspective on the intergenerational impact of removal, by looking at outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander…