"Adoption can create both a fundamental sense of hope and a profound sense of uncertainty, loss and grief. This book sets out the reality and detail of these issues in an inspiring and detailed way. We need to explore, reflect and learn from all that it tells us." - Dr John Simmonds OBE, CoramBAAF, UK "This book helps to fill some gaps in research about the longer-term outcomes of children adopted from out-of-home care. It provides important insights about the value and challenges of open adoption." - Professor Judy Cashmore, University of Sydney, Australia This Open Access book presents unique evidence from the first comprehensive study of the outcomes of open adoption from care in Australia. It contributes to the international debate concerning the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face post adoption contact with birth families. The chapters assess whether adoption provides a better chance of permanence and more positive outcomes than long-term foster care for abused and neglected children in care who cannot safely return to their birth families. They also explore whether open adoption can avoid some of the detrimental consequences of past policies in which adoption was shrouded in secrecy and children frequently grew up with a conflicted sense of identity. The book will appeal to policy makers, practitioners and students of social policy, social work, the law, psychology and psychiatry. It should also be of interest to adult adoptees and adoptive parents, whose experiences it reflects. Harriet Ward is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Rees Centre, University of Oxford and Emeritus Professor of Child and Family Research at Loughborough University, UK. Lynne Moggach was Executive Specialist of Adoption at Barnardos Australia until she retired in 2019. Susan Tregeagle was Senior Manager of Research and Advocacy at Barnardos Australia and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney until she retired in 2019. Helen Trivedi is a Research Assistant at the Rees Centre, University of Oxford, UK.

This book covers common open adoption situations and how real families have navigated typical issues successfully. Like all useful parenting books, it provides parents with the tools to come to answers on their own, and answers questions that might not yet have come up.

Since the mid-1970s, adoption practices in the United States have changed dramatically, and the confidentiality maintained in the past is no longer the norm. The trend is toward openness in adoption in which either mediated (through an adoption agency) or direct contact occurs between the adoptive family and birth parent(s). Some adoption professionals argue that openness is harmful and experimental while others argue that the secrecy of confidential adoptions has been harmful to all parties involved. WhoÆs right? In Openness in Adoption, this question is addressed via a nationwide study of 720 individuals (190 adoptive fathers, 190 adoptive mothers, 171 adopted children, and 169 birthmothers) that was conducted over a five-year period. The book begins by presenting the issues and debates surrounding open adoptions and then examines them from the perspective of the adopted children, adoptive parents, and birth mothers. The volume concludes with implications for adoption practice, public policy, and future research. A groundbreaking volume, Openness in Adoption provides a wealth of information to professionals and practitioners in the fields of family studies, sociology, developmental psychology, social work, clinical psychology, and social psychology.

This is a unique compilation of cross-cultural and international attitudes towards adoption research and outcomes. Whilst informal adoption of children has probably always existed across all human societies, this work is timely in that interest in the role of legal adoption as both a child welfare solution and as a means of alternative family formation for adults wanting to become parents has never been higher. This book is an edited collection of 13 papers based on invited keynote presentations or paper symposia presentations given at the Second International Conference on Adoption Research (ICAR2) 2006. It gives a unique Cross-cultural look at adoption from worldwide, multidisciplinary community of distinguished and emerging adoption researchers. International appeal, with different countries laws, attitudes and outcomes fully explored

'Handbook of Adoption' addresses topics in adoption that reflect the many dimensions of theory, research, development, race adjustment and clinical practice which can affect adoption triad members.

Evelyn Robinson, OAM, has written four books about adoption separation and reunion. This is her first book. What becomes of women who are separated from their children by adoption? Why do so many adopted people feel such a strong desire to seek out their families of origin? In what ways are families with adopted children different from other families? This book by Evelyn Robinson provides the answers to these questions and many others.'Adoption and Loss - The Hidden Grief' was first published in 2000. A revised edition was published in 2003 and the 21st Century edition was published in 2018.

Originally published in 1993, this classic piece of literature on adoption has revolutionised the way people think about adopted children. Nancy Verrier examines the life-long consequences of the 'primal wound' - the wound that is caused when a child is separated from its mother - for adopted people. Her argument is supported by thorough research in pre- and perinatal psychology, attachment, bonding and the effects of loss.

Intercountry adoption represents a significant component of international migration; in recent years, up to 45,000 children have crossed borders annually as part of the intercountry adoption boom. Proponents have touted intercountry adoption as a natural intervention for promoting child welfare. However, in cases of fraud and economic incentives, intercountry adoption has been denounced as child trafficking. The debate on intercountry adoption has been framed in terms of three perspectives: proponents who advocate intercountry adoption, abolitionists who argue for its elimination, and pragmatists who look for ways to improve both the conditions in sending countries and the procedures for intercountry transfer of children. Social workers play critical roles in intercountry adoption; they are often involved in family support services or child relinquishment in sending countries, and in evaluating potential adoptive homes, processing applications, and providing support for adoptive families in receiving countries; social workers are involved as brokers and policy makers with regard to the processes, procedures, and regulations that govern intercountry adoption. Their voice is essential in shaping practical and ethical policies of the future. Containing 25 chapters covering the following five areas: policy and regulations; sending country perspectives; outcomes for intercountry adoptees; debate between a proponent and an abolitionist; and pragmatists' guides for improving intercountry adoption practices, this book will be essential reading for social work practitioners and academics involved with intercountry adoption.

"Wisdom from Adoptive Families" provides parents with experienced advice from other families who have adopted other children as well as experts in the field. Together, there's much hard-earned knowledge from those who can help parents help their children transition into their new families and circumstances.