Child Adoption Case Study

1197 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Adoption: The Legal Process Of Adoption

Our community and legal system perceive children as being especially vulnerable and unable to protect and enforce their own rights. The care and protection of children, therefore, is a significant legal issue facing family members; particularly during adoption, domestic violence, and divorce and separation. Whilst there are a range of remedies available to family members, the concept of justice is highly controversial and difficult to achieve in relation to family law, due to its highly emotional nature. Issues relating to resource efficiency, responsiveness, and protection of individual rights have also meant that justice is often only somewhat being achieved for family members. The guiding principle for adoptions is the best interests of the child, as with all other family law matters in Australia. Adoption occurs when biological parents legally surrender …show more content…

In 2015–16, there were 278 adoptions of children finalised in Australia, representing the lowest annual number of adoptions on record. A recent article in The Australian, titled ‘Adoption: why is it so hard?’, explained that “adoption in Australia is at its lowest since data collection began in 1968, while the number of children who have been removed from unsafe homes has never been higher.” The incongruity of this data has revealed a weakness of the legal system, with an average four-year wait to adopt a child leading to potentially detrimental trajectories for the children. Thus, with such an extended wait time and the complexity of the legal proceedings, the adoption system is sometimes considered to be resource inefficient and unresponsive. Consequently, the legal system is only somewhat able to achieve justice for family members, in regards to the care and protection of children during

Show More
Related

  • Strengthening The Foster Care and Adoption System

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite attempts in the foster care system agencies under the guidelines of the “Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997” (ASFA) to locate suitable homes and families for foster children, many remain in foster care. “Too often, Child Welfare policy and the agencies responsible for it – offices that respond to child abuse and neglect, oversee foster care placements, and seek to reunite children with their parents to find adoptive families- are out of sight and out of mind except for fleeting moments of tragedy, such as a child’s death”.

    Read More

  • Adoption Process Interview Report

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    When I heard the clicks of heels in the hallway, I sat up attentively on the waiting couch. A pleasant looking woman came to greet me. She was in her mid fifties and introduced herself as Celeste Drury. She worked with the children home society, an adoption agency that is located in Oakland. I found Celeste through a family friend. The family friend knew my interest in learning about adoption and the criteria used for adoption processes. I was excited to meet Celeste and to learn about what she did. Settling in my chair, Celeste slightly cheered me. Celeste orphanage was licensed under the adoption agencies act. It has been in existence for many years. Children home society is in charge of providing adoption services in the entire state of California. I asked Celeste of its role and she said that it “helps parents to make informed decisions about their children, and also give tips on the adoptive parents” (Drury).

    Read More

  • A Career as an Adoption Counselor

    2059 Words  | 5 Pages

    Adoption is a process where by a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the biological parent or parents. Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition, either through legal or religious sanction. Adoption has changed considerably over the centuries with its focus shifting from adult adoption and inheritance issues toward children and family creation; its structure moving from recognition of continuity between the adopted and kin toward allowing relationships of lessened intensity. In modern times, adoption is a primary vehicle serving the needs of homeless, neglected, abused and runaway children (Wikipedia, “Adoption”).

    Read More

  • Open Adoption: The Best Interest of the Child

    1490 Words  | 3 Pages

    Adoption is in place to balance, to nurture and create a structural environment of safety in which the child can thrive and develop into a productive individual contributing to society. Also, it allows older children to abandon old maladaptive behaviors and make their first steps toward the construction of new behaviors influenced by their new environment. In years past, parents who adopted a child as an infant often debated whether to tell him or her about the adoption. Many children grew up not knowing they were adopted, and the birth mother’s identity was kept secret from those who did know (Ashford, LeCroy and Lortie 249). This paper provides facts on widely acceptance option of open adoption rather than the traditional practice of closed adoption. Adoption separates real biological family members, removing the adopter heritage whether the adoption is open or closed. Open adoption can lead to problems, but there are proven facts that open adoption is the best option for all parties working together in the best interest of the children.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Adoption And Safe Families Act

    2801 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the United States there are approximately 397,000 children in out-of home care, within the last year there was about 640,000 children which spent at least some time in out-of-home care. More than 58,000 children living in foster care have had their biological parental rights permanently terminated (Children’s Rights, 2014). Due to the rising number of children in foster care and the growing concerns of the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 was signed into law. On November 19, 1997, President Bill Clinton signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, to improve the safety of children, to promote adoption and other permanent homes for children who need them, and to support families (Child Welfare League of America). The Adoption and Safe Families Act also promotes adoption by offering incentive payments for States. During the FY of 1999-2003 the payment to states which had exceeded the average number of adoptions received $20 million (Child Welfare League of America). The ASFA improved the existing federal child welfare law to require that the child’s health and safety be a “paramount” concern in any efforts made by the state to preserve or reunify the child’s family, and to provide new assurances that children in foster care are safe (Shuman, 2004).

    Read More

  • Family Law Essay

    1641 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2011 (Cth) will significantly improve protection for children and families at risk of violence and abuse. The amendments were made to the previous Act of 2006 to help people within the family law system to better understand violence and abuse and ensure it is reported and responded to more effectively. Relevant research will be assessed to provide background information on reforms of the Family Law Act, and how these changes have helped lead to the Amendment Act of 2011. This essay will evaluate the changes that were made in 2011 and whether these changes have led to improving the protection for children and families at risk of violence and abuse.

    Read More

  • Functionalism Theory Abortion

    1774 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to American academy and adolescent psychiatry, about 120,000 children are adopted in the United States alone. That is a lot of children that need to find a new home to stay in. Not only do adoptions affect the child after they are adopted, no matter the age; but adoption also affects the parents giving their child up for adoption. There are many types of adoptions. Along with that, there are many reasons for giving the child up for adoption. There are three main perspectives that I will be talking about. One function would be the structural functionalism. How society cooperates. The second would be the conflict perspective. The third would be symbolic interactionism approach. There are many different aspects of adoption, making it

    Read More

  • The Struggles of a Gifted Student in "And Still We Rise," Miles Corwin

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    A state that undertakes custody of a child is declaring that it can do a better job providing protection. This system is a powerful agent of support, providing positive nurturing environments that enable a child to reach his or her potential. Nonetheless, when children suffer additional abuse in the system, this government intervention should be questioned.

    Read More

  • Interracial Adoptions

    2172 Words  | 5 Pages

    Adoptions date back to the early nineteenth century. "In 1851, Massachusetts passed a legislation that enabled parents of adopted children to have legal parental rights to their children." (Twohig, 1997). Before Massachusetts passed this legislation, a parent had to be genetically related to a child to have any legal rights to their children. "In 1881, a Michigan legislature passed a law that required judges to investigate and evaluate the families that wanted to adopt a child." (Twohig, 1997). Different legislation's basically set the stage for child rights in regards to adoption procedures.

    Read More

  • Adopt a Child

    317 Words  | 1 Pages

    Adopt-A-Child, Inc., is a licensed, non-profit adoption agency dedicated to the ideal of bringing together couples or individuals seeking to build their families with foreign-born infants or children who need homes. The children we identify for adoption have been irrevocably released by their parents or other relatives due to death or abandonment. These youngsters are orphans according to U.S. and international legal definitions. Therefore, in accordance with the laws of both countries concerned, they are fully available for adoption.

    Read More

  • The High Price of Adoption

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people grow up in loving families and cannot imagine not having their parents and siblings around, but each year, 18,000 or more American born babies are put up for adoption (Newlin Carney). That means at least 18,000 children face the harsh truth of maybe not having a family to grow up in. Childhood is a very important part of one’s life and helps shape who one is. These children that are eligible to be adopted just need loving parents, good homes, and stability. And who is to say the high price of adopting is not ho...

    Read More

  • Literature Review of the Reliability of Children as Eyewitnesses

    3003 Words  | 7 Pages

    This question becomes more imperative when considering the increase in frequency of children involved with the legal system. According to Statistics Canada, from 2004-2009, family violence allegedly victimized 18, 710 children under the age of 17 (Sinha, 2012). In the same article, children were also reported to have witnessed an increased amount of spousal violence in their homes, such that the proportion of spousal victims with children increased from 43 percent to 52 percent. Sinha (2012) also stated that out of the reported victims of spousal violence in 2009, 39 percent would involve officials in the matter due to the presence of a child witness versus 10 percent of victims with no child witness. These statistics alone account...

    Read More

  • Negative Effects of International Adoption

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    International adoption stunts the growth of domestic adoption in the United States. While many kids are available for adoption in the U.S, more kids are being adopted internationally. The reason for this may be because “many people choose to adopt internationally because there is a less chance that the biological parents will try to find their children later in life; whereas if adopted in America, there is a greater chance that the biological parents will search for the child” (Databasewise.n.d.pp 1-2). Not only do the adoptive parents want to be sure that the biological parents do not find their biological child, but they also want to avoid confrontations that can eventually have volatile results. Since there is a great need for domestic adoption in the United States, many American citizens believe that people should be banned from adopting children overseas (carp.1998.pp 135). For example, recent studies have shown that the USA is faced with a very serious problem. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, between “1999-2006,an average of 129,884 children are in public foster care every year waiting to be adopted” (adoption alternativ...

    Read More

  • Adoptiontion: The Legal Process Of Adoption

    1966 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is adoption? Adoption is a legal process by which permanent legal custody is transferred from the birth parent to other parents. In this case Adoption is the process of making a child your own. Adoption is usually a process from non-biological parents. There are far more people wanting to adopt babies than there are babies to be adopted, only about twenty thousand babies a year are put up to be adopted, if an adoption agency places your baby up for an adoption only the best fit family can choose to adopt your child. All adoptions involve some form of consent – an agreement by the birth parent that the child should be adopted. If there are no living birth parents or the child was abandoned, then the consent must be given by the state or country where the child is a resident. Kinship adoptions occur when the birth parents are unstable to care for a child and some member of the child’s family seeks to adopt him or her.

    Read More

  • Family Law Issues

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today's parenting has also played a key role in revision of the legal system as it relates to family law. Due to the increasing amount of child abuse cases, there has been a great amount of emphasis placed upon the disciplinary actions of parents today. In today's society with drug abuse being more prevalent and single family households becoming more common, the pressures of child rearing have dramatically increased.

    Read More

More about Child Adoption Case Study

Open Document