Persuasive Essay On Child Adoption

In the 20th century, adoption was much simpler than today. The waiting time was shorter and sometimes people directly adopt from families without the hassle of background screening, home visits, or expensive fees. In the article Adoption in the United States, Wayne Carp states, “In 1917, lawmakers enacted the Children 's Code of Minnesota, which became the model for state adoption laws in the next two decades. It was the first state law that required an investigation to determine whether a proposed adoptive home was suitable for a child.” Even though the law was passed, it did not take full effect until decades later. The Jurgens did receive home visitations from Gerane Rekdahl, a Ramsey County welfare case worker who had a feeling that Dennis

She was unexperienced because she was a recent college graduate when she took on this case. Today physicians, case workers, teachers, and child advocates are trained to notice signs of abuse on children, and to immediately report it. Adoption process takes a lot longer today than decades ago. Families who are adopting all go through tremendous procedures of background screening to check if they ever endured mental instability, abuse cases against them, trouble with the law, etc. Neighbors, family members, and as well as coworkers are questioned about their characters. Also according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the average cost for adopting ranges from $8,000 to $40,000 excluding legal fees compared to the average of $0 to $900 in 1965. Which make it tough for many people to go through the

In the book A Short History of Child Protection in America, John B Meyer states, “In most states protective services were not available statewide. Most communities lacked 24-hour coverage. Thus, for the first 6 decades of the 20th century, protective services in most communities were inadequate and in some places nonexistent (Page 8)”. Meyer highlights the importance of community and protective services when it comes to preventing child abuses. Up until late 20th century neighbors did not get into each other’s “business”. Everybody kept to themselves and was scared to make accusations which may not be true, and cases of child abuse was very uncommon. A spank on the butt or a slap on the hand was the norm for punishment when kids do something wrong, it was not seen as abuse where today it is seen as abuse. In the article, Child Murder: The town that lived in Silence Berry Siegel States “About 50 witnesses provided a mixed story…A parade of neighbors and relatives called to the stand by the Jurgenses ' attorney, Edward Donohue, all denied seeing any evidence of abuse. Dr. Peterson said he saw nothing unusual in Dennis ' life or death.” (Siegel). Immediately after the death and Lois was questioned about neglect and child abuse, many of the neighbors and even the doctor who treated Dennis over the course of the abuse, denied knowing anything about abuse and stood by the Jurgens. In an interview