The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids recently released a report that presents the findings of two longitudinal studies led by Dr. Ruth McRoy of the University of Texas at Austin Center for Social Work Research. Key findings from the study include:
Barriers
Families interviewed most frequently cited the following agency barriers to adoption:
- agency emotional support
- adoption process logistics
- jurisdictional or interjurisdictional issues
- agency communications/responsiveness
All of these factors, except for jurisdictional/interjurisdictional issues, correlated with whether a family successfully completed the adoption process.
Workers surveyed saw barriers due that included:
- the type of child (age, behaviors, sibling groups, etc.)prospective families were willing to adopt
- prospects' criminal background
- lack of experience with children who have special needs
- the availability of post-adoption services
Successes
Families cited the following factors (among others) as important to the success of their adoption:
- parents' commitment to the child
- child's showing progress in the home
- the parents' and child had bonded
the parents had realistic expectations of the child
A majority of families also found post-adoption supports (adoption subsidies, counseling, medical care, and more) to be very or extremely helpful. More than 40 percent of families, however, reported a problem accessing services. When asked to offer advice to adoption agencies, families suggested improved access to services such as respite, subsidy, support groups, and counseling.
To learn more, download a copy of the full report.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment