THE ADOPTION OPTION THE ADOPTION OPTION Exploring Adoption as a permanent placement in the...
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Transcript of THE ADOPTION OPTION THE ADOPTION OPTION Exploring Adoption as a permanent placement in the...
THE ADOPTION OPTIONTHE ADOPTION OPTION
Exploring Adoption as a permanent placement in the substitute care context.
Frances Evans, Wesley Dalmar Research UnitFrances Evans, Wesley Dalmar Research Unit
[email protected]@wesleymission.org.au
LOOKING AFTER KIDS LOOKING AFTER KIDS IN NSW FIRSTIN NSW FIRST
““This review will put the This review will put the needs of children & needs of children &
young people in OOHC young people in OOHC first…focus DoCS first…focus DoCS
efforts on adoption and efforts on adoption and permanency planning permanency planning
in this state”in this state” DoCS Media Release DoCS Media Release
44thth July 2006 July 2006
WHERE DOES THIS WHERE DOES THIS EVIDENCE COME EVIDENCE COME FROM?FROM?
• International Research
• Australian Research
• Consultation
Listening…Listening… Collaborating…
Measuring…
WHAT IS ADOPTION?WHAT IS ADOPTION?
What is ‘adoption’ in an OOHC context?
•Ethical
•Open
•Culturally appropriate
•Supported
One aspect of a ‘seamless spectrum’
Security & Stability•Legal
•Emotional & Social
•Flexibility
•Breakdown & Disruption
Why should we use it?Why should we use it? The Evidence BaseThe Evidence Base
Outcomes •Health and Well being
•Parenting Factors
Non Welfare Based Model of Care
•Children’s Views
The Child•Age•Behavioural & Physical
Needs•Birth Family•Cultural Heritage•The Child’s Voice
Who should we use it for?Who should we use it for?Research on Placement Decision MakingResearch on Placement Decision Making
The Placement
•Restoration & Contact
•Family Characteristics
•Types of Placement
Concurrent Planning• Casework
• Birth Family & Restoration
• Decision Making
• Resource Foster Families
How should we use it?How should we use it? Promising Practice in Service ModelsPromising Practice in Service Models
Family Group Conferencing•Permanency Conference
•Conflict Resolution
•Participation
Casework Models & Tools•Adoptions Training
•Legal Caseworkers
•Birth Family Workers
Post Adoption Support•Practice Elements•System Elements•Types of services
Guardianship•Legally permanent•Flexibility•A middle ground?
WHERE DO WE GO WHERE DO WE GO
FROM HERE?FROM HERE?
Further Discussion & Policy Development
Training
Programs & Evaluation
Further Research
Listening…
Collaborating…Collaborating…
Measuring…Measuring…
particular attention will be paid to the unique needs of -
• Children with additional needs
• Indigenous and CALD children
• Older children and sibling groups
FURTHER FURTHER RESEARCH:RESEARCH:Churchill Fellowship 2006Churchill Fellowship 2006
A critical evaluation of adoption and other legally permanent placement options for children in care.
Government departments, NGOs, university research centres and peak bodies in NZ, USA, Canada & UK in relation to:
•Adoption, Guardianship & other legally permanent placements
•Legislation and policy models
•Casework and permanency planning practices
•Recruitment, assessment and training of families
•Legal processes
•‘Post Adoption’ support services
References
ACWA, 2005, Discussion Paper: Consideration of Adoption for Selected Groups of Children in Long Term Out of Home Care,
Australia
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; Child Protection Australia 2004 Available online www.aihw.gov.au
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; Adoption Australia 2004. Available online www.aihw.gov.au
Barth, 2000, Rights and Realities in the permanency debate, Children Australia, v25 no 4 2000, pp 13 – 17
Barth, 1999, After Safety, what is the goal of Child Welfare Services: permanency, family continuity or social benefit?
International Journal of Social Welfare, v8, pp244 – 252
Brown L & Lupton C, 2002, Role of Family Group Conferencing in Child Protection, Bath Nuffield Foundation & Centre for
Evidence Based Social Services
Casey Family Services, 2002, An Approach to Post Adoption Services: A white paper, Washington USA
Cashmore J & Paxman M, 1996, Longitudinal Study of Wards Leaving Care, Report of Research Commissioned by the NSW
Department of Community Services, Social Policy Research Centre & University of NSW, NSW Australia
Cashmore, 2000, What the research tells us: permanency planning, adoption and foster care, Children Australia, v25 no4, pp17
– 22
Cashmore, 2001, What Can we learn from the US experience on Permanency Planning?, Australian Journal of Family Law, v15 no 3 2001, pp215 – 229
Cashmore J & Ainsworth F, 2004, Audit of Australian Out of Home Care Research, ACWA Inc, Sydney Australia
Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2005, Issue Brief: Concurrent Planning, What the Evidence Shows, Department of Health & Human Services
Administration for Children and Families, Washington DC USA
Delfabbro & Barber, 2003, Placement Disruption & psychological outcomes: findings from the 3 year South Australian Longitudinal Study, 8th Annual
Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne Australia
Department of Health UK, 2000, Adoption: A new Approach – a white paper, The Stationary Office, Federal Government UK
Department of Community Services NSW, 2006, DoCS Annual Statistical Report 2004/05
Department of Community Services NSW, Children and Young Person’s (Care and Protection) Amendment (Permanency Planning) Bill 2000; Issues
Paper, available online www.community.nsw.gov.au
Department of Families Queensland, 2003, Discussion Paper: Stopping the drift: Improving the Lives of Queensland’s children and young people in
long term care, Queensland Australia
Doran L & Berliner L, 2001, Placement Decisions For Children in Long Term Foster Care: Innovative Practices & Literature Review , Washington State
Institute for Public Policy, Washington USA
Evan B Donaldson Adoption Institute, 2004, What’s working for children, a policy study of adoption stability and termination, New York USA
Fisher et al for Casey Outcomes & Decision Making Project, 1999, Improving the Quality of Children’s Services, AHS, Washington
Goldstein J, Solnit A & Freud A, 1996, The best interests of the child: the least detrimental alternative, Free Press, New York
Hollingsworth L, 2000, Commentary: Adoption policy in the US – a word of caution, Social Work Research, v45(2), pp 435 – 446
Howe D, 1998, Adoption Outcomes Research & Practical Judgement, Adoption & Fostering, vol2(2), pp 6 – 15
Institute for Child Protection Studies, Good Practice for Placement Planning, ACT, Australia
Ivaldi G, 1998, Children Adopted from Care, BAAF, Russell Press, Nottingham
Kiely P, 2005, A longitudinal Evaluation of Family Group Conferencing, presented at the 9th Australian Institute of Family Studies COnference ,
Melbourne
Lutz L, 2003, Achieving Timely Permanency for Children in the Welfare System: pioneering possibilities amidst daunting challenges , NY Hunter College
School of Social Work, National Resource Centre for Foster Care & Permanency Planning, NY USA
Maluccio, Fein & Olmstead, 1986, Permanency Planning for Children: concepts and methods, Tavistock Publications, New York
Maluccio, Ainsworth & Thoburn, 2000, Child Welfare Outcomes research in US, UK and Australia, CWLA, Washington DC
McDonald, Billings & Moore, 2002, Achieving Timely Adoption Placement, OKDHS Child & Family Division, Oklahoma USA
Monck E, Reynolds J & Wigfall V, 2003, The role of Concurrent Planning, Making Permanent Placements for young children , BAAF, London
Nickman et al, 2005, Children in Adoptive Families: Overview and Update, Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44:10
October 2005, pp 987 – 995
Office of the Children’s Guardian, 2004, Permanency Planning Issues Paper, NSW Australia
O’Neil C, 2000, Support, timelines & hard decisions, Children Australia, vol25 no 4
Parker (Ed), 1998, Adoption Now Messages from Research, Chichester Wiley
Parkinson, 2003, Child Protection, Permanency Planning and children’s right to family life, International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, v17 i2
2003, p147
Parkinson, 2000, The Children (Care and Protection) Amendment (Permanency Planning) Bill 2000, Forum on Permanency Planning, ACWA
Plunket R & Osmond M, 2004, Permanency Planning: Choosing Between Long Term Foster Care & Adoption, OACAS Journal, Spring 2004 vol48 no1,
pp 7 – 14
Potter C.C & Klien-Rothschild S, 2002, Getting Home on Time: predicting timely permanency for young children, Child Welfare, v81(2), pp 123 – 130
Quinton D & O’brien K, 2000, The Beacon Council Scheme, Adoption Output 2 – Review of Issues & Research, University of Bristol, UK
Rath, 2001, Parliament of NSW Briefing Paper: Permanency Planning and Adoption
Schmidt-Tieszen & McDonald, 1998, Children who wait; Long Term Foster Care or Adoption?, Children & Youth Services Review v20 n1-2, pp 13-28
Sellick, Thoburn & Philpot, 2004, What Works in Adoption and Foster Care, Barnardos, UK
Selman P & Mason K, 1997, Alternatives to Adoption for Looked After Children, Scottish Executive, UK
Selwyn J, Frazer L & Quinton D, 2006, Paved with Good Intentions: the Pathway to Adoption and the costs of delay, British Journal of Social Work v36,
pp561 – 576
Testa, 2004, When Children Cannot Return home: Adoption & Guardianship, Children, Families & Foster Care, v14(1), pp 116 – 129
Thoburn, 2000, A comparative Study of Adoption, University of East Anglia, UK
Thoburn J for ‘Making Research Count’, 2002, Briefing 5: Adoption & Permanence for Children who cannot live safely with birth parents or relatives ,
Research in Pratice, UK
Thomas C, Beckford V, Murch M & Lowe N, 1999, Adopted Children Speaking, BAAF, Russell Press, Nottingham
Thorpe, 2002, Examining the Evidence in Out of Home Care, ACWA Conference 2002
Tregeagle, Voigt, Smith & Moggach,2005, Secure Legal Belonging: an important factor for children permanently removed from their families ,
Developing Practice no 12, Autumn 2005
Treseliotis, Shireman & Mundelby, 1997, Adoption: Theory, policy & practice, Cassell, London UK
Treseliotis, 2002, Long Term Foster Care or Adoption? The evidence explained, Child & Family Social Work, v7 2002, pp 23- 33
Web Based Resources
These sites have a wide variety of information – from research publications
and data to placement decision making tools and program evaluations. Not
to mention links to other useful resources!
USA Child Welfare Information Gateway
www.childwelfare.gov
Chapin Hall Center for Children – University of Chicago
www.chapinhall.org
Research In Practice www.rip.org.uk
Casey Family Services www.casey.org
British Association for Adoption & Foster Carewww.baaf.org.uk