This compilation of the best thinking about adoption by both historical and current authorities reveals a vital, ever-changing practice affecting the lives of millions of people around the globe.

Adoption is one of humanity’s oldest and most widespread customs—it has been practiced by every culture in the world throughout history. Yet our ideas about adoption remain in constant flux. Should we allow single parents to adopt? What about same-sex couples? Are transracial adoptions successful? Should we seal adoption records? This volume provides the latest answers and the best thinking on these controversies.

The ancient practice of adoption has changed significantly through history. In colonial America, parents adopted out their unwanted children—those who were “rude, stubborn, and unruly”—to other families. Today, Americans go abroad looking for children to adopt, and have adopted more than a quarter million internationally.

Adoption: A Reference Handbook, Second Edition not only traces the development of expert thinking about adoption, it also looks at both sides of the latest controversial issues. Should adoptions be open or closed? Should the government regulate adoptions more closely—or less? This updated second edition offers an international perspective with a new chapter on how countries outside the United States provide adoption services. This work is an indispensable resource for those thinking about adoption or researching its history.

Features
• Primary sources include testimony from hearings and court cases, and case studies explain and illuminate concepts
• A chronology of events and milestones includes coverage from the time of Moses to the present day

Highlights
• Demonstrates that adoption requires constant study and monitoring of its ever-changing nature
• Provides fair and objective coverage of controversies allowing the reader to look at both sides of disputed issues
• Offers a summary of leading sources to provide analysis and perspective on the facts presented

Barbara A. Moe, M.S., is a consultant to the Special Needs Program at Adoption Alliance in Denver, CO, and was previously director of that organization for 16 years. She is the author of 18 books for young adults and has won awards including an Outstanding Service Award from the Child Welfare League of America and a Top Hand Award from the Colorado Authors' League.

ADOPTION: A REFERENCE HANDBOOK Barbara Moe

Contents

Preface

1 Background and History
Lifelong Issues in Adoption
Who Adopts Children?
How Agencies Screen Prospective Parents: The Home Study Process
Types of Children Available for Adoption
Method (Style) of Adoption
Domestic (In-Country) Adoption
Intercountry (International) Adoption
The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000
Type of Adoption and Care
Possible Emotional and Health Problems
Health Problems That May Occur in Children Adopted Internationally
Laws and Policies
Other Information of Interest
References and Further Reading

2 Issues and Controversy
Open or Closed Adoption
Open or Closed Records
Do Transcultural and/or Transracial Adoptions Work?
Should Single People Be Allowed to Adopt?
What About Same-sex Couples?
Should the Government Provide More or Less Regulation of Adoption?
What About Infant Abandonment Laws? Are They "Safe Havens" or "Baby Dumps?"
What About Adoption Itself? Is It Valuable or Not?
References and Further Reading

3 Adoption Around the World
Canada
The United Kingdom
Russia
China
Romania
South Korea
Finland
The Philippines
India
Mexico
References and Further Reading

4 Chronology
5 Biographical Sketches
Viola Wertheim Bernard (1907-1998)
John Bowlby (1907-1990)
Charles Loring Brace (1826-1890)
Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)
Reverend George Clements (1932- )
Dorothy DeBolt and Robert DeBolt
Michael Dorris (1945-1997)
Marian Wright Edelman (1932- )
Vera Fahlberg (1934- )
Florence Anna Fisher (ca. 1929- )
Anna Freud (1895-1982)
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Arnold Gesell (1880-1961)
Clara McBride Hale (1905-1992)
Joan Heifetz Hollinger (1940- )
Harry Holt (1905-1964) and Bertha Holt (1904-2000)
Patricia Irwin Johnston (1945- )
C. Henry Kempe (1922-1984)
H. David Kirk (1918- )
Janusz Korczak (1878-1942)
Betty Jean Lifton (1926- )
Lois Ruskai Melina (1952- )
Jean Paton (1908-2002)
Justine Wise Polier (1903-1987)
Jessie Taft (1882-1960)
Sophie van Senden Theis (1885-1957)
Dave Thomas (1932-2002)
Barbara Tremetiere (1939- )

6 Facts and Data
The Children's Bureau
Staying Connected: The Child Welfare Information Gateway
How Many Children Were Adopted in 2000 and 2001?
How Many People Are Seeking to Adopt?
How Many Women Place Their Children for Adoption and Who Are the Women Who
Place Their Children?
Data Collection History and Sources
Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting Systems (AFCARS)
Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS)
What is the Difference between AFCARS and SACWIS?
Federal Laws and Policy
Testimony and Statements
Litigation in Adoption
Supporting Adoptive Families

7 Directory of Organizations
Federal Agencies Concerned with Adoption
National Resource, Educational, Support, Advocacy, and/or Policy-Making Organizations Concerned with Adoption
National Legally Oriented Organizations with Adoption Connections
State Offices

8 Selected Print and Nonprint Resources
Print Resources
Books
Journals
Nonprint Resources
Websites
Videos and DVDs
CD-ROMs
Adoption Software
Databases

Glossary
Index
About the Author

Reviews
"This work contains a good overview and starting point on adoption."—ARBA