On Tuesday, group 1 will give their presentation on foster care and adoption. Their presentation and information will be posted here in this blog posting comments. You can access their Prezi here. Their presentation information will be on the exam, so you can check back here as a study guide as well.
A few highlights of their presentation:
- Foster care is temporary whereas adoption is permanent
- African American children are 41% of foster care population, whites 40%, Hispanic 15%
- 21% of adoptions are transracial
- Reasons for adoption: infertility, desire more children, parent was adopted themselves, couple has previously adopted a child, single individuals who want children
- Same sex couples face institutional discrimination; Florida is the only state to outright ban same sex couples, other states limit adoption to married couples
- Types of adoptions: public, private, kinship, step parent, transracial, international
We will also watch the beginning of the documentary Aging Out. Individuals who turn 18 while in foster care are those who are “aging out.” The numbers range from 20-30 thousand per year, out of a total foster care population of 400,000.
There is a really interested documentary about international surrogacy called “Google Baby” that shows the world of bringing together sperm, eggs, and surrogate women who live in India and produce babies that are genetically of their mother and father adopting couples.
Sociology of the Family 
Adoption and Foster Care: Kimberly Myers, Kristen Connors, Joe Marotta, Allysa Singh
For children who have been placed away from their biological parents for a variety of different reasons, they are taken into the foster care system or are placed for adoption by their birth parents to an adoptive family. This article helps us understand a little bit more about the differences between adoption and foster care as background information: http://adoption.about.com/od/adopting/f/What-Are-The-Differences-Between-Foster-Care-And-Adoption.htm . The main point to help differentiate between foster care and adoption is that foster care is not permanent, whereas adoption is. Children are only placed into foster care for a given amount of time and are provided with only temporary living arrangements until they can either be reunited with their birth parents or officially adopted into a family.
The Congressional Coalition On Adoption Institute provides an article, http://www.ccainstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=25&Itemid=43, which states that 397,122 children live in the foster care system without the support of a permanent family and of these, only 101,666 are even eligible for adoption. What this means is that there are almost 400,000 children whose birth parents are unable to care for them, so they have been placed into the foster care system where they are provided with temporary care from willing adults and families. Of these 400,000 children in foster care, only around 100,000 of them have the chance of finding a permanent family under the custody of someone other than their birth parents, and nearly all of these foster care children come from very poor backgrounds.
Out of the 400,000 children placed in the foster care system, children of color make up the largest percentage racially. According to Alfred Pérez, Kasia O’Neil, and Sarah Gesiriech’s article, “Demographics of Children in Foster Care,” (http://www.unified-solutions.org/pubs/demographics_of_children_in_foster_care.pdf) African American children account for the largest percent of children in foster care, 41%. White children comprise the second largest portion at 40%, and Hispanic children the third largest portion at 15%. Of these percentages, there is an obvious racial preference that can be distinguished from the chart below (http://www.aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/09/NSAP/chartbook/chartbook.cfm?id=15). The children with highest percentage for adoption are white children, whether it be an adoption through foster care or a private domestic adoption. 37% of children adopted from foster care are white, followed by 35% black, 16% Hispanic, and 12% Asian. The differences are even greater in private domestic adoptions where white children comprise of 50% of those adopted, 25% black, 13% Hispanic, and 12% Asian. As this link from in-gender.com portrays (http://www.in-gender.com/XYU/Gender-Preference/), there is also an obvious gender bias among the 48% of girls and 52% boys in the foster care system that are awaiting adoption. The gender ratios that adoptive parents request range from 70-90% preference in girls, and only a 10-30% preference in boys.
Although there are apparent racial and gender demographics among adopted children that suggest certain preferences of adopting one race as opposed to another, as well as one gender over another, it’s important to examine the demographics of those who are adopting. Allen Fisher, author of article, “Still ‘Not Quite as Good as Having Your Own’? Toward a Sociology of Adoption,” (http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/30036971.pdf?acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true) confirms that infertility is the most common reason that parents decide to adopt. In his article, Fisher references a study that analyzed a pool of 10,019 women which found that 15% of all women who had been treated for infertility looked to adopt, whereas only 3% of women who had not been treated for infertility had sought to adopt. Fisher also states that in the 2000s, single-parent adoption has accounted for 15% of all United States adoptions, which is triple that of which it used to be in 1990. Today, 31% of children adopted from foster care are adopted by single women and 2% are adopted by single men.
Unfortunately, Fisher states that the number of gays and lesbians who adopt is not really known. For fear of ruining their chances of a successful adoption, those who are adopting may decide not to reveal their sexual orientation agencies, courts, or survey researchers. However, an article from The Williams institute (http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/press-releases/as-overall-percentage-of-same-sex-couples-raising-children-declines-those-adopting-almost-doubles-significant-diversity-among-lesbian-and-gay-families/) argues that the number of same-sex couples who are adopting is increasing. Percentages of same-sex couples who have adopted has risen from 10% to 19% from 2000 to 2009.
Aside from the general demographic statistics on adopters and children being adopted, the adoptions themselves have long lasting impacts on every family member involved in the adoption. The website for Adoption Voices Magazine (http://adoptionvoicesmagazine.com/my-second-mama/do-adoptees-have-more-problems/#.VEvF7hDN5wE) highlights some of the common psychological and emotional effects of adoption on adopted children. Among these are depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, PTSD, identity development issues, and feelings of grief, loss, or rejection. It’s also apparent that many of these issues arise during the adoptee’s teenage years.
Although these children may suffer from emotional trauma, there is still a positive aspect to most stories. Consider Brittanie’s story: (http://adoptiongraduationproject.weebly.com/my-story.html). As Brittanie shares, her story begins with the legal adoption from her biological grandparents. The environment Brittanie was growing up in, her biological parents’ home, wasn’t a suitable one for someone of her age, just three years old at the time, so her grandparents legally adopted her. Although she had struggled with anxiety and not understanding why she was given up, she later came to terms that her parents were doing what was best for her, and she’s thankful that it has shaped her life into what it is today.
Joey and Ed’s story is a positive adoption story about a gay couple defining the odds as well and is something to consider. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/17/joey-ed-gay-family_n_6000354.html) After battling continuous struggles with legal rights of gay couples, and after their marriage had become invalidated because of California’s proposition 8, they moved on and began to pursue foster-adoption. The couple found their two autistic sons through the foster care system and were lucky enough to be able to adopt them in the end. Although Joey states that it had been an emotional struggle for the both of them, the training they received through the foster care system at Vista Del Mar prepared them the ups and downs they would face, and their story turned out to be a successful one.
Here are a couple of links that provide more information and statistics about adoption, as well as information about foster care awareness:
Adoption:
Foster care awareness:
http://prezi.com/7ea2bd2ra04z/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy