Adoption and Kafala

Adoption is the formal, permanent transfer of parental rights to a family other than a child’s own and the formal assumption by that family of all parenting duties for the child. Where a child’s parents are living and their parental rights have not been terminated, they must provide informed consent for adoption. In some countries it is not culturally acceptable to give the parental rights to a non-family member, and therefore alternative long-term care options must be pursued e.g. kinship care. In some Islamic countries, the term ‘Kafala’ in Islamic law is used to describe a situation similar to adoption, but without the severing of family ties, the transference of inheritance rights, or the change of the child’s family name.

Given the permanency of adoption, it should be used very carefully and only when it is in a child’s best interests. In some cases difficult choices must be made between keeping a child in a temporary care situation in the hope of eventual family reunification, and a child’s developmental need for permanent attachment and care within a family environment. Adoption should not be considered an option in an emergency context. In the case of family separation in an emergency all tracing activities must be exhausted before adoption can be considered.

The long term care of a child requires thorough assessment and planning, and should include the participation of all those affected, especially the child in question. The choice for adoption must meet the child’s long term needs and wishes, and enable their healthy development into adulthood. Wherever possible, children should remain with siblings and encouraged to maintain contact with relatives. All adoptive placements should be in keeping with applicable national law and international standards.

Ideally adoptive parents should come from a similar cultural and religious background to the child, so that the child can retain her heritage and sense of identity. This will be more likely when the adoption is within the country of the child’s origin. The child care policies of a country must therefore provide mechanisms for formal state adoption procedures, and provide workers to support this process. Intercountry or cross border adoptions should be used with caution since the child is likely to grow up in unfamiliar surroundings, and may therefore be more isolated and exposed to risk. When intercountry adoption is in the best interests of a child, international protection agencies should ensure standards are met and procedures should be in keeping with the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption.

This section of papers includes country and policy examples of the use of adoption and guidance on practice.

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Issues Involving International Adoption

Brandy Mounts, Loretta Bradley - The Family Journal, 25 Nov 2019

The purpose of this study was to seek a more thorough understanding of the education and preparation adoptive parents receive regarding potential child issues in international adoption.

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Executive function and early adversity in internationally adopted children

Peñarrubia María, Palacios Jesús, Román Maite - Children and Youth Services Review, 23 Nov 2019

In this study, executive functions were examined in post-institutionalized children adopted into Spanish families from Russian institutions.

Country Care Review: Australia

Better Care Network, 01 Nov 2019

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Health status and nutritional development of adopted Ethiopian children living in Southern Spain: A prospective cohort study

Juan José Hernández-Morante, et al -Nutrition, 11 Oct 2019

The objective of this study was to evaluate the health status and anthropometrical development of adopted children from Ethiopia living in southern Spain.

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Emotional and behavior problems in adopted children – The role of early adversities and adoptive parents’ regulation and behavior

Fabienne Hornfeck, Ina Bovenschen, Sabine Heene, Janin Zimmermann, Annabel Zwönitzer, Heinz Kindler - Child Abuse & Neglect, 10 Oct 2019

This study analyzes the influence of children’s preadoptive history and adoptive parents’ characteristics on the psychosocial adjustment of nationally and internationally adopted children in Germany.

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Support Needs and Post-Adoption Resources for Adopted Adults: A Systematic Review

Yolanda Sánchez-Sandoval, Natalia Jiménez-Luque, Sandra Melero, Violeta Luque, Laura Verdugo - The British Journal of Social Work, 05 Oct 2019

The aim of this article is to review adult adoptees’ demands for post-adoption resources, applicants’ characteristics and resources offered to them.

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Looked after and adopted children: applying the latest science to complex biopsychosocial formulations

Carmen Pinto - Adoption & Fostering, 26 Sep 2019

Looked after and adopted children are among the most vulnerable in our society and it is well established that they present with a higher prevalence of mental health problems than children who live with their birth family. This article presents a case study of a 15-year-old boy whose severe difficulties were understood and formulated in terms of ‘attachment problems’ for many years.

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Utilising genetically informed research designs to better understand family processes and child development: implications for adoption and foster care focused interventions

Ruth Sellers, Amelia Smith, Leslie D Leve, Elizabeth Nixon, Jackie Cassell, Gordon Harold - Adoption & Fostering, 26 Sep 2019

This article summarises how genetically informed research designs can help disentangle genetic from environmental processes underlying psychopathology outcomes for children, and how this evidence can provide improved insights into the development of more effective preventive intervention targets for adoptive and foster families.

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Looked after and adopted children: applying the latest science to complex biopsychosocial formulations

Carmen Pinto - Adoption & Fostering, 26 Sep 2019

This article presents a case study of a 15-year-old boy whose severe difficulties were understood and formulated in terms of ‘attachment problems’ for many years.

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Papering the Origins: Place-Making, Privacy, and Kinship in Spanish International Adoption

Jessaca Leinaweaver - Genealogy, 25 Sep 2019

This article examines place and privacy as two key resources for producing kinship through an analysis of exceptional legal practices in Spain that overdetermine international adoptees’ Spanishness.