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Research on adoption in Canada

Compiled by Robin Hilborn

ADOPTION RESEARCHERS IN CANADA
ADOPTION RESEARCH IN CANADA -- Studies in progress and completed; adoption research in print
DALY/SOBOL REPORT -- The decline of adoption in Canada, summary by Robin Hilborn
AMES STUDY -- Romanian children adopted by B.C. families: Romanian Adoption Research Project, summary by Robin Hilborn
INTERVIEW: THE AMES STUDY-- Positive prognosis for children adopted from Romanian orphanages, interview by Katherin Jones, editor of Adoption Helper
THE WESTHUES/COHEN STUDY, "Intercountry Adoption In Canada", two summaries

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Adoption Research -- For adoption researchers only. E-mail to: listproc@cornell.edu with the message: subscribe adoption-research-l.

ADOPTION RESEARCHERS IN CANADA

A list in progress
Ames. Prof. Elinor Ames, Romanian Adoption Research Project, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6, 604-291-3362.
Benoit. Teresa C. Benoit, University of Manitoba, Dept. of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Winnipeg.
Cohen. Dr. Nancy J. Cohen, Director of Research, C.M. Hincks Institute, 114 Maitland St., Toronto, Ont. M4Y 1E1, 416-972-1935 ext. 3312, fax 924-9808.
Cohen. Prof. Joyce Cohen, School of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor St. W., Toronto, Ont. M5S 1A1, 416-978-3267, fax 978-7072.
Daly. Kerry J. Daly, PhD, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, 519-824-4120 ext. 8599.
Grand. Michael P. Grand, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, 519-824-4120 ext. 2107, grand@psy.uoguelph.ca.
Jerome. Laurence Jerome, 90 Wharncliffe Rd. South, London, Ont. N6J 2K1.
Marcovitch. Dr. Sharon Marcovitch, Child Development Clinic, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, Ont. M5G 1X8, 416- 813-6333.
Ouellette. Françoise Romaine Ouellette, Institute Québécoise de recherche sur la culture, 14 rue Haldimand, Québec, PQ G1R 4N4, 418- 643-4695.
Pollock. Karen E. Pollock, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of Alberta, 2-70 Corbett Hall, Edmonton AB T6G 2G4, 780-492-5980, karen.pollock@ualberta.ca, www.rehabmed.ualberta.ca/spa/phonology/Chinadopt.html. Research on speech and language development in children adopted from China.
Sobol. See Grand.
Spronk. Terri Spronk, 12133 41 Street, Edmonton, AB T5W 2M5.
Westhues. Prof. Anne Westhues, Faculty of Social Work, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, Ont. N2L 3C5, 519-884-1970 ext. 2022, fax 888- 9732.
Whitford-Numan. Roxanne Whitford-Numan. Now: Roxanne L. Shoulders, MSW, RSW, Clinical Director, NuWay Consulting Services, #1-A101, 5212-48 St., Red Deer AB T4N 7C3, 403-341-3773. --May 10, 2006

ADOPTION RESEARCH IN CANADA

Contents:
Studies in Progress and Completed
Adoption Research in Print

Studies in Progress and Completed

Ames. Children Adopted to Canada from Romanian Orphanages by Elinor Ames. Studies 45 B.C. children adopted in 1990-1991 and two comparison groups. Funded by National Welfare Grants. Report expected in 1996. Contact: Prof. Elinor Ames, Romanian Adoption Research Project, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6, 604-291-3362.
Cohen/Coyne/Duvall. Characteristics of Post-Adoptive Families Presenting for Mental Health Service. Adopted and biological children in the clinic: family, parental and child characteristics. Research conducted by Nancy J. Cohen, James C. Coyne, and James Duvall. Study of 225 children aged 6 to 17 years conducted with the Children's Aid Society of York Region, Newmarket, Ont. Funded by National Welfare Grants, Health and Welfare Canada. Contact: Nancy J. Cohen, Director of Research, C.M. Hincks Institute, 114 Maitland St., Toronto, Ont. M4Y 1E1, 416-972-1935, a research consultant for the Children's Aid Society of York Region.
Marcovitch. Romanian Adoptee and Family Follow-up Study (RAFFS). Questionnaires to families who have adopted children from Romania; also support and information for medical personnel helping families with these children. Contact: Dr. Sharon Marcovitch, Child Development Clinic, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, Ont. M5G 1X8, 416-813-6333; Julie Willard, RAFFS/SPARK parent liaison, 405- 607-5776.
Westhues/Cohen J. How Are They Faring? A Study of Intercountry Adoption in Canada, by Anne Westhues and Joyce Cohen. Study evaluating how intercountry adoptees, now adolescents, adapt in Canada. Funded by National Welfare Grants. See report below. Contact: Prof. Joyce Cohen, School of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor St. W., Toronto, Ont. M5S 1A1, 416-978-3267; Prof. Anne Westhues, Faculty of Social Work, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, Ont. N2L 3C5, 519-884-1970 ext. 2022.

Adoption Research in Print

Benoit/Jocelyn/Moddemann. An adoption study involving 22 Romanian children adopted by 18 Manitoba families was reported in Pediatric Research 35.4.2 (April 1994): A19. The researchers are Teresa C. Benoit, Leslie J. Jocelyn and Diane M. Moddemann of the University of Manitoba, Dept. of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Winnipeg.
Cohen/Coyne/Duvall. Cohen, Nancy J., James Coyne and James Duvall. "Adopted and biological children in the clinic: family, parental and child characteristics." Journal of child psychology and psychiatry 34.4 (1993): 545-562. Nancy J. Cohen, C.M. Hincks Institute, 114 Maitland Street, Toronto M4Y 1E1
Cohen/Duvall/Coyne. Mental Health Service Needs of Post-Adoptive Families. Nancy J. Cohen, James Duvall, and James Coyne. Funded by National Welfare Grant, Health and Welfare Canada. Sponsored by Children's Aid Society in York Region, Newmarket, Ontario. Executive Summary and Full Study. Dr. Nancy J. Cohen, 114 Maitland St., Toronto, ON M4Y 1E1 416 972-1935 ext. 3312 Fax 416 924-9808.
Conn-Blowers/Spronk. The Effects on Families of Adopting Beyond Infancy. E.A. Conn-Blowers and T. Spronk. Edmonton: Dept. of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, 1993. Study done with the cooperation of the Dept. of Alberta Family and Social Services. Copies from Terri Spronk, 12133 41 Street, Edmonton, AB T5W 2M5
Daly/Sobol. "Adoption as an Alternative for Infertile Couples: Prospects and Trends." by Kerry J. Daly and Michael P. Sobol. Chapter 5, p. 191-259, of The Prevalence of Infertility in Canada. Vol. 6 of the Research Studies. Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1993. Available from Canada Communication Group-Publishing 819 956-4800 or through bookstores Z1-1989-3-41-19E $29.95. Also available in French: La prévalence de l'infertilité au Canada.
Daly/Sobol. "Adoption in Canada" Kerry J. Daly and Michael P. Sobol. Canadian Social Trends (Spring 1994): 3-5. Statistics Canada Catalogue 11-008E.
Daly/Sobol. "Public and Private Adoption: a Comparison of Service and Accessibility" Kerry J. Daly and Michael P. Sobol. Family Relations 43.1 (Jan. 1994): 86-93.
Daly/Sobol. Adoption in Canada: Final Report. Kerry J. Daly and Michael P. Sobol. Guelph, Ont.: National Adoption Study, May 1993. Funded by National Welfare Grants, Health and Welfare Canada. Available from University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont. N1G 2W1 Phone 519 824-4120 ext. 8599 Final Report 167 p. $15, Final Report Summary 20 p., Executive Summary 5 p.
Daly/Sobol. Research volume #210 will be Adoption as an Alternative for Infertile Couples by Kerry Daly and Michael Sobol and will contain a long literature review on the transition to adoption. (A research volume to be published as part of Proceed with Care, Final report of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies. Ottawa: Minister of Government Services Canada, 1993. 2 volumes $52, $30 a volume. Telephone orders 613 956-4802, available in bookstores selling Canadian government publications.)
Jerome, Laurence. "A comparison of the demography, clinical profile and treatments of adopted and non adopted children at a children's mental health centre." Canadian journal of psychiatry 38 (May 1993): 290-294. Laurence Jerome, 90 Wharncliffe Rd. South, London, Ont. N6J 2K1.
Kotsopoulos, Sotiris [et al.] "A psychiatric follow-up study of adoptees." Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 38 (August 1993): 391-396.
Ouellette/Séguin. Adoption et redéfinition contemporain de l'enfant, de la famille et de la filiation. Françoise Romaine Ouellette et Joanne Séguin. Québec: Institute Québécoise de recherche sur la culture, 1994. 14 rue Haldimand, Québec, PQ G1R 4N4 418 643-4695 $20.
Westhues/Cohen. Intercountry Adoption in Canada: Final Report. Anne Westhues and Joyce S. Cohen. Waterloo and Toronto, Jan. 1994. Funded by National Welfare Grants, Human Resources Development Canada. Available from Prof. Westhues, Faculty of Social Work, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5 519 884-1970 ext. 2474 Fax 519-888- 9732; and Prof. Cohen, Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, 416-978-3267, fax 416-978- 7072.
Whitford-Numan. Reflections on Special Needs Adoption: an Exploratory Descriptive Study of Parental Perceptions by Roxanne Whitford-Numan. Master of Social Work Thesis, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, 1994. Data was gathered regarding the post-placement experience of 204 parents, as it relates to three major areas: the presence of problematic behaviours, the identification of special needs before or after placement, and the essential need for post- adoption services. Now: Roxanne L. Shoulders, MSW, RSW, Clinical Director, NuWay Consulting Services, 501 - 4808 Ross St., Red Deer AB T4N 1X5, 403-341-3773.

THE DALY/SOBOL REPORT

The decline of adoption in Canada

By Robin Hilborn (published in Adoption Helper, June 1993, p. 8)

The Study
In September 1990 the federal Department of Health and Welfare chose Kerry J. Daly, PhD and Michael P. Sobol, PhD, of the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario to study adoption in Canada. Their mandate was broad -- they were to:
-- Examine key adoption trends across the country.
-- Review legislation and policy.
-- Analyze how adoption services are delivered.
-- Explore the factors in pregnancy decision-making.
The professors surveyed 355 public and private service providers, 1,377 high school students, 373 of their parents and 603 doctors and counsellors. Their 167-page report, published in May 1993, fills a great need: for years there has been no national adoption data in Canada.


Definitions
Public adoptions: those facilitated through a provincial ministry or agency funded by the government.
Private adoptions: those facilitated by people or agencies that are privately funded.
Hard-to-place / special needs children: over one year old, possibly physically or mentally challenged, belonging to a racial or ethnic minority, or having a history of difficult foster or adoptive placement.
Open adoption: The birthmother chooses the adoptive parents from profiles containing no identifying information and may choose continued contact with them after the placement.

If you are trying to adopt you face a maze of possibilities. Public or private adoption? Infant, older child, or special needs child? Domestic or international adoption?

Then there are the hurdles to jump. You could be judged unsuitable to adopt because of age, finances, sexual orientation or marital status.

Despite the hoops and hurdles, Canadians do adopt, and Drs. Daly and Sobol have the numbers to prove it. I'm speaking of Kerry J. Daly and Michael P. Sobol, of the University of Guelph, Ontario, who have just released their landmark study of adoption in Canada.

About 400,000 babies are born every year in Canada. In 1990, 2,836 children were adopted, so that adoption is a little-used way of forming a family--less than 1% of children found families through adoption.

Note that the Daly/Sobol study covers only domestic adoptions. The figures do not reflect relative adoptions, step adoptions or international adoptions finalized outside Canada.

The big picture

Overall, domestic adoptions dropped strikingly from 1981 to 1990, almost in half:

Domestic adoptions in Canada
................ 1981 ............... 1990
Public .... 4,441 (83%) ... 1,731 (61%)
Private ..... 935 (17%) ... 1,105 (39%)
Total ..... 5,376 (100%) . 2,836 (100%)

Public agencies haven't been able to meet the demand. Those who applied to a public agency in 1991 faced an average six-year wait before receiving a child. Worse, 12% of public agencies have closed their waiting lists.

Though there are no fees at public agencies, would-be adopters have deserted them for private agencies, which now handle about 40% of all adoptions. Besides speed, another reason people go the private route is that the typical adoptable child in the public domain has special needs, while almost all private adoptions involve healthy infants.

Still, though private adoptions are faster, they cost more. A couple adopting privately in 1991 waited about two years and paid about $3,500. (International adoptions cost much more.)

Infant adoptions

As you might expect, adoption of infants (under one year) have fallen, in line with the drop in all adoptions:

Infant adoptions in Canada
................... 1981 ................. 1990
Public ..... 2,736 (78%) ....... 698 (41%)
Private ...... 785 (22%) ... 1,000 (59%)
Total ...... 3,521 (100%) .. 1,698 (100%)

However, these numbers reveal a striking change in the role of public agencies. In 1981 they handled 78% of infant adoptions; by 1990 private agencies had taken over this role, handling 59% of infant adoptions.

In nine years the number of infants placed by public agencies has dropped by three-quarters, while private adoption of infants held steady, averaging 955 a year.

Today, at public agencies you are more likely to find older children. At private agencies, 95% of the adoptions are of infants. Can you get a private adoption where you live? It depends. In Ontario you can; in some provinces private adoptions are illegal. The British Columbia government is now proposing to ban private agencies, to the outrage of the B.C. adoption community.

If you don't insist on a baby, your chances of adopting increase. Hard-to-place children (over one year) are less in demand. 60% of all public adoptions are of hard-to-place children, but only 5% of private adoptions, so for an older child the Children's Aid Society is the place to go.

Where are the babies?

Why have infant adoptions declined? There are fewer infants available for domestic adoption, for these reasons:

-- There are more support services for parenting and less stigma attached to single parenthood.
-- Schools do not teach about adoption. Pregnant young women have little or no knowledge of placement procedures, legal rights and openness options.
-- Parents of the students interviewed by Daly and Sobol thought adoption served the infant's best interest. However, they believed adoption to have immediate and long-term negative emotional consequences for the birthmother and tended not to advise it.
-- Most single pregnant women (60%) now prefer to raise their child, despite the financial hardship and disruption of education and social life. They view adoption as having emotionally traumatic consequences. Abortion is also a declining choice--students interviewed were very negative on abortion, judging it to be immoral, emotionally difficult and risky for the health. Here is how single women decided when they found they were pregnant:

Decision about pregnancy (single women under 25)
........................................ 1981 ................... 1989
Chose abortion ........... 33,577 (49%) ... 29,246 (38%)
Chose to raise child ... 31,657 (46%) ... 46,234 (60%)
Chose adoption ............ 3,521 (5%) ........ 1,730 (2%)
Total ........................... 68,755 (100%) ... 77,210 (100%)

Who are the 2% who chose adoption? Typically they are: single; 15 to 19; caucasian; Protestant (46%) or Catholic (29%); not in school (43%) or in senior high (32%); and living with their parents. They say the main reason for placing the child for adoption is that they are too young or haven't enough money to raise the child. The birthfather is not in the picture: only 10% of the adoption facilitators who were interviewed said the birthfather was involved in the decision.

The service

Where do you turn for adoption services? Daly and Sobol counted 350 service providers in Canada, of five types:
-- 209 public agencies, no fees: child welfare agencies almost exclusively government funded.
-- 108 independent practitioners, fees charged: lawyers and social workers. Half spend under 5% of their time on adoption but 11% spend all their time on adoption. Most are licensed and practice in Ontario.
-- 17 independent practitioners, no fees: doctors and lawyers spending less than 5% of their time facilitating adoptions. Most are unlicensed to practice adoption.
-- 10 independent agencies, fees charged: funded by fees paid by adoptive parents, and some charitable support.
-- 6 independent agencies, no fees: funded by both government and charity.

The time

If you go to a public agency you could expect to wait six years to adopt an infant. In fact, one quarter of public agencies have waiting lists of eight to 12 years.

The wait is half as long at independent agencies charging no fees (32 months) and at practitioners charging no fees (34 months). At practitioners and agencies charging fees the wait averages 21 months. The speed of an adoption increases with your ability to pay.

The cost

Daly and Sobol found that a domestic adoption through fee-charging independent practitioners cost $3,461 to $4,528, depending on services. For agencies the fee varied from $3,611 to $5,873. (Public adoptions involve no fees.) Legal fees were the biggest item: practitioners charged an average $2,131 and agencies $1,245 for legal costs.

The demand

In Canada in 1990 roughly 16,000 couples sought to adopt through public agencies. (Private practitioners do not have to submit information on their waiting lists.)

Daly and Sobol estimated that in 1990 there were 3.2 applicants for every public adoption (and 7.7 applicants for every public infant adoption). In private adoptions, there were 2.7 applicants for every placement (and 3 applicants for every infant placement). They conservatively estimate the total number waiting for domestic adoptions as: 14,000 couples and 500 singles applying for public adoptions, and 8,000 couples and 130 singles applying privately, for a total of 22,630. (Some overlap of categories is possible.) Compare this with the actual number of domestic adoptions in 1990: 2,836.

Interviews with individuals and groups which facilitate international adoption lead to an estimate of 2,000 to 5,000 people pursuing international adoption.

The estimates are rough, proof of poor record-keeping. However, one thing is certain: there is no lack of prospective parents.

Who wants to adopt?

The typical applicant is: married, 31 to 35, caucasian, Protestant, has a fertility problem, no parenting experience, and at least high school education (those applying for independent adoptions tend to be older and better educated). 3% of applicants are single.

Openness favoured
On the issue of open adoption Daly and Sobol found that only public agencies wished to increase the degree of openness. Other types of service provider were quite satisfied with their level of openness.

What about international adoption?
Of all the provinces only Quebec, which has control of its own immigration, has kept accurate records of international adoption. Daly and Sobol estimate that there were about three international adoptions for every two infant domestic adoptions in Canada in 1991. Thus, 1,698 infant adoptions correspond to roughly 2,500 international adoptions. Adding to 2,836 domestic adoptions in 1990 gives a rough figure of 5,300 for all adoptions, international and domestic, in Canada in 1991.

The recommendations

Daly and Sobol recommended the following:
-- Set up a national record keeping system for all adoptions. Open a national registry of adoption practitioners and agencies.
-- Establish licensing for all private practitioners and agencies.
-- Maintain a commitment to public adoption so that lower income adoptive applicants have an equal opportunity to adopt a healthy child.
-- Extend the opportunities to adopt by single and unmarried applicants, regardless of sexual orientation, when the best interests of the child are met.
-- Reconstitute the public adoption of children without special needs under the auspices of free-standing, publicly financed units not associated with welfare and protection.
-- Provide greater flexibility in the granting of adoption orders for hard-to-place children by accommodating outstanding access orders.
-- Make negotiated openness agreements binding in law.
-- Require practitioners using openness procedures to offer long-term support services to all parties to the adoption.
-- Train adoption practitioners in the use of more open facilitation procedures.
-- Review the central legislative principle of "relinquishment" for relevance in current adoption practice.
-- Increase the commitment to post-adoption services, especially for hard-to-place and at-risk, international adoptions.
-- Establish more Native agencies to facilitate placement of Native children in Native homes.
-- Enhance public education about adoption as a pregnancy resolution alternative.
-- Review waiting lists to determine if they should be closed for a period of time.
-- Commit more resources to ensure that the goals of active registries are met.
-- Consider the possibility of moving towards accessibility to open adoption records when adoptees reach the age of majority.

References
Adoption in Canada, Kerry J. Daly, PhD, Michael P. Sobol, PhD (University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1), May 1993, 167 pp. Report of the National Adoption Study, funded in 1990 by National Welfare Grants, Health and Welfare Canada. E-mail: Sobol@psyadm.css.uoguelph.ca






THE AMES STUDY

Romanian children adopted by B.C. families:
Romanian Adoption Research Project

A positive outlook for adopted Romanian orphanage children

By Robin Hilborn (published in Adoption Helper, Sept. 1992, p. 8)

After the rush of Romanian adoptions--663 children found Canadian homes in 1991--how did the children fare in their new lives? And how did the adoptive parents cope with the stresses they ran into? Those were the questions asked in a recent study by Elinor W. Ames and seven other researchers at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

Using interviews and questionnaires, the researchers interviewed/studied 34 families in British Columbia who had adopted 39 Romanian children, from 21 orphanages. The children had spent at least eight months in an institution. At the time of the interviews the children were about 18 months old on average and had been in Canada about 10 months.

Findings
In the Romanian orphanages the conditions were extreme: the sample studied "has the worst child-to-caregiver ratio" of any such study, in the words of Elinor W. Ames--15:1 for one to three-year- olds. The children had no opportunity to form an attachment relationship.

[Summary: the Romanian adoptees had many medical problems, were developmentally delayed, showed more behaviour problems than Canadian children, and their attachment behaviours to their new parents were ambivalent or indiscriminate.]

The children didn't have enought to eat or drink and were underweight. Many had medical problems and were developmentally delayed. Typically a child could not stand alone or bang two objects together, and spoke no words; over half made no sounds but crying. For the parents, the behaviours of most concern were their child's rocking and eating problems: disliking solid food and eating too much. Attachment: they were indiscriminately friendly to all adults.

As for the child's current abilities, the parents reported many fewer delays; the behaviour problems have greatly decreased. The 28 children adopted when they were under two years old showed the most progress, especially in areas such as fine motor ability. Seven showed no delays at all. [compared to orphanage]

The children adopted after 2 years of age, though in Canada the same average time as the younger ones, continued to show many of the developmental delays they had in the orphanage--still behind on language and fine motor behaviour. Nonetheless their progress continues and could catch up to North American standards of development, though only a later study could prove this.

Deprivation
As for the parents, most adoptive parents knew about health problems in the children, but were not dissuaded from adopting; they were highly motivated to get a child. But the parents were stressed by the number of problems their children showed. Nevertheless, the parents were happy with their decision and said they would do it all over again.

Conclusions
There were developmental delays in these children raised under poor institutional conditions. They showed behaviour problems such as rocking back and forth, dislike of solids, willingness to eat enormous quantities of food. The children were often over-friendly and did not attach quickly to their new parents; now we see some beginning signs of attachment in the adopted Romanian orphans.

After adoption they progressed rapidly and, judging from similar studies in the field, eventually will reach normal developmental levels. The younger ones (under 2 years) adapted the most quickly. Best feeling [about the outcome for adopted Romanian orphans]: great majority will be in normal range of school work, development, good relations with parents. A minority may have attachment problems. If I were adopting, I'd choose a child from an orphanage, rather than a foster child, says Ms. Ames.
___________________
Elinor W. Ames visited several Romanian orphanages just after the December 1989 overthrow of the Ceausescu regime. For more information: Psychology Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6, 604-291-3354, fax 291-3427. Study results were presented at the Canadian Psychological Assn. annual convention in Quebec City on June 13, 1992.

INTERVIEW

The Ames Study--Positive prognosis for children adopted from Romanian orphanages

By Katherin Jones, Editor, Adoption Helper
(published in Adoption Helper, Sept. 1992, p. 8)

Dr. Elinor W. Ames, of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, recently reported the results of the Romanian Adoption Research Project. Its aim was to examine the effects of institutionalization on the subsequent development of the children. I talked to Dr. Ames about her findings.

Adoption Helper: What was the major finding of your study?
Elinor Ames: I think one of the most important things for parents, is that the parents [in our study] anticipated that children from the orphanages would be delayed, but they didn't think so much about some of the behavioural and emotional problems that the children would have. So afterwards,they were more upset by the fact that their children rocked back and forth, or that they absolutely refused to eat solid food, than they were that the children couldn't do all the things that Canadian children of the same age could do. It seemed reasonable to them that the children were delayed. But it was the kids' bizarre behaviour that bothered them. [The children] do have some weird behaviours. But in all cases, these are slowly declining.

AH: You said that perhaps the parents were not adequately prepared for the adoptions?
EA: Particularly with Romanian adoptions, I think the first people who went knew very little. They did have the counsel of some of us who had been to see the orphanages. But I think that people are so strongly motivated, they want this child so much, that they're willing to dash off and they do not listen. I was telling people before, if you go to adopt an orphanage child, think of it as a special needs adoption. This is not the adoption of a normal child to start. The difference is that although many of these children will become very normal, they have many behavioural problems.

AH: You said they will become normal...so the prognosis for these children is good?
EA: I would think that the great majority of them will come within the normal range, in terms of intellect, school performance, getting along within their families. I think a minority of them will probably have some differences, some problems in attachment. But I'm not sure about that. They're still moving. What struck us was that their parents thought they looked fine, because they were very loving, because they would sit on their parents' laps and they were very loving children. But what the parents didn't seem to realize was at that time, was that they were equally loving with people outside the family. So they would go off with a stranger, they would wander off and not get upset when they couldn't see their parents any more. They were friendly with everybody. And the parents took that as 'they are already attached to me', but it was sort of like they just loved people. They'd just discovered people for the first time who will do things for them. Nobody in the orphanage had any time for them. Now everybody wants to do things and get them things, and I think they're in love with humanity in general. And they have to go through that. If you think of it in a normal baby ... a five month old baby is like that. He'll smile at anybody. You can hand him to anybody. And these kids seem to me to be back at that level.

AH: But they can, ultimately, we hope, attach?
EA: We do not know yet. We hope so. And I would predict that most of them will make fairly normal attachments. But this is something we really don't know a lot about.

AH: Do you feel positively about this kind of adoption process, or is that beyond the realm of your study?
EA: I feel positive about taking children [from overseas for adoption]. One worries about overseas adoptions--are you taking them away their families and culture? But if children are in orphanages, you know that they need a home. And there is just no doubt that every single child in our study has a better life than if they had stayed in those orphanages, by a hundred fold. Regardless of their problems, they'll do much, much better than they would have done if they had been left in the orphanage.

THE WESTHUES/COHEN STUDY

Abstract
Adoptees are well-integrated into their families, have high self-esteem, have friends and positive peer relations. But racial discrimination is a major concern.

Intercountry Adoption In Canada

Study by Dr. Anne Westhues (Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Ave., Waterloo, Ont. N2L 3C5, 519-884-1970 ext. 2474) and Prof. Joyce S. Cohen (Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ont. M5S 1A1, 416-978-3267, fax 978-7072).

Here are the key findings and recommendations of this study, funded in 1991 by National Welfare Grants Division of Human Resources and Development Canada. The study's aim was to find out how well internationally adopted children and their families fared when the child reached adolescence and young adulthood. The results of this study permit an assessment to be made of whether there are serious adjustment problems for children adopted from out-of country. This information will help individuals decide whether to choose this way of making a family. And it will help Canada and the countries from which children are adopted to decide whther this form of adoption should be continue and be supported.

The study involved interviewing 126 families in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. Key findings are stated in the areas of family integration, self-esteem, school performance, peer relations, ethnic identification, racial identification and racism/prejudice.

The study concluded that intercountry adoptees seem to function at least as well as you would expect in the general population. The evidence supports continued intercountry adoption. The adoptees in this study appear to be well-integrated into their families, have high self-esteem, have friends and positive peer relations. They do well in school. The only area of concern is regarding ethnic and racial identity. More than 80% of the adoptees had experienced racial discrimination.

The study recommended that Canada continue to be open to intercountry adoption. It specifically recommended:
-- Ministries of Education and school boards should continue their commitment to programs to prevent racism and should train school staff on how to handle racism.
-- Intercountry adoption should be kept affordable.
-- Preplacement services should be offered to prospective parents with a focus on the life changes that occur with intercountry adoption.
-- Postplacement education and support services should be offered to parents and intercountry adoptees.
-- An information system is needed to monitor the number of children entering Canada through intercountry adoption.
The study also urged training for:
-- Child welfare, mental health and health care workers, to help them recognize their own ethnic and racial prejudices.
-- Child welfare and mental health workers, on the dynamics of transcultural and transracial families.
-- Physicians, on the health problems that adoptees may have on entering the country.

Source: Adoption Helper, and Windows on Adoption (APA of BC), Feb. 1994, p. 21

Westhues/Cohen study

Intercountry Adoption Study makes recommendations
Summary from Adoption Council of Canada

Canada should continue to be open to intercountry adoption-- that's the conclusion of a new study, "Intercountry Adoption in Canada".

Professors Anne Westhues, of Wilfrid Laurier University, and Joyce Cohen, of the University of Toronto, studied how well internationally adopted children and their families have fared when the children reached adolescence and young adulthood.

Their study involved 126 families in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, and included 155 intercountry adoptees and 121 siblings. They answered questions on family integration, self-esteem, school performance, peer relations, ethnic and racial identification, and the experience of prejudice or racism. The conclusion was that intercountry adoptees appear to be functioning at least as well as would be expected in the general population.

Westhues and Cohen had these recommendations:
-- Ministries of Education and local school boards continue their commitment to provide programs aimed at prevention of racism, and training to school personnel on how to handle racism.
-- Intercountry adoption should be kept affordable.
-- Preplacement services be offered to prospective adoptive parents focusing on the life changes that come with intercountry adoption.
-- Postplacement services be offered to parents and intercountry adoptees with a focus on education and support.
-- Training is needed for social workers doing homestudies, with uniform homestudy guidelines; also training with respect to culture in the countries of origin of children; training for child welfare, mental health and health care workers in recognizing their own ethnic and racial prejudices, and in the dynamics of transcultural and transracial families; and for physicians on the health care problems that intercountry adoptees may have on entering the country.
-- An information system is required to permit monitoring of the number of children admitted to Canada through intercountry adoption.
-- As much background information as possible be obtained about such adoptees, especially for those adopted at an older age.
-- Canada continue its commitment to Third World development, especially to improve the well-being of children; the National Adoption Desk and parent groups act as advocates.
It should be noted that the post-placement service that adoptive parents felt would be most useful was support and education through a parent support group (76.9%) (p. 55-57).

Source: Newsletter of the Adoption Council of Canada, March 1994, p. 1



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