Today’s guest blogger is Suzanna Maassaro.
Finalizing an adoption is commonly regarded by agencies, government systems, and members of society as the ultimate outcome for a child without a permanent home. Many children anticipating adoption experience a waiting process lasting many years. A great amount of effort is put into pairing a child with adoptive parents in order to discover the best fit. Emphasis continues to remain on the steps leading up to the adoption, but what happens after the finalization? How do adoptive children and parents cope with this profound life transition?
The Huffington Post published an article titled “A New Organization and a New Focus: Enabling Children and Families to Succeed,” by Adam Pertman (January 26, 2015). The article addresses the experiences of adopted children post-finalization and challenges the misconception that the adoption process ends with the finalization of the adoption. Pertman argues that rather than assuming a placement within a forever home is automatically a success, we must consider what the adopted child continues to experience and to re-examine our measure of “success.”
Pertman leads the National Center on Adoption and Permanency (NCAP), an emerging organization with a mission to help adoptive families succeed in all areas of the adoption process. The organization addresses the issue from a policy and practice perspective. They offer adoptive families the services they need to succeed, including: education, training, and additional support. These supports are known as Adoption Support and Preservation (ASAP) services. Applying a wraparound approach allows families to be supported at all stages of the adoption process. NCAP challenges traditional views of adoption by incorporating a trauma-informed approach to support all experiences of the members of the adoption process. Acknowledging the trauma and loss a child experiences is essential when working with children who have been endured adversity in childhood. While entering a new family can be an incredible step toward permanency, children simultaneously experience the loss of a biological family.
Although the NCAP organization demonstrates strength in providing trauma-informed, preventative services, this policy change may not create as great of an effect as initially desired. Preventative services are known to be the most underfunded due to lack of data and immediate outcomes. Although research has begun to support the need for ASAP services, and has even demonstrated a lowered financial and social cost to government and private agencies, the process will take time to be widely established. Additionally, the program must take into account the differing needs of each individual child during their unique journey through the adoption process. Policy makers should keep in mind that services should be tailored to the specific child and should not be an added burden to the already overwhelming transition for the family.
NCAP and other agencies providing ASAP services to adoptive families are paving the way for this new focus on the entirety of the adoption experience. The adoption process should no longer be regarded as complete or successful with the finalization of an adoption. Instead, a paradigm shift must take place in order to view the finalization as just the beginning for these children.
Pertman, A. (2015). A new organization and a new focus: Enabling children and families to succeed. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam pertman/a-new-organization-and-a-new-focus_b_6543152.html