Bolivian farmers and alternative crops: Some insights into innovation adoption

The Bolivian Institute for Agricultural Technology, with financial and technical backing from USAID/Bolivia, has recently intensified its efforts to develop and promote cropping systems to serve as alternatives to coca cultivation in the Chapare region of Bolivia. A study was conducted in which 85 farmers were visited and interviewed in order to identify problems faced by farmers of the Chapare, understand the farming practices of the region, and determine the attributes of the new crops that were contributing to their adoption or rejection. Interviews were conducted in an informal manner using an interview guide consisting primarily of open-ended questions. The results of this study indicate that the capital outlay required and the expected profitability, both economic and otherwise, are the attributes of the new crops which most strongly influenced farmers' initial adoption/rejection decisions. The major obstacle to innovation adoption in the Chapare seems to be new crops whose adoption presents unacceptably high levels of risk coupled with low anticipated profitability. Recommendations for the development of the alternative crops program and the Chapare region conclude the paper.     

Strengthening adoption practice, listening to adoptive families

In-depth interviews with 500 adoptive families who received postadoption services through Virginia's Adoptive Family Preservation (AFP) program paint a richly detailed picture of the challenges adoptive families face and what they need to sustain adoption for many years after finalization. Findings document the need for support in a variety of forms, including respite, counseling, and information. Numerous implications for strengthening adoption practice through effective training and technical assistance are discussed.     

Special-needs adoption

In the last 15 years there has been a change in adoption patterns toward the adoption of children with special needs. A major problem with this type of adoption is the disruption rate. The purpose of this study is to provide multivariate analysis on the characteristics of families and the characteristics of children that can be utilized to predict successful adoptions of these children.Data were collected from a private, nonprofit agency in a large southwestern city that specializes in special-needs adoption by analysis of home study reports, supervision reports, and information accompanying a child for families that have adoption finalized or disrupted by this agency (N = 91).Several factors were found to influence adoption outcome, including age of the child, presence of other children in the home, placement number, age of the woman, family income, and type of placement. The reasons for these findings and their implications are briefly discussed.     

The economics of adoption of children from foster care

Federal initiatives since 1996 have intensified the efforts of states to achieve adoption for children in foster care. For many waiting children, the path to adoption is long. The authors offer an economic analysis of adoption from foster care, with an emphasis on the reasons why achieving the goal of adoption for all waiting children may be so difficult. The authors then estimate the determinants of adoptions from foster care across the states using data for fiscal years 1996 and 1997. Adoption assistance subsidy rates stand out as the most important determinant of adoptions from foster care, followed by use of alternatives (e.g., intercountry adoption). Adoptive matching on the basis of race does not appear to prevent adoptions from foster care in the aggregate, leaving flaws in the matching process, such as a lack of information and difficulty using the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), as a primary reason why children wait.     

Care-leavers and their children placed for adoption

Young people in and leaving state care are more likely than the general population to become parents at a young age. Relatively little is known about the experiences and progress of care leaver parents and their children, but emerging evidence suggests an increased risk of intergenerational state intervention. Drawing on data from the Wales Adoption Study, this paper examines the prevalence and profiles of care leavers amongst birth parents whose children were placed for adoption. Findings showed that more than a quarter (27%) of birth mothers and a fifth (19%) of birth fathers with children placed for adoption were themselves care leavers. There were no significant differences between care leaver and non-care leaver birth parents in terms of involvement in crime or substance misuse, but carer leaver birth parents were distinguishable from other birth parents by their own experiences of abuse and neglect. Care leaver birth mothers were also more likely than their non-care leaver counterparts to have diagnosed mental health problems and were less likely to appeal the adoption plan. The profiles of children placed for adoption between care leaver and non-care leaver birth parents were similar. The findings presented in this paper strengthen the moral imperative to address the over-representation of care leavers amongst birth parents whose children are placed for adoption. There is an urgent need to revise how children and young people in state care are prepared for parenthood and supported as parents.     

Adolescents' feelings about openness in adoption: implications for adoption agencies

Adoption research commonly uses parents' reports of satisfaction when examining openness in adoption arrangements. This qualitative study aimed to fill a gap in the adoption research by using adolescents' voices to gain a better understanding of their adoption experiences. Adopted adolescents (n = 152) were interviewed concerning their satisfaction with the openness in their adoption arrangements with their birthmothers. Results and implications from this study may affect how adoption agencies work with adopted adolescents and their families, and may influence a broader understanding of the recent trend toward open adoption arrangements.     

Social work and law in a foster care/adoption program

The push toward permanency planning has led to a blurring of distinctions between foster care and adoption, and consequent emotional and legal entanglements. The program described here was designed to emphasize cooperation between social workers and lawyers to safeguard the rights of all parties, and the authors discuss the pitfalls of casework with both biological and foster parents.     

International adoption: Issues of acknowledgement of adoption and birth culture

There has been a steady trend of adopting children from other countries. Families who adopt children internationally are faced with not only the acknowledgement of the adoption but the recognition of the birth culture. Thirty four families were surveyed to assess issues regarding the relevance, frequency, and means of acknowledgement of the adoption and birth culture. Findings are reported with suggestions for adoption professionals included.     

Partitioning the adoption process to better predict permanency

Under federal outcome standards established by the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, discharges to adoption are expected to occur within 24 months of the most recent removal from home for at least 32% of cases. In the research recounted here, adoption is treated as a process composed of two discrete steps: adoptive placement and adoption finalization. It was hypothesized that the predictors of completion may differ for each step, offering direction for practice and policy. Predictors included child characteristics, maltreatment history, placement history, system variables, and service delivery variables. Children's adoption event history was viewed through five annual entry cohorts, including all children with adoption case plans, rather than the exit cohorts of the federal measure, which includes only adopted children. Over this five-year period, the length of time from removal to adoption finalization decreased significantly, primarily as a result of decreased time from adoption placement to finalization. Child and family characteristics and abuse/neglect history were found to be much more predictive in the analysis of timely adoption placement than of time from placement to finalization. These and other significant predictors suggest strategies for improving timely adoption outcomes.     

Supporting families throughout the international special needs adoption process

Due to changing trends in international adoption, a greater number of placements are now special needs. While most special needs adoptions are successful, they do present a higher risk for placement instability. Thus, adoptive parents and children are faced with an increasing need for support services. This article explores literature related to support throughout the international special needs adoption process including medical, information/education, social support and direct intervention both pre- and post-adoption. While many support strategies, both formal and informal, are utilized by families and adoption professionals, and some are promoted in policy related literature, few have been validated through empirical evidence. Findings reveal a need for further research around effective pre-adoption training programs for parents, preparation tools for children, and larger scale studies to evaluate post-placement services for each sub-group of international special needs adoptees.     

Envisaging the adoption process to strengthen gay- and lesbian-headed families: recommendations for adoption professionals

Although a growing number of child placement agencies are serving lesbians and gay men, a dearth of literature exists for adoption agency policies and practices related to working with this population. This article explores the unique characteristics and strengths of prospective gay and lesbian adoptive parents throughout each of the three phases of the adoption process-preplacement, placement, and postplacement-as well as provides suggestions for adoption professionals working with gays and lesbians. Data from a recent qualitative study of single, gay adoptive fathers are used to illustrate examples and expose areas of potential strengths of adoptive parents not generally explored in the preplacement or preparatory stage. Special attention also is given to the continuing needs of adoptive families headed by gays and lesbians after adoptive placement. Specifically explored are the needs for developing linkages with similar families, as well as providing resources designed to promote successful outcomes of adopted children raised by gays and lesbians.     

Pathways of influences leading to adoption of the Faith,Activity and Nutrition (FAN) program in a statewide initiative

RE-AIM (Reach, effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) and CFIR (Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research) are complementary frameworks guiding research on dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions and factors influencing this process. Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) is an evidence-based program that increased physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake in faith-based settings. The aims of this adoption study were to quantify state-wide church level adoption rates and congregant reach of FAN in accordance with RE-AIM guidelines, and to explore the association of CFIR-derived constructs of the church inner setting and pastor characteristics with FAN adoption. Church recruitment was documented, and data were collected via telephone-administered surveys from 93 pastors in adopting churches and 60 pastors in non-adopting churches. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) identified combinations of CFIR-derived church and pastor characteristics sufficient for FAN adoption. As defined by RE-AIM, church-level FAN adoption was 11.7 % and congregant-level reach was 20.0 %. Fourteen pathways to adoption were identified; seven of these featured the presence of a culture of concern for congregant health along with openness to new ideas. Results suggest early assessment of these two CFIR-derived inner setting constructs may help identify faith-based organizations predisposed to undertake a comprehensive, environmental intervention to promote congregant health.     

Modelling Chinese manufacturers' technology adoption behaviour

Abstract

This paper uses firm-level survey data from Hong Kong to identify determinants of technology adoption. The data analysis was guided by proposing a new model that was built upon the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Technology Acceptance Model. Three types of determinants are considered. They are determinants controllable by the technology suppliers and technology buyers, respectively; an external determinant that is not controllable by both the technology suppliers and buyers. This paper reviews research in related areas and the proposed model suggests ways in which behavioural, environmental and organisational issues may be important to technology adoption. The result reveals that behavioural and organisational issues are relevant to technology adoption decision, whereas the relevance of environmental issues is questionable.     

Meeting the needs of the adoption triangle through Open Adoption: The adoptive parent

Open adoption enables the adoptive parents to participate more fully in the adoption. It allows them to make decisions regarding the amount of openness they wish to have. By means of seminars, readings, and panels the adoptive parents learn more about adoption and birthparents. By experiencing openness, the adoptive parents come to know the birthparents as real people. The birthparents are no longer perceived as a threat. The adoptive parents gain a feeling of entitlement to parent from the birthparent(s).     

The adoption of women’s legislative caucuses worldwide

Recent decades have witnessed the rise, across a wide range of countries, of political institutions designed to promote gender equality and women’s political representation. Existing studies have shown how international diffusion processes have contributed to the adoption of two kinds of such institutions – gender mainstreaming and gender quotas. Mounting evidence suggests that institutional reforms within legislatures constitute the latest wave of gendered institutional reform. This article identifies and explains trends in the adoption of one kind of gender-focused parliamentary institution – women’s legislative caucuses (WLCs). We use a discrete time duration model to assess the effect of several factors on WLC establishment. While there is theoretical room to expect diffusion, structural and institutional variables to affect the likelihood of caucus adoption, we find the strongest empirical support for diffusion and institutional factors. A parliament’s likelihood of adopting a WLC rises when sub-regional peers have created WLCs, when women’s international non-governmental organizations are active in the country and when the country has implemented a gender quota. Understanding the factors that affect the adoption of gender-focused parliamentary institutions is critically important, we argue, since such bodies provide space to confront masculinized institutionalized rules and norms.     

Chinese adoption: practices and challenges.

The majority of children in China who are the subject of protective services are either abandoned or disabled. Recent reform efforts in China's child welfare practices have focused on the importance of providing safe, permanent families for children in lieu of long-term institutional care. Although challenges still exist, adoption and foster care are increasingly being seen as viable alternatives for these children.     

The emerging role of adoption reunion registries: adoptee and birthparent views

Since the 1980s, government-sponsored adoption reunion registries have emerged as key access points for individuals separated by adoption to secure information and initiate efforts to be reunited with their birth-families. Despite the prevalence of such registries, little information is available about their operational effectiveness. This article presents data from a survey of adult adoptees and birthparents who used the services of a statewide reunion registry.     

The vicissitudes of adoption for parents and children

This paper attempts to illustrate how adoption is understood by children according to their developmental stages within the context of their families. Illustrations of children's thought processes and inner fantasies are presented in the form of interviews and observations. The inner thoughts and experiences of adoptive parents are also presented, from the time of the application process through infancy, toddlerhood, school age and adolescence. A major thesis is that adoptive parents who are comfortable with their own feelings about the birthparents and the child's specific history are more able to provide an atmosphere where the child feels valued when she asks questions or communicates fantasies about her story. In this manner adoption is integrated into the child's growing self-esteem and, as time goes on, the adoption becomes less important.The author wishes to thank Lynn Borenstein, L.C.S.W. for her helpful suggestions. Marilyn Silin, M.A. is on the faculty of The Institute for Clinical Social Work.     

Ideology and conflict: The place of adoption in English child welfare services

This paper locates the adoption services in England and Wales within the wider context of children's services, and examines the reasons why adoption, during the 1970s and 1980s, achieved a position at the pinnacle of the available child placement options. The central claim is that adoption survives today as an artifact of a philosophy of permanence that the new Children Act of 1989 sought to abandon, so that it is now divorced, practically and ideologically, from other child welfare services. As a result there is a pressing need, it is argued, for adoption to be integrated into a range of children's services that are founded on collaborative working and partnership. The current review of adoption law in England and Wales seems poised, however, to preserve adoption as a placement system that is fundamentally out of step with other initiatives for consumer-led child welfare services. In conclusion, the paper considers the implications that this twin-track approach holds for services to children and their families.