Agency-Related Barriers Experienced by Families Seeking to Adopt From Foster Care |
| |
Authors: | Amy Chanmugam Elissa E. Madden Michele D. Hanna Patricia A. Cody Ruth G. McRoy |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA;2. Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA;3. The University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA;4. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA |
| |
Abstract: | ABSTRACTAlthough about 100,000 children in foster care await adoption, families approved to adopt encounter obstacles in the adoption process. This nationwide longitudinal study identified agency-related barriers faced by prospective adoptive parents. A pur-posively recruited sample of 300 families seeking to adopt from foster care completed an in-depth, semi-structured telephone interview and quarterly follow-up surveys until they either finalized a foster care adoption (n = 98) or discontinued (n = 102) the process, followed by an exit interview by telephone. Findings revealed the top barriers encountered were adoption process logistics (n = 185, 92.5%), agency communication and responsiveness (n = 159, 79.5%), agency emotional support (n = 130, 65%), availability of services (n = 65, 32.5%), and juris-dictional and interjurisdictional issues (n = 52, 26%). Policy and practice implications are provided with recommendations for improving procedures, services, support, and communication to better retain prospective adoptive parents and improve adop-tion outcomes. |
| |
Keywords: | Adoption foster care barriers agencies prospective adoptive parents family perspectives |
|
|