A compilation of resources related to adoption, fostering, guardianship, and kinship care
About
My Nana still shares stories of her many years as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and social worker. I have family members who are adopted. I grew up experiencing abuse from a parent and have a lot of strong, messy feelings about parenthood. One of my closest friends gave a child up for adoption. I’m queer and unable to have a biological child with my partner. All of this is to say – this is a topic I’m deeply invested in.
From my childhood, I can personally attest that the child welfare system in the United States is horribly broken. There’s a long history of birth parents (particularly BIPOC) being coerced into giving up their kids, open adoptions not being honored, inaccessible medical records, loss of cultural identity, abusive foster homes, and far more.
Based on what I’ve learned from former foster youth and adoptees, a functional system would:
- at minimum, provide matching funds to birth parents when foster caregivers receive financial benefits
- eliminate the ability to change original birth certificates and make parental medical information private
- prioritize preventative support and reunification
- establish kinship placement and guardianship (in that order) as the norm rather than adoption until the adoptee is able to provide informed consent
- be a public government program and not run primarily through private religious agencies
On top of this, we’re in an era of political movement attacking comprehensive sex education, birth control and abortion access, LGBT+ rights, and public assistance programs – all of which contribute to the issue.
Facts & Figures
- There are 391,098 youth in foster care across the nation. (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 2021)
- Adoptees are 4x more likely to attempt suicide than non-adoptees (National Library of Medicine, 2013)
- 13 states have laws allowing state-licensed adoption agencies to refuse LGBT+ people to adopt, based on the agency’s religious affiliation (Movement Advancement Project)
- About 1/3 of youth in foster care are LGBT+ (The Imprint, 2021)
Resources to Explore
Observances
These holidays were established in part to encourage adoption, but are also used to raise awareness about the experiences of adoptees as the narrative shifts to include more discussion about the associated trauma and ethical concerns.
November: National Adoption Month
November 9: World Adoption Day
November 18: National Adoption Day
Want to learn even more about different cultural and cause-related observances? Check out the Social Impact Nerd Observation Calendar.
Organizations
Family Preservation Foundation
Mission: to defend children who can be safely raised in their own families in order to help parents preserve their right to raise their own children. Our main focuses are Child Welfare systemic advocacy reform, addressing disparity, poverty, and addiction, building stronger families and communities, bridging divides, and building respect.
The upEND Movement
Mission: The upEND Movement is a collaborative movement that works to abolish the existing child welfare system, which is built on a model of surveillance and separation and is more accurately described as a family policing system. Abolition requires ending this oppressive system AND imagining and recreating the ways in which society supports children, families, and communities in being safe and thriving.
Adoption: Facing Realities
This Facebook group centers those in the triad (adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents) in discussions about various aspects of adoption, fostering, guardianship, and kinship care. There’s a lot of raw content, and new members are required to read rather than post or comment for the first 28 days. I’ve learned so much from being in this group and hearing directly from folks with lived experience as I consider my personal goal of supporting LGBT+ youth for whom reunification is not feasible.
FosterClub
Mission: to lead the efforts of young people in and from foster care to become connected, educated, inspired and represented
Search Angels
Mission: to provide support, advice, and help using traditional search and genetic genealogy to benefit adoptees with their search and, ultimately, knowledge of their biological family tree (ancestry).
Literature
- Recommended reads on adoption and related topics
- Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency (North American Council for Adoptable Children, 2019)
- LGBT+ Youth in the Foster Care System (Human Rights Campaign)
Featured Book
I read Nicole Chung’s “All You Can Ever Know” in June 2023. The author shares her experience as a transracial adoptee piecing together her origin story and reconnecting with relatives, beyond the myths and assumptions many adoptees grow up hearing.
Check out the whole Social Impact Nerd Bookshop for even more suggested reads. As an Affiliate, Social Impact Nerd will receive 10% of all sales made through its lists. You’ll be supporting local indie bookstores too!
Film & TV
Found
The story of three American teenage girls – each adopted from China – who discover they are blood-related cousins on 23andMe. Their online meeting inspires the young women to confront the burning questions they have about their lost history.
Rethinking Foster Care (TEDxBaltimore)
Molly McGrath Tierney is a leading professional in the work reforming child welfare programs and social services. Her efforts in Baltimore are shifting the foster care model to reunify families.
Podcasts
Open Adoption Project
Our key focus is to improve adoptee experiences by encouraging open communication between all members of the adoption triad, nurturing ongoing open adoption relationships, and promoting ethical adoption practices
Adoptees On
Adoptees On is a gathering of incredible adopted people willing to share their intimately personal stories with you about the impact adoption has had on our lives. Listen in and you will discover that you are not alone on this journey.
Have a recommendation or comment? Let me know below!
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