Children Adopted From The Foster Care System

1. Children Adopted From The Foster Care System Progress Made In Foster Care/Adoption

2. Some Used Vocabulary • Adoption-To take into one's family through legal means and raise as one's own child. • Dysfunctional-A consequence of a social practice or behavior pattern that undermines the stability of a social system. • Mean-The average value of a set of numbers. • Median –The middle value in a distribution, above and below which lie an equal number of values. • Tangible Benefits – Benefits that can be measured in terms of money.

3. History Of Adoption • Adoption was first established around two centuries ago.  • It started as a way to benefit adults instead of children. • Wealthy elderly people would “adopt” adults so that they were able to gain their inheritance. • Today children are the greatest benefactors of adoption. • They are placed in a loving and stable home with a nice family.

4. History (cont’d) • There was a law that was passed in 1851 that was the first to recognize adoption as a social and legal operation based on child welfare rather than adult interests. • The number of adoptions began to climb after 1900. A new culture emerged placing a premium on children’s innocence, vulnerability, and their secure membership in families. Social security was now provided to the families that were adopting children and this was though as a tangible benefit • The first agencies specializing in adoption were formed between 1910 and 1930. These agencies were created with a great optimism to provide children with a loving family and a better chance at life, one they were believed not to have been afforded with their often unwed mothers.

5. Structural Functionalism • Adoption would be viewed as part of a dysfunctional family structure. • They believe that when there is a disparity in the social institution is considered a deviation to be dysfunctional. • The label of dysfunctional has little to do with psychological harm to individuals, instead it refers to a failure of families to meet the functional needs of society as a whole. • According to the structural functional theory, single-parent families, regardless of the parenting skills of the individuals within them are by definition dysfunctional

6. Opinion on Structural Functionalism View • Dysfunctional is not necessarily the word I would call a family with unbiological children in it. • I thought that this view contributed to my topic because adoption is thought as a disparity with some more than others depending on the cause of it.

7. Social Conflict Issue NONE!

8. Existing Research

9. Research (cont’d) • For understanding of my topic I would like to compare the data of adopted children from the years 2003 and 2008 for comparison. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

10. How many children were adopted… in 2003? - 50,000 How many children were adopted… in 2008? – 55,000 • Gender • Male = 50% = 25,118 • Female = 50% = 24,882 • Age • Mean Age = 7.0 • Median Age = 6.1 • Race • White = 42% = 20,869 • Black = 32% = 16,554 • Hispanic = 16% = 7,923 • Two/more races = 4% = 2,180 • Gender • Male = 50% = 27,718 • Female = 50% = 27,282 • Age • Mean Age = 6.4 • Median Age = 5.2 • Race • White = 44% = 24,377 • Black = 25% = 13,687 • Hispanic = 21% = 11,441 • Two/more Races = 6% = 3,242

11. 2003 • Months To Be Adopted • Mean Months = 14.1 • Mean Months – 10.3 • Family Structure • Married Couple = 68% = 37,164 • Single Female = 28% = 15,165 • Single Male = 3% = 1,392 • Unmarried Couple = 2% = 1,280 • Relationship with child prior to adoption • Foster Parent= 54% = 29,610 • Other Relative = 30% = 16,749 • Non Relative = 16% = 8,597 • Stepparent = 0% = 44 • Months To Be Adopted • Mean Months = 16.2 • Median Months = 12.0 • Family Structure • Married Couple = 67% = 33,647 • Single Female = 23% = 11,563 • Single Male = 3% = 1,358 • Unmarried Couple = 2% = 788 • Relationship with child prior to adoption • Foster Parent = 62% = 31,094 • Other Relative = 23% = 11,563 • Non Relative = 15% = 7,267 • Stepparent = 0% = 76 2008

12. Global Connections • Adoption Exchange Industry is the closest thing to a global connection to Adoption • The Adoption Exchange is a non-profit 501(c)(3) child welfare organization founded in 1983 to work for safety and permanence in the lives of foster children. Initially an exchange point for caseworkers to discuss placement of children with families seeking to adopt in the Rocky Mountain region, the organization has grown considerably over the years and now impacts national trends in child welfare, employs over fifty paid staff and counts on scores of volunteers to carry out its mission. • Headquartered in Colorado, The Adoption Exchange offices now operate in Missouri, Utah, New Mexico, and Nevada. Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming are also participating member states, and The Adoption Exchange's National Education Center has established a national presence.

13. Global Connections • Adoptive Family Structure • Children in the Public Foster Care System Waiting to be Adopted • Adoption Turns Childs Life Around • She was born drug positive and suffered neglect as an infant • The Adoption Exchange

14. In Conclusion… • I have come to find out that through all of my studies and research that the number of children being adopted has begun to rise while those just remaining in foster care has declined. • BUT…There is still work to be done. (“Age Out”)

15. Work Cited • Adoptive Family Structure. (n.d.). Administration for Children and Families Home Page. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/statistics/adoptfs_tbl8_2006.htm • Mustin, T. (2009, April 7). Adoption Turns Child's Life Around - cbs4denver.com. CBS4 Denver, Colorado Breaking News, Weather, Sports From cbs4denver.com - cbs4denver.com. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://cbs4denver.com/local/adoption.exchange.family.2.979136.html • Number of Children in Foster Care Decreases but Critical Needs Go Unmet. (n.d.). Number of Children in Foster Care Decreases but Critical Needs Go Unmet. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/number-of-children-in-foster-care-decreases-but-critical-needs-go-unmet-93395974.html • Price, C., & Assistant, P. (n.d.). History of Adoption. Christian Life Resources :: Clearly Caring!. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://www.christianliferesources.com/?library/view.php&articleid=1302 • The AFCARS Report. (n.d.). The AFCARS Report. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/tar/report10.pdf • The AFCARS Report- 2008 . (n.d.). The AFCARS Report- 2008 . Retrieved July 25, 2010, from www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/tar/report16.pdf • The Adoption Exchange: The Adoption Exchange Mission & History. (n.d.). The Adoption Exchange: The Adoption Exchange . Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://www.adoptex.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_mission • Trends in Foster Care and Adoption—FY 2002-FY 2008. (n.d.). Administration for Children and Families Home Page. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/trends.htm • Ph.D., B. T., M.A., S. R., & M.A., M. C. (n.d.). The Effects of Foster Care Placement on Young Children’s Mental Health. The Effects of Foster Care Placement on Young Children’s Mental Health. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from www.medicine.uiowa.edu/icmh/archives/reports/Foster_care.pdf • all. (n.d.). Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care -- Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption and Dependent Care 106 (5): 1145 -- AAP Policy. AAP Policy - Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;106/5/1145