CHAPTER
11
Abused
and Neglected Children and Adoption
There
are 122,000 children in the United States currently waiting
for permanent families.[212] The number of Massachusetts
children in placement with a goal of adoption approached
nearly 3,100 as of June 2000.
Children
who are adopted have experienced loss. The impact of separation
of a child from their biological family is a profound one,
most often experienced by the child as trauma, regardless
of the circumstances of that separation. For children in
the DSS foster care system that move on to adoption, this
reality can sometimes be underestimated by adults who experience
the adoption only as a corrective and positive event. Because
adoption can provoke in a child, mixed feelings and responses
that can have lifelong implications, state systems must
continue to upgrade their approaches to these special children.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Actively include children in the process to plan
for their adoption.
Children must be given information about what is happening
to them and their family at every step of the adoption
process. Information should be shared in ways that are
appropriate to their age and developmental level. Including
children actively in the adoption process will help alleviate
the lack of control they often experience as a result
of their family break-up.
- Implement "open adoption" practices.
Openness exists along a continuum and can be as passive
as once-a-year anonymous letters or as active as face-to-face
meetings and visits with biological parents and relatives.
Such flexible practices recognize that each child is different
and has varying needs that may need to be addressed differently.
- Consider concurrent planning when it is in the best
interests of the child.
Children who enter the child protective system must be
assured permanency and stability as soon as possible.
The child welfare system must examine various options
for that child. If it is evident that a child's family
might be unwilling or unable to have the child return
to the family, then permanent placement options should
be also be researched immediately.
- Consider kinship placements when appropriate, and
provide supports to kin who care for children.
Currently, kin families who raise children outside of
DSS jurisdiction only receive financial assistance through
"welfare" or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
funds. These payments are substantially lower than approved
foster care rates. Services available to foster and adoptive
families are not necessarily available to kinship families.
Equity in financial and other supports is recommended
for relatives raising children.
Additionally, just consideration for waivers should be
given to relative caregivers whose criminal background
or "CORI" check may have turned up a previous violation.
Regulations under the federal Adoption and Safe Families
Act (ASFA) encourage these waivers when appropriate.
- Utilize Multidisciplinary Teams as consultants in
the termination and permanency process, as well in the
post-adoption period.
Decisions about the dissolution of legal bonds between
a child and parent and, too often, the separation of siblings
that results, are the most profound decision made by those
working in child protective services. Multidisciplinary
teams should be called upon to review all cases in which
legal termination is being considered.
Likewise, decisions about temporary removal of children
from their homes and the conditions that would make return
to home possible should be routinely reviewed by the teams.
Individual caseworkers and supervisors should have the
benefit of multidisciplinary input so that sound decisions
can be made and the full burden of responsibility and
risk can be shared. The use of teams in reviewing post-adoption
problems would have similar benefits.
- Expand "permanency mediation" services.
Mediation programs can work to resolve permanency issues
in a more inclusive and timely manner and reduce adversarial
dealings between biological parents and child welfare
systems. When birth families have a role in their child's
planning, it can help them make safe and appropriate decisions
which result in better outcomes for children, reduced
waiting time for children, and reduced costs to the system.
Currently, Massachusetts has a successful statewide permanency
mediation program that is funded through a state budgetary
allocation. Every effort must be made to expand the successful
elements of this approach, making it available to more
families and in more circumstances.
- Ensure essential supports for adoptive parents and
post-adoption treatment when indicated for their adopted
children.
Often, parents involved in adopting children from DSS
are not fully aware of the child's previous history. Many
of these children have experienced traumas that will have
an impact on their lives far beyond removal from their
traumatic environment -- traumas that are bound to influence
the child's functioning in the adoptive home.
The commitment to support adoptive families must include:
accessibility to appropriate and competent mental health
services and for the life of the child; continued advocacy,
information and referral services after finalization;
and a funding stream to ensure continuation of these services.
- Provide training for the broad range of professionals
involved in termination of parental rights and adoption.
The emotional impact of terminating parental rights and
the process of adoption can be complex and difficult not
only for biological and adoptive parents, but for the
professionals involved in their cases. Ongoing adoption-competency
education and training must be made available for judges,
child welfare lawyers, school personnel, and other professionals
who work with these families.
- Waive jurisdictional hearings for adoptive parents
seeking therapeutic out-of-home placements through DSS
for their adopted children with mental health problems.
Children who have been in state care and are then adopted
often face mental health crises, which require specialized
placements at a hospital, in a therapeutic group home,
or even back in foster care. Currently, families needing
such placements for their children have two options for
help: the Department of Mental Health (DMH) or the Department
of Social Services.
While involvement with DMH has no implications for custody
rights, children must meet the DMH eligibility requirements,
and there must be an available spot in order for them
to receive necessary services. Given the current shortage
of in-patient and residential care services for minors,
this is often impossible.
The alternative is to turn to DSS and seek placement through
their system. Statutory regulations, however, currently
require permanency hearings to determine under whose jurisdiction
the child is being placed. Adoptive parents who seek voluntary
services and supervision from DSS should not be subject
to its permanency and custody procedures nor be obligated
to attend a jurisdictional hearing. Legislation should
be drafted so that a waiver can be issued sparing them
from this process.
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Section
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