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Children for Families or Families for Children: The Demography of Adoption Behavior in the U.S. PDF

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Children for Families or Families for Children THE SPRINGER SERIES ON DEMOGRAPHIC METHODS AND POPULATION ANALYSIS SeriesEditor KENNETH C. LAND Duke University Inrecentdecades,therehasbeenarapiddevelopmentofdemographicmodelsandmethods and an explosive growth in the range of applications of population analysis. This series seeks to provide a publication outlet both for high-quality textual and expository books on modern techniques of demographic analysis and for works that present exemplary applicationsofsuchtechniquestovariousaspectsofpopulationanalysis. Topicsappropriatefortheseriesinclude: • Generaldemographicmethods • Techniquesofstandardization • Lifetablemodelsandmethods • Multistateandmultiregionallifetables,analysesandprojections • Demographicaspectsofbiostatisticsandepidemiology • Stablepopulationtheoryanditsextensions • Methodsofindirectestimation • Stochasticpopulationmodels • Eventhistoryanalysis,durationanalysis,andhazardregressionmodels • Demographicprojectionmethodsandpopulationforecasts • Techniquesofapplieddemographicanalysis,regionalandlocal populationestimatesandprojections • Methodsofestimationandprojectionforbusinessandhealthcare applications • Methodsandestimatesforuniquepopulationssuchasschoolsandstudents Volumes in the series are of interest to researchers, professionals, and students in demography, sociology, economics, statistics, geography and regional science, public healthandhealthcaremanagement,epidemiology,biostatistics,actuarialscience,business, andrelatedfields. Forfurthervolumes: http://www.springer.com/series/6449 Mary Ann Davis Children for Families or Families for Children The Demography of Adoption Behavior in the U.S. 123 MaryAnnDavis SamHoustonStateUniversity DepartmentofSociology POBox2466 77341-2446HuntsvilleTexas USA [email protected] ISSN1389-6784 ISBN978-90-481-8971-7 e-ISBN978-90-481-8972-4 DOI10.1007/978-90-481-8972-4 SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergLondonNewYork LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2011932729 ©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaB.V.2011 Nopartofthisworkmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorby anymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,microfilming,recordingorotherwise,withoutwritten permissionfromthePublisher,withtheexceptionofanymaterialsuppliedspecificallyforthepurpose ofbeingenteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthework. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) Preface MyinitialinterestinadoptionbeganwhenIwasagraduatestudentattheUniversity of Texas at Arlington, School of Social Work, which offered an internship at the EdnaGladneyMaternityhome.Duringthisperiodtherevolutionofsinglewomen keepingtheirchildrenandraisingthemassingleparentswasbeginningalongwith thetransitionfromsecrettoopenadoptions.ThiswasalsotheerawhenfellowTexan Sara Weddington was the winning attorney in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision. The legality of abortions (along with the availability of improved contraception and the increased social acceptance of single parenthood) ended the maternity home movement. Almost immediately, the abundance of healthy White infantsavailableforadoptionendedandtheacceptableadopteeintheadoptiontriad morphed into any child of any age, race, ethnicity, health, or ability for which an adoptivefamilycouldbelocated. My first professional social worker position was as an adoption worker for the StateofTexas,workingtoplacethehardtoplacechildincludingminorities,sibling groups, and children who had emotional and physical scars of abuse. Prior to the early1970sthesechildrenwouldhavebeenconsideredunadoptable.Themajority ofadoptionseekerscontinuedtobethemarried,infertileorsub-fecund,essentially the same population who in the past would have adopted from maternity homes. AlthoughtheywouldhavepreferredahealthyWhiteinfanthadthesechildrenbeen available,theculturalandlegalchangesthatdroveanarrowerscopeofavailability ledtoabroaderacceptanceofwhotheywouldadopt.Somyspecialareaofinterest isinstudyingthechangesinwhoisadoptableandtheadoptionsoffosterchildren andhard-to-placechildren.Later,Iwasaclinicalsocialworkerinastatepsychiatric facility with psychologically and behaviorally impaired juveniles, many of whom hadbeenadoptedasyoungerchildren.Now,asademographer,Irelyonmyclinical socialworkbackgroundtodirectmyresearchinadoptionissues. Althoughadoptionsrepresentasmallportionoffamilygrowth,fromademogra- pher’spointofviewitissignificant.TheUnitedNations(2009,p.xv)estimatesthat approximately260,000childrenareadoptedeachyear;ofthesein2001theUnited States (U. S.) adopted 127,000 children; next in frequency is China, with 46,000 adoptions and the Russian Federation, with 23,000 adoptions. The 2000 United States census data are that in the United States in 2000, there were 2.1 million adopted children, about 2.5 percent by age group, with an additional 4.4 million, v vi Preface aboutfive percent,stepchildreninhouseholds (Kreider,2003,p.2).Adopted chil- dren were 7.7 percent or 6,443,496 of the 84 million household children; 257,792 wereforeignbornadoptees(Kreider,2003,p.12). Second,therearechangesinallthreeaspectsoftheadoptivetriad:theadopter, the adopted child and the family members who relinquish the child for adop- tive placement. Social acceptance of racial and ethnic groups, along with physical and emotional challenges, has changed dramatically in the past 100 years. These changesaffectthefrequencyofchildadoptions,thetypesofadoptionsandvariables related to the children who are adopted such as their age, race, ethnicity, physi- calandemotionalhealthandcountryofadoption).Sincetheearly1970sadoptive parentsarenolongerWhite,middletoupperclass,financiallysecure,marriedcou- ples.Increasinglyracialminorities;thosewithlowerincomes;olderages;relatives, includinggrandparents;andthesingle,divorcedandcohabitingaswellasthemar- ried adopt. Data from the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Persons (NSAP) in Chapter 1 describe the demographic characteristics of the adoptive parents by the types of adoptions. Next, Chapter 4 uses the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to present current demographic analyses detailing the characteristics of thosewhoadopt.Chapter6addressesgayandlesbianadopterswhoareincreasingly adopting,butaredifficulttostudyduetodataissues. Thechildrenwhoareconsideredavailableforadoptionandthosewhoareactu- ally adopted have changed dramatically in the last half of a century. Criteria that once, during the post World War II adoption boom, selected only certain young, healthy, infants for adoption have expanded intothriving fostercare adoption pro- grams for hard- to-place children. The current perspective of the Child Welfare League of America is that adoption of all children, including sibling groups, is only limited by the ability to recruit families who meet the specific child’s needs. Demographers report on both trends and outliers. Chapter 1, addresses who is the preferredchild,throughdatafromtheNationalSurveyofAdoptiveParents,which describes who is adopted by the three types of adopters (Intercountry, Foster Care andDomesticPrivate).Next,datafromtheAdoptionandFosterCareAnalysisand Reporting System provides a picture of the foster children adopted in 2004 and 2005.ThisdiscoursecontinuesinChapter2,ahistoricalperspectiveofsocialnorms of which children were preferred for adoption. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 give an inter- national perspective on the adopted child. These changing norms are evident in a majorfilmdirectedbyHancock(2009)TheBlindSide,whichtellsthefictionalized but true story of a wealthy White Christian family adopting an African American, innercity,homelessteen,whobecameaprofessionalfootballplayer. Who adopts? Adoptive parent(s) have changed since the early 1970s. They are no longer White, middle to upper class, financially secure, married couples. Increasingly they are racial minorities; those with lower incomes; of older age; relatives, including grandparents; the single, divorced and cohabiting as well as thosewhoaremarried.InChapter4,ChristineGuarnericollaborateswiththisauthor topresentademographicanalysisofthosewhoadoptusingtheNSFGCycle6. Characteristics of placing and relinquishing families are also changing. Dual issues of protecting families from dissolution in times of financial stress and Preface vii protectingtherightsofparentsareaddressedalongwiththerecognitionthatthepsy- chologicalanddevelopmentalneedsofchildrenarenegativelyaffectedbylengthy periods awaiting legal clearance for adoption. Chapter 2 provides a historical perspective;Chapters6through9aninternationalperspective. Third, we are on the cusp of significant changes in the availability of having sufficient data pertaining to adoptions for demographic analysis. Data issues are exploredinChapter3.Unfortunately,accuratestatisticsregardingtwentieth-century adoptions are almost impossible to locate. A national reporting system existed for only 30 years (from 1945 to 1975) and even during this period, data were sup- pliedbystatesandterritoriesonapurelyvoluntarybasis(AdoptionHistoryProject (2008). This social demography of adoption in the United States will address the need for compiling current available data, while continuing to address data needs; inChapters3and9. These justifications for the relevancy of a social demography of adoptions led to a compilation of social demographic topics pertaining to the changing face of adoption. What is the history of adoption in the U.S? What data are available for demographic analysis? Who are the adopters, the adoptees, and those who place theirchildrenforadoption(e.g.theadoptiontriad)?Whatarethecriteriaforbeing adoptees or adopters? Why do persons adopt? How many children do they adopt, theirages,raceandethnicity,physicalandpsychologicalhealth,countryoforigins, relationshiptotheadopter?Internationally,whosendsandwhoreceivesadoptees? Why are intercountry adoptees available for adoption and how does this vary by countryoforigin?Howdoadoptionsvarywithinthetypesofadoption(formalver- susinformaladoptions;theadoptionofrelatedversusunrelatedchildren;domestic versusintercountryadoptions;andprivateversusfosterchildadoptions)? Theresponsetothislistofquestionswasrefinedintothreeparts.Thefirstpart, Overview:Chapters1and2,providesabriefoverviewoftheadoptionoforphaned, abandoned,orvoluntarilyplacedchildrenandthelawsregulatingthoseadoptions. Chapter1,“AdoptionasaSupportSystemforOrphaned,Abandoned,orVoluntarily PlacedChildren”,discusseswhoadoptsandjustifiestherelevancyofadoptionasa supportsystemfororphaned,abandoned,orvoluntarilyplacedchildrenusingdata from the first national survey of adoptive families, the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents. This chapter also addresses adoption of “hard to place” chil- dren using administrative data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and ReportingSystem.Chapter2,‘History:TheChangingFaceofAdoption”,provides a historical background of adoption practices in the United States beginning with theprecolonialErathroughthepresent. The next part, A Demographic Analysis of Adoptions in the United States: Chapters 3, 4 and 5, presents a demographic analysis of adoptions. Chapter 3: “Sources of Adoption Data”, addresses both the sources and limitations of adoption data. International data for adoption analyses are primarily from The Hague Convention statistical reports; U. S. data are primarily from United States CensusandthestateDepartment’simmigrationstatisticalreportsandtwoNational Center for Health Statistics surveys (the National Survey of Family Growth, and the National Survey of Adoptive Parents). Chapter 4, Adoption Behavior of viii Preface UnitedStates Women, continues the data discourse by analyzing adoptions using Cycle6oftheNationalSurveyofFamilyGrowth(RefertoGrovesetal.,2005and Chapter3foradditionalinformationabouttheNationalSurveyofFamilyGrowth). This chapter (first author Christine Guarneri) uses the female respondent files to analyze the demographic characteristics of adopters such as age, race and ethnic- ity,educationlevel,incomelevelandmaritalstatus.Chapter5,“Demographicand Social Issues of Same-Sex Adoptions”, addresses the special issues related to gay and lesbian adoptions. This chapter that provides both a discussion of the back- ground and legal issues surrounding gay and lesbian adoptions with limited data analysis using United States Census data, the 2000 IPUMS 5 percent sample, and anattitudinalsurveyquestionfromCycle6oftheNationalSurveyofFamilyGrowth toexploresamesexadoptions. PartIII,IntercountryAdoptions:Chapters6,7and8,exploresintercountryadop- tions. Chapter 6: “Intercountry Adoption to the United States” sets the stage for a demographic analysis of intercountry adoptions to the United States by provid- ing a social historical perspective. This chapter provides review of the historical trendsinintercountryadoption,throughfourwavesofintercountryadoptionsbegin- ning with World War II. I examine historical immigration data from the United States State Department to explore intercountry adoption from World War II to date. In Chapter 7, “Intercountry Adoption to the United States: A Quantitative Analysis”providesananalysisofimmigrationdataoftheseintercountryadoptions, questioning whether demographic variables used in other migration research can be used to predict the flow of intercountry adoptions (ICAs) to the United States. Chapter8,“GlobalIntercountryAdoptions”,expandsthisintercountryanalysistoa globalanalysisofintercountryadoptions,usingUnitedNationsdatafromtheHague Conventioncountriestoanalyzeglobalintercountryadoptions. Chapter 9, “Conclusion and Implications”, integrates information from earlier chapters to conceptualize an overall framework for the future of the demographic analysisofadoptionsaddressingthepolicyandresearchimplications. References TheAdoptionHistoryProject.(2008).Adoptionhistoryinbrief.RetrievedJanuary8,2008,from http://www.uoregon.edu/~adoption/topics/adoptionhistbrief.htm Groves,R.M.,Benson,G.,Mosher,W.D.,Rosenbaum,J.,Granda,P.,Lepkowski,J.,etal.(2005). Planandoperationofcycle6ofthenationalsurveyoffamilygrowth.Nationalcenterforhealth statistics.VitalHealthStatistics,1,42. Hancock,J.L.,Director.(2009).TheBlindSideWarnerBrothersProduction. Kreider,R.M.(2003).Adoptedchildrenandstepchildren:2000UnitedStatescensus.Retrieved August30,2007,fromhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/censr-6.pdf United Nations. (2009). Child adoptions: Trends and policies. Sales No. E.10.XIII.4. Retrieved December14,2010,fromhttp://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/adoption2010/child_ adoption.pdf Acknowledgements IwouldliketoacknowledgewithgratitudetheencouragementofDudleyL.Poston Jr.andChristineGuarnerifortheinspirationandstimulustoauthorthisbook.The conception began with a discussion at a conference among Dudley L. Poston, Jr., Christine Guarneri and me, Mary Ann Davis, about changes in adoption during the National Survey of Family Growth Surveys. Dr. Poston and colleague Ruth Cullen investigated the demography of adoptions using the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) in the 1980s. They found that adopters were significantly unchanged from the peak years of adoptions which occurred along with the baby boom immediately following World War II. White, middle class women, at zero parity,withhighersocioeconomicstatus,andhighereducationweremorelikelyto adopt. However, harbingers of changes in adoptions were also evident in relative adoptions among blacks, the poor and those with lower education while unrelated adoptions were more common among Whites, and the well-educated with higher incomes. Dr. Poston learned that Dr. Guarneri and I had begun to independently study the current 2002 NSFG Cycle 6; he strongly encouraged our research. The collaborationwithDr.GuarneriispresentedinChapter4;sheisthefirstauthorof Chapter4. Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank my husband Ronald Davis and his ongoing assistance and editing. This book has been years in the making and I couldnothavecompleteditwithouthissupport.Ialsowanttothankmycolleagues atSamHoustonStateUniversityfortheirongoingencouragement,includingKaren HusbandwhoassistedinearliereditsofChapter2. Huntsville,TX MaryAnnDavis ix

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Do adoptions provide children for families or families for children? This book analyzes the complex interactions between adopters and adoptees using historical and current data. Who are the preferred parents and children, both domestically and internationally? How do the types of adoptions-domestic
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.