The Politics of Adoption: International Perspectives on Law, Policy & Practice

335 Pages·2006·0.88 MB·English

by  Kerry O'Halloran

THEPOLITICSOFADOPTION
THE POLITICS OF
ADOPTION
International Perspectives on Law,
Policy & Practice
by
KERRY O’HALLORAN
B.A.,LL.B.,MSc.(CQSW),LL.M.,
Barrister-at-Law(KingsInns,Dublin),
Ph.D.(TrinityCollegeDublin)Ireland.
AdjunctProfessor,CentreofPhilanthropyandNonprofitStudies,
QueenslandUniversityofTechnology,Brisbane,Australia
AC.I.P.CataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress.
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ISBN-13978-1-4020-4153-2(HB)
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ISBN-13978-1-4020-4154-9(e-book)
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To Molly
More in hope than expectation...
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
PARTI ADOPTIONANDSOCIETY
1. Adoption:Concept,Principles,andSocialConstruct 7
2. TheChangingFaceofAdoptionintheUnitedKingdom 39
PARTII ADOPTIONANDTHELAW
3. TheLegalFunctionsofAdoption 73
4. InternationalBenchmarksforModernAdoptionLaw 101
PARTIII CONTEMPORARYLAW,
POLICYANDPRACTICE
5. TheAdoptionProcessinEngland&Wales:TheAdoptionand
ChildrenAct2002 129
6. TheAdoptionProcessinIreland 165
7. TheAdoptionProcessintheUS 197
8. TheAdoptionProcessinAustralia 231
viii Contents
9. IntercountryAdoption 263
10. IntracultureAdoption 291
Conclusions 317
Index 329
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
That The Politics of Adoption made it into print owes a great deal to Professor
Myles McGregor-Lowndes1 and to my other colleagues at the Centre of
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies. For their support and companionship, at
atimewhenthiswassorelyneeded,Iremainextremelygrateful.
Manyacademics,seniormanagersandothersvoluntarilyundertookthetaskof
readingandcommentingonparticularchapters.Theircontributionshavespared
readers from encountering even more inaccuracies, gaps and inconsistencies.
Thosethatmaystillbedetected,togetherwithallviewsexpressed,areinescapably
attributabletotheauthor.Whileitisnotpossibletorenderafullaccountofthe
debtowedtosomanyitwouldbequitewrongnottoacknowledgetheparticular
contributionofafew.
ThanksareduetoDeborahCullen2 whokindlyreadandcommentedonthe
chapter dealing with the adoption process in the UK, to Geoffrey Shannon3 for
hissimilarcontributioninrespectofthechapteronIrelandandtoGregKellyfor
hisobservationsinrespectofcurrentpracticeinbothjurisdictions4.Myconcerns
inrelationtotheAustralianadoptionprocesswereallayedbytheadviceofJohn
Dewar5whoreferredmetoPatrickParkinson6andLeeAnnBasser7.I’mgrateful
1 ProfessorandDirector,CentreofPhilanthropyandNonprofitStudies,QueenslandUniversityof
Technology,Brisbane,Australia.
2 SecretaryoftheLegalGroup,BritishAssociationforAdoption&Fostering(BAAF),London.
3 DeputyDirectorofEducation,LawSociety,Dublin,Ireland.
4 SeniorLecturer,SchoolofSocialWork,QueensUniversity,Belfast,NorthernIreland.
5 ProfessorandDeanofLaw,GriffithLawSchool,Queensland,Australia.
6 ProfessorandAssociateDean,FacultyofLaw,UniversityofSydney,Australia.
7 AssociateProfessor,LaTrobeUniversity,Bundoora,Victoria,Australia.
x Acknowledgements
to the former for his suggested reading list and for putting me in touch with
JusticeRichardChisholm8 whowasmosthelpful.TothelatterIamgratefulfor
her comments on draft material relating both to Australia and to the adoption
experienceamongtheIndigenouspeople.Thechapteronadoptionprocessinthe
USreceivedmuchneededattentionfromAnnEstin9andCharlesPutnam10both
ofwhommadeimportantimprovements.
IamparticularlygratefultoJohnTriseliotisforhiskindwordsofendorsement.
MythanksalsotoSpringerandinparticulartoAnne-MarieBlaneyfortheirvote
ofconfidencethatresultedinthepublishingofthisbook.
Thanks,Elizabeth,fortoleratingthisselfindulgence.
8 TheFamilyCourtofAustralia,nowretired.
9 ProfessorofLaw,UniversityofIowa,US.
10 JDandCo-Director,Justiceworks,UniversityofNewHampshire,US.
INTRODUCTION
Adoptionhasalwayshadapoliticaldimension.Itspotentialusetoachievepolitical
endshasbeenevidentthroughouthistoryandinmanydifferentcultures.InRoman
timesanemperorwouldadoptasuccessfulgeneraltocontinuehisrule.1InIreland
undertheBrehonLawsthereciprocalplacementsofchildrenbetweenclanswas
an accepted means of cementing mutual allegiances.2 In Japan the adoption of
non-relatives was traditionally seen as a means of allying with the fortunes of
therulingfamily.3 Thewillingnessofgovernmentstouseadoptionasapolitical
strategy was apparent, for example, in Australia where it was used to further
the assimilation of indigenous people.4 It is now present in the phenomenon of
intercountry adoption where the flow of children, particularly in the aftermath
ofwar,isoftenpoliticsbyproxyandwhicharguablyattractstheinvolvementof
somecountriesforreasonsofeconomicandpoliticalexpediency.5
Adoptiondoesnotfunctioninisolation.Itplaysadistinctrolewithinthecon-
textoffamilylawproceedings.Theextenttowhichitisavailableasaresource
for children in the public care system or as an adjunct to marriage proceedings
isessentiallypoliticallydetermined.Itisitselfsusceptibletopoliticalinfluence.
In fact direct political leadership, exercised first by President Clinton6 and then
1 See,Gibbons,TheDeclineandFalloftheRomanEmpire,Harrap,London1949atp.30.
2 See,Gilligan,R.,IrishChildCareServices:Policy,PracticeandProvision,InstituteofPublic
Administration,Dublin,1991.
3 See,Gibbons,TheDeclineandFalloftheRomanEmpire,opcit.
4 See,Bird,C.,TheStolenChildren;TheirStories,RandomHouse,Australia,1998.
5 See,further,Chapter9.
6 InDecember1996,PresidentClintonissuedhisExecutiveMemorandumonadoptionandin
1997theDepartmentrespondedwiththeAdoption2000report.
KerryO’Halloran(ed.),ThePoliticsofAdoption,1–4.
(cid:2)C 2006Springer.PrintedinTheNetherlands.