Misrepresentation and mischief in the research process can impact on ethical conduct, the validity of findings and deliberately change the outcome. This short report presents a scenario about deliberate interference in adoption research by one organisation seeking accreditation to deliver adoption services. Unbeknown to the researchers, fake…

In Australia, teachers are expected to teach a diverse range of students, including children adopted from overseas who have experienced attachment disruption and complex trauma early in life. International research identifies the potential vulnerability of this minority group at school. However, teachers' backgrounds, knowledge and experience, as…

Inquiries into the removal and mistreatment of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, national regret, and national apologies constitute a congested political landscape in contemporary Australia. Within two years, two formal apologies were delivered by the prime minister, Kevin Rudd, to individuals who had suffered forced removal from family and…

In 1838 a child known as Mathinna was removed from the settlement for the remnant of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people on Flinders Island and taken to Hobart to live in the house of the lieutenant governor. Sir John and Lady Franklin, the historical record recounts, were impressed by her intelligence and wanted to bring her up as a companion to…

Based on qualitative research, this article examines the complex kinship relations involved in constructing queer families. The discussion focuses on the heterogeneity of queer families; the difficulties encountered in association with processes of recognition and how this is negotiated across different contexts within queer families, extended…

An approach combining social worker and geneticist expertise in adoption is outlined in the study involving 180 families. Genetic counseling has shown to be an essential safeguard to the preservation of the adoptive family unit. (Author/SW)

The issue of whether or not the basic principle guiding the placement of Australian children in need of care is applied in practice is addressed in this expanded seminar paper. It is pointed out that the principle stating that the child's welfare should be of paramount concern has been incorporated into Australian legislation in the Adoption Act…

A national, retrospective cross-sectional study of 213 Australian women who relinquished a first child for adoption when they were young and single found that the effects of relinquishment on the mother are negative and longlasting. Relinquishing a child for adoption was viewed as a stressful life-event involving loss. Analyses of data obtained…

This review of studies on clinical and nonclinical populations explores outcomes of adoption and developmental issues for adolescents, and in particular, developmental problems for adopted adolescents. Studies on nonclinical populations demonstrate that adoption is a highly successful form of substitute care. Prospective longitudinal studies show…

One of the features of Australian society during the past 25 years, from the late 1950s to the early 1980s, has been the changing nature of the family. Significant changes have occurred in family formation and breakdown; in family composition and structures; in family relationships; and in the status, rights, and obligations of family members.…

In the past decade the amount of legislation and litigation involving informal marriages has increased. Historically, a close connection between marriage and property law has existed. However, children today are less important for property inheritance purposes because informal marriages have increased in popularity and are accepted among diverse…

This paper examines changing family patterns in Australia over the last twenty-five years, and proposed or actual legislative changes which have occurred in this area. Statistics are presented which reflect the changing nature and structures of Australian families for the following categories: married families; one-parent families; de- facto…

Ideally, there is a close interaction between research and practice in human services, and program planning is based on such interaction, particularly the findings of outcome research. This book reviews the bodies of outcome research about child welfare programs from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, particularly outcomes in…

This third annual report presents the broad findings of studies attempting to provide a comprehensive description of the nature of families in Australia today and seeking to identify and analyze the many factors affecting their well-being. Studies that have not yet reached completion are also described. Specifically, six chapters cover (1) a…

This report recommends a 10-year plan for changes in services to people with intellectual disabilities in Victoria, Australia. Intended key outcomes of the plan include: increases in the numbers of clients receiving direct residential support in community-based accommodations; reductions in numbers of adult clients resident in large scale…