Adoption research commonly uses parents' reports of satisfaction when examining openness in adoption arrangements. This qualitative study aimed to fill a gap in the adoption research by using adolescents' voices to gain a better understanding of their adoption experiences. Adopted adolescents (n = 152) were interviewed concerning their…

Adoption philosophies and social service economics are discussed in this argument for keeping adoption service fees. (ST)

This argument against charging fees for adoption services centers on viewing the child as the agency's primary client. (ST)

This study, conducted in an agency providing post-adoption services, describes the demographic characteristics of parents and children in post-adoptive families and assesses the differences in perceptions between mothers and fathers, as well as other characteristics of families who adopt children with special needs. (Contains 3 tables.)

Describes Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN) of Pennsylvania and its impact on increasing and improving quality of special-needs adoptions. Notes that program resulted from increases of children in out-of-home care, program is a public and private initiative, and that since its inception, special-needs agencies have increased, financial and…

Examines how social-work services can aid in involving the unmarried father in matters of adoption concerning his child. (PB)

Collaboration of a public social service department and a public adoption department demonstrated that it was possible to find permanent adoptive homes for many children who were in foster care. (Editor)

Describes Tayari, an adoption service organized by black personnel with special procedures designed to reach black clientele. Tayari is a division of the San Diego County Department of Public Welfare. (BRT)

Reports on adoption placement services for older children provided by the Lutheran Social Service of Kansas and Oklahoma. (SB)

Discusses the changing role of social agencies and the need for a reexamination of the counseling services offered in the adoption process. (SP)

Notes that adoptive families have formal (agency-related) and informal (indigenous) resources to draw on for assistance with a variety of issues. Describes Hope for the Children (HFTC) program located in Rantoul, Illinois, a created community designed to foster permanence of special-needs adoptions, in which adoptive families live alongside agency…

Interviews were conducted with 591 Mexican Americans to determine adoption interest and create recruiting practices for prospective parents. Approximately one-third of sample reported an interest in adoption, but many perceived both structural and cultural obstacles to adoption. Based on findings, recommendations for increasing recruitment of…

Transracial adoptions have been encouraged widely as a way to meet the needs of many black children. This practice and the agency philosophy behind it are challenged in the light of today's social realities. (Editor)

Describes the nature of the godparent relationship, which is prominent in Hispanic family culture. Cites results of a study of Hispanic godparents, and urges more effort by the child welfare system to explore the availability of godparents as placement resources. (SKC)

Notes that open adoption is less typical in adoptions of special-needs children; presents a model for openness in special-needs adoptions. Notes that the primary benefit of openness for an adopted child is loss minimization and maintenance of familial connections even in cases of abuse or neglect, as children continue to form significant…