This volume reports on the final phase of a research project to study the effects of adoption on parental, child, and family functioning. To provide a background for the study, the development of adoption in the United States and the theory and practice of adoption are discussed. The study asked three questions: (1) How adequately do adoptive…

These course outlines were prepared for project instructors involved in training foster parents. The courses are designed for a 24-hour discussion format. Each course outline provides a statement of general objectives, a list of specific goals to be achieved in the course, important points to be emphasized and suggested activities and reading…

Evaluated the development of 44 children adopted from Romanian orphanages. Adoptive parents described their children twice, using the Revised Denver Prescreening Developmental questionnaire when they first met the children, and again at approximately 11 months postadoption. Showed that progress was equal across areas, and that, on average,…

A conference on bonding and attachment attended by professionals and foster and adoptive parents was followed by a questionnaire survey of participants which was designed to measure effectiveness. A follow-up survey was conducted six months later. Professionals and parents benefited from combined training sessions. (BB)

In a changing climate of greater openness about sensitive subjects, less tension in discussing adoption can be a significant prophylactic factor. However, if adoption records are unsealed by legislative acts, the primary needs of the adoptive and biological parents can be undermined by the needs of the adopted adult. (Author)

The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (PL 96-272) provided major federal initiatives to reform the state child welfare system. The goals of the act were to keep families together by providing them with services and to find permanent adoptive homes for children who could not be reunited with their parents. This report examines the…

Noting that adopted and foster children may have suffered early traumatic experiences, often expressed in emotional and behavioral problems that become increasingly problematic as the child approaches adolescence, this book presents strategies to help adoptive and foster parents deal with their youngsters' troubling behavior and to make them feel…

This manual provides an overview of the early child development of normal children with low birthweight who have been exposed to drugs before birth. The research on children exposed to cocaine and alcohol during the prenatal period is reviewed, as are the results of studies showing deficiencies in language and social development of drug-exposed…