Foster Parents and Adoption, Part 2

by Child Welfare Information Gateway

(Page 2 of 2)

Characteristics of Foster Families Who Adopt Successfully

Child welfare experts have identified characteristics of foster families who adopt the children in their care. The National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (NRCFCPPP; n.d.) provides characteristics of successful "permanency planning resource families":

• These families like to give and help.
• They are satisfied with their lives.
• They are resourceful.
• They are tolerant of loss, anxiety, and ambiguity.
• They have a sense of humor.
• They are involved with the child in the community.

Researchers who studied foster/adoptive families in the early 1980s found that the families who successfully adopted the children in their care had the following characteristics:

They expected the children would be placed long-term and had the children in their home for a longer period of time than foster parents who did not choose to adopt.

They enjoyed the children and were able to be actively involved with them.

The foster parents had some acceptance of the birth family's positive attributes and were able to talk about them with their children. However, these foster families also perceived the children to be similar to themselves in some way.

The children who were adopted by their foster families had successfully resolved their ties to their birth families and were younger than children not adopted by their foster families.

This same study also found the following:

Visits with birth parents were beneficial to the adoption process. Visits with the birth families did not inhibit the adoption process - in fact, just the opposite was true. The families who adopted their foster children were more likely to have met their child's birth parents in the year they were considering adopting the child. The benefits of birth parent visiting for the child include the fact that, through visits with their birth parents, children gain a more realistic view of their birth parents and a sense of their own identity. Of course, the family circumstances for each child are unique, and visits with birth family members may not be indicated for some children.

A positive interaction cycle was established between the parents and child. Foster parents had the sense that things were "getting better" as the placement progressed. This positive cycle in which everyone's needs were met was found to a greater extent in the families who chose to adopt versus those families who chose not to adopt, and it was noticeably absent at the point of adoption disruption in the adoptions that failed. Families may remain responsive to their children only if they think their efforts are justified and their children are responsive. Children will respond to parents only under similar conditions.

Foster Families Whose Adoptions Fail

Child welfare experts identified characteristics of resource families who did not adopt successfully (adapted from NRCFCPPP, n.d.):

• Unresolved losses in the past and present, resulting in a need to revisit past relationships and an inability to meet the child's needs
• Possessiveness of the child and an unwillingness to acknowledge and work with important people from the child's past
• Desperation for a child, resulting in unrealistic expectations of foster care and adoption
• High stress and anxiety levels
• Aggressiveness
• Power and control issues

A study of foster families in the early 1980s found that the foster families in the adoptions that failed were rigid and did not allow for changes easily. They might have had difficulty sharing parenting with the agency or the birth families. These families were poorly prepared for adoption and did not have open communication or an open relationship with their social worker. Some families felt coerced by their worker into agreeing to adopt the child. These families also experienced more worker turnovers than the families who were successful in their adoptions.

Conclusion

The decision by a foster family to adopt a child in their care will be based on the unique factors associated with the child, family, and circumstances. To help with such decision-making, many States use mutual, informed decision-making in their training for foster/adoptive parents. Examples of training programs include the Model Approach to Partnership in Parenting (MAPP) and Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education (PRIDE).

Foster families who decide to pursue adoption should inform themselves as much as possible and work with their agency to ensure a smooth transition for the child and themselves. Successful foster parent adoptions are the result of a mutual decision by the foster parents and the agency about what is best for a specific child.

About the Author

www.childwelfare.gov
Formerly the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.