The State of Illinois provides intensive therapeutic services to adoptive and guardianship families who are at risk of child placement or relationship dissolution. Because guardianship does not require legal assumption of parental rights, unlike adoption, those serving guardianship families predicted that guardianship families would be less likely to remain together than adoptive families. This study, comparing 113 subsidized guardianship families and 733 adoptive families receiving preservation services, found no significant difference in child placement or level of parental commitment at the end of services. Children in guardianship families were more likely to be minority children who were older at removal from birth families and at placement with their current families and were less likely to have a history of abuse than their adopted counterparts.
The results of this research can be found in:
Howard, J.A., Smith, S.L., Zosky, D.L. & Woodman, K. (2006). A comparison of subsidized guardianship and child welfare adoptive families served by the Illinois adoption and guardianship preservation program. Journal of Social Service Research, 32, 3, 123-134.
A major study of over 1,300 adoptive families whose children were 6 to 18 at the time of the inquiry resulted in a number of publications and reports. The project examined child functioning in the domains of health, mental health, school performance, functioning in the community and functioning in the family. A significant number of children were having serious difficulties after adoption, particularly in school. The significant majority of parents reported feeling close to their children and that they would adopt this child again even knowing everything they now know. Aspects of this study are described below.
Results of the overall study can be found in: Howard, J.A. & Smith, S.L. (2003). After adoption: The needs of adopted youth. Washington, D.C.: Child Welfare League of America.
A more detailed examination of the differences between kin adoption and foster or matched adoption can be found in: An overview of post adoption functioning and needs in families adopting from the hi
The results of this study can be found in: Howard, Jeanne. “Should One Size Fit All? An Examination of Post-Adoption Functioning and Needs of Kin, Foster, and Matched Adoptive Families” in Martha DeVore, Ed., Innovations in Post Adoption Practice and Policy. Washington, D.C., Child Welfare League of America (2006).
Despite concerted efforts to move children from foster care to adoption when they cannot safely return home, over 100,000 children remain in care awaiting adoption. Achieving safety, permanency and well-being for these children requires creative policy and practice to expand the number of prospective adoptive parents. Many child welfare agencies engage gay or lesbian prospective parents but to both expand and serve these families requires legal, organization and attitudinal change. Important steps include:
Working to end legal and de facto restrictions on adoption by gays and lesbians. This includes working to remove legal barriers to such adoption and to co-parent adoption and second parent adoption, and revising agency policies and practices that impede the consideration of gay or lesbian adults as adoption resources.
Developing clear statements in support of such adoptions, recognizing a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach disadvantages parents and ultimately their children. Further, agencies need to develop contacts with the gay/lesbian community I order to engage in genuine, informed outreach and support.
Helping workers, supervisors, and agency leaders examine their attitudes and beliefs about parenting by lesbian and gay people, while affirming the value of these families by including them in outreach, recruitment materials and parent panels.
Conducting research to inform the development of resources, training and support to facilitate adoption success. This includes educating children in the process, recognizing that they may encounter prejudice if adopted by gay or lesbian parents.
The results of this research can be found at www.adoptioninstitute.org in the paper Expanding Resources for Children: Is Adoption by Gays and Lesbians Part of the Answer for Boys and Girls Who Need Homes?, authored by Jeanne Howard, 2005
Children who have been adopted through the child welfare system often have significant challenges in adjustment related to psychological trauma and relational deficits. Post-adoption services can be instrumental in helping parents weather the storm caring for a child with special needs and can help reduce the risk of adoption failure. This qualitative study of parents receiving specialized services to preserve troubled adoptions examines how parents describe the services they received and the impact of services on family life.
The results of this research can be found in:
Zosky, D.L., Howard, J.A., Smith, S.L., Howard, A.M., & Shelvin, K.H. (2005). In vesting in adoptive families: What adoptive families tell us regarding the benefits of adoption preservation services. Adoption Quarterly, 8, 3. 2004
Through data from parent surveys, the level of adjustment in children adopted from the child welfare system (N = 1340) was compared to that of children adopted domestically as infants (481) or internationally (89) and birth children (175). Adjustment was assessed in home, school, health, mental health and community domains. On most measures, particularly in relation to school functioning, adopted children were rated as having more difficulties than children in their birth families. Those adopted from the child welfare system had significantly higher rates of problems than other types of adopted children. Using the Behavior Problem Index (BPI) as a measure of behavior problems, child welfare adopted children had a mean of 11.9 problems compared to 6.2 for birth children, and 9.1 and 9.4 respectively for domestic infant and internationally adopted children. Logistic regression analysis demonstrates the odds ration present for an elevated BPI score for children from each family form. Children adopted from the child welfare system are 3.4 times as likely and internationally adopted children are 2.4 times as likely to be in the upper quartile of the BPI as children in their birth families.
The results of this research can be found in:
Howard, J.A., Smith, S.L., & Ryan, S.D. (2004). A comparative study of child welfare adoptions with other types of adopted children and birth children. Adoption Quarterly, 7, 3. 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998
Howard, Jeanne A. & Smith, Susan L. An Evaluation of Respite Care Services to Adopted or Guardianship Children with Severe Medical or Behavioral Problems. Center for Adoption Studies, Illinois State University: Normal, IL, (2005). Howard, Jeanne A., Smith, Susan L. and Ryan, Scott: Respite Needs of Parents of Adopted Children with Severe Behavior Problems. Center for Adoption Studies: Normal, IL (2003). Zosky, Diane, Howard, Jeanne and Smith, Susan L.: Illinois Adoption/ Guardianship Preservation Program: Quality Assurance Report FY03. Normal, IL: Center for Adoption Studies (2003). Smith, Susan L., Howard, Jeanne A., Woodman, K., and Zosky, Diane: The Dymanics of Child Problems, Parenting Stress, and Coping in Child Welfare Families Receiving Adoption Preservation Services. Normal,IL: Center for Adoption Studies (2003).
Howard, Jeanne A., Smith, Susan L. and Oppenheim, Elizabeth. Sustaining Successful Adoptions: A Qualitative Study of Public Post-Adoption Services. Washington, D.C.: American Public Human Services Association (2002). Zosky, Diane; Smith, Susan and Howard, Jeanne. Illinois Adoption/Guardianship Program: Quality Assurance Report FY02. Normal, IL: Center for Adoption Studies. (2002).MONOGRAPHS AND REPORTS - continued Smith, Susan L. and Howard, Jeanne A. The Illinois Adoption/Guardianship Preservation Program: The First Ten Years. Springfield, IL: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. June, 2001 Smith, Susan L. and Howard, Jeanne A. A Comparative Study of Adopted and Birth Children (Preliminary Report). Springfield, IL: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, June, 2000. Smith, Susan L. and Howard, Jeanne A. Report on Illinois Adoption Preservation Services. Springfield, IL: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. June, 2000. Howard, Jeanne A. and Smith, Susan, L. Adoption Assistance Families in Illinois: Kin, Foster and Matched Adoptions. Springfield, IL: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, June 2000 Smith, Susan Livingston and Howard, Jeanne A. The Needs of Adopted Youth: A Study of Illinois Adoption Assistance Families. Springfield, IL: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, May, 2000. Smith, Susan and Howard, Jeanne. Evaluation of the Adoption Preservation Program. Springfield, IL: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, April 1998. Howard, Jeanne and Smith, Susan L. Evaluation of the Village Investment Project, Springfield, IL: Child Care Association, 1998. Smith, Susan L. and Howard, Jeanne (1999). Promoting successful adoptions: Practice with troubled families. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Howard, J.A., Smith, S.L. & Ryan, S.L. (2004). A comparative study of child welfare adoptions with other types of adoptions and birth families. Adoption Quarterly, 7, 3, 1 - 30). Smith, S. L., Howard, J. & Monroe, A. (2000). Issues underlying behavior problems in at-risk adopted children. Children and Youth Services Review, 22, (7), 539-562. Smith, S.L. Howard, J. & Monroe, A.(1998). An analysis of behavior problems in adoptions in difficulty. Journal of Social Service Research, 24 (1-2),61-84.
