Are the U.S., Canadian, European, and AUS adoption systems....?

Question

Are the U.S., Canadian, European, and Australian adoption systems different? How?

Answer 1

I know very little about adoptions in any country other than Canada.

What I do know about canuck adoption is that each province governs it's own adoption policies and that all have either open records, opening records or a government funded passive registry. We do have adoption agencies but it appears as though we also have more resources after placement, for all involved parties. It still isn't enough.

The biggest difference I see is not in how adoption works but the attitudes towards it. Canadians seem to be more tolerant of open records, less tolerant of closed adoption and more willing to assist a woman to parent should that be what she chooses. We also tend to be less conservative in regards to a woman's right to her own reproductive health choices.

I do want to add in that while all the provinces offer some form of reunion service only BC, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have open records. Ontario is in the process of opening records. Saskatchewan, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Yukon have sealed records but allow adoptees and natural parents access to non-identifying info as well as passive registries (meaning that if two parties register they can be given contact info).

Answer 2

In the US it is legal for the "middleman" to make a living from or make a profit for shareholders from marketing babies for adoption.  In other words, infant adoption is an industry in the US and babies are the product that the industry markets and sells.  I think that this is illegal in more civilized countries like Canada, European countries, and Australia.

Answer 3

Yes yes yes they are!! considerably different!

US - only 6 states in the United States give adoptees UNCONDITIONAL ACCESS to their original birth certificates. ONLY 6 STATES.

Canada has ONE province that denies adoptees unconditional access to their records.

Australia has open records, but I believe Queensland has an Intermediary service where the mother / father has to consent, but  i could be wrong on that and hopefully an Aussie can clue us in more than myself.

Australia also has a parenting first program, mother and child are encouraged to parent and given the opportunity to do so. There are no pre-birth realtionships between paps and emoms. Private adoptions are not legal. Non-profit agencies are not legal. The state runs all adoptions. Paps are on a first come first serve waiting list and once the mother surrenders her child.... thats that, there is no turning back. Here are Australias adoption statistics compared to the US its ... a HUGE step forward for progress for infant and adoptee rights. Its SO much more child/family centered than the United States.

In 2004-5 there were only 585 adoptions in Adoptions, which actually was an increase of 17% from adoptions the previous 2003-4 year.

AND there were 77 in South Australia ( 2 less than in the previous year )

In 1971-72 there were 9798 adoptions in Australia and 776 in South Australia. ( The peak of South Australias adoptions was 1970-71 when 879 children were adopted.

Australian adoptees are given access to their original birth certificates upon age 18 i believe. And in some countries of Europe they even have both sets of parents on the OBC's.

United States is the most industrailized nation that still hasn't caught up to respecting and honoring its children, especially in adoption.