How long do you think it will take for adoption reforms?

Question

i'm thinking that with the internet and so many forums and our voices being united, we can make alot of headway fairly quickly.

are there any new laws on the books? anything waiting to be voted on? thanks

Answer 1

I'm an optimist about this issue.

I think in 50 years time, we will see some major reforms. Not a complete overhaul the way Australia did to their system, but some HUGE steps forward.

By the time I am 80, I fully expect to see open records for adoptees--hopefully ALL adoptees, not just "new" ones.

I also expect to see legally binding openness agreements, or at least nearly all states having legally binding openness agreements.

Other reforms... I'm less sure about... but I do believe they WILL come. Longer revocation periods; better protection of fathers' rights; stricter agency licensing requirements; stricter monitoring of agency "counseling" to expectant women; parity in the charges for adopting black babies and white babies; etc.

Total optimist here. I absolutely, 100% believe major reform will come. Maybe not as major as I'd like in MY lifetime, but I believe they will come.

And I firmly believe that one day, people will look back on our current system and gasp with horror, the way we are now starting to do with the Baby Scoop Era atrocities, with the denial of women voting and African Americans voting, with the lack of child labor laws....

Answer 2

I wish I knew the answer to this. I have wrote about everyone you can think of here in Texas. I'm pushing for longer time for the mother to have time to think of what she really wants to do (48 hours in not enough time) Also I beleive that every child being put up for adopyion should have DNA done at the hospitals so that if the father finds out about what is going on, he can ask for the DNA so he doesn't have to wait for almost a year for a judge to order it (he will still be ask to pay for the test)   Also if the child is going out of state the ICPC either say both parents are termated or a judge orders the child be  able to leave. This way it doesn't give adoption agency's like the one that stole my grandson time to hid the child and with all the delays in the courts to use best interest. My son had asked both the mother and adoption agency where his son was for 16 months, this way all he had to ask is judge where is my son. Reform you ask this is a big money business and most of the state sentorsand gov are being funded from these adoption agency so you can see it's going to take along time for thing to change, And let's not forget the children that are messed up in all these games.

Answer 3

I think there's alot of apathy and the people affected need to stand up and do something about it

Having said that, the people who are standing up and doing something are doing a bloody good job - for adoptee rights, I think Gershom posted the link and this one is amazingly impressive too:-

http://www.nationalinfantadoptionreforma...

Will anyone here be in New Orleans next July for the protest?

Answer 4

There is a powerful lobbyist for the adoption industry.  It is the NCFA.  They work against every adoptee, every adoptive parent and natural parent.  Even the semi decent adoption agencies hate this industry.  The adoption industry also has some very strange bedfellows.

Planned Parenthood and NARALsupports their secrecy agenda. They actually believe that adoption is a medical procedure.  

The ACLU also supports them.  It is the secrecy again but they are protecting their legal eagle brothers again.  

Everyone knows the Right to Life groups as well too.  

I have looked on the Care.org website.  Many of these groups also have poor ratings because they don't report their full earnings.  These groups are throwing big money against us, all of us.  I am talking millions if not billions of dollars.  

There is a grass roots movement among all members of the stool.  We are a stool.  We have adoptive parents, adoptees, natural parents, the state governments, and the adoption industry itself.  The state governments and the adoption industry control us like puppets.  For every fight between on of us other legs, there is another point for them.  We have to remember this as we move forward.

Adoption has improved but it has gotten sneekier in their tactics.  They are going after women in jails.  They are putting pamplets in schools, doctors' offices, church notices, and other places.  

United we stand, Divided we fall.

Answer 5

We are gaining rights in Canada. Slowly and with a few back slides but we are opening records in many provinces and that is a start.

The really tough part is getting the word out about dishonesty in agencies and government child welfare and family services offices. In that area it is just a tornado of red tape spinning out of control.

However long it takes will be many years, no, many decades too long. These things should never have needed reform. They should have been kept on top of and fair from the start.

Answer 6

the second-coming of christ.  that's my most conservative guess.

unfortunately, most of the pending and recently enacted legislation actually wants to reduce reproductive health choices, including comprehensive s*x ed, contraception and emergency contraception to PREVENT unintended pregnancy in the first place; and are pushing for more adoption funding, maternity homes, immediate termination of parental rights and closed adoption.

as stated above, the adoption lobbyists are a powerful group.

Answer 7

If the history of other change is any indicator... change comes at a snail's pace unless something dramatic happens to change public opinion to act swiftly.

Answer 8

When I first gave up my daughter for adoption, we were promised that she would never know who we were. This is what we wanted, we didn't want to ever have to answer those hard questions. Selfish? Yes. We certainly didn't think that she would ever want to find the people who gave her away. That was back in 1972. No one knew all the ramifications of adoption back then, it was a solution to a problem. Selfish? Yes. Did we think she had the right to know? No.

I now believe a child should know everything about their birth parents, but what if those birth parents never want to know that child. Isn't it cruel to let the child find the birth parents only to be shunned again, birth parents live their lives with a secret, that many are ashamed to admit too.

I found my daughter is 2001, we are both glad I did. It took me a lot of years to come to terms and to decide to look. I'm glad I found her, but if you would have talked to me about adoption reform (her being able to find me) I would not have been able to cope with it, Was I selfish? Yes. So I think most information should be available to adoptees when they reach 18.

I know this answer isn't exactly the right answer to your question, but this is just my opinion.