Kevin Moore

fa9785@wayne.edu
313-522-8522
RESEARCH Assignment
March 8, 2016

Research for Adoption Panel

Definition
Adoption
The act or process of adopting a child
http://ww w.merriam-w ebs ter.com/dictionar y/adoption
---Adoption is the proces s whereb y parents are supplied for parent-les s
children or for those children w hos e parents are unable to provide for
their care.
---It also provides children for childles s couples or in modern societ y
for childless individuals as well.
http://ww w.researchetcinc.co m/histor yofadoption.html
Fos ter Care

The rais ing or supervis ion of fos ter children, as orphans or

delinquents , in an institution, group home, or private home,
us uall y arranged through a government or social-s ervice agenc y
that provides remuneration for expens es .
http://dictionar y.reference.com/brows e/foster-care

Fos ter Paren t

A person who acts as parent and guardian for a child in place of

the child's natural parents but w ithout legall y adopting the child

http://ww w.thefreedictionar y.com/foster-parent

Fos ter Ch ild

A child looked after temporaril y or brought up b y people other

than its natural or adoptive parents
http://ww w.thefreedictionar y.com/Foster+child

B ackground Inform ation

War, povert y, and dis ease in the United S tates left man y young

children orphaned
Adoption w as the norm until the 1850s and usuall y a relative

would take in an adopted child.

In 1851, Mas sachus etts passed the nations first adoption
s tatute.
-Required that judges deter mine if adoptive parents had
consent from the adoptees guardian or parent, sufficient
abilit y to bring up the child, and that it w as fit and proper that
such adoption should take effect.
http://ww w.infopleas e.co m/us /s tatistics /his tor y- adoption.html

In the U .S. 397,122 children are living without permanent families

in the fos ter care s ys tem.

101,666 of thes e children are eligible for adoption, but nearl y 32%
of thes e children will w ait over three years in fos ter care before

being adopted.
Approximatel y 3,000 Michigan foster children are available for
adoption

http://ww w.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339

73971_7116---,00.html
Of the over 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S ., 114,556
cannot be returned to their families and are w aiting to be adopted.
A mong these children, males outnumber females, African
A merican children are dis proportionall y repres ented, and over half

are 6 years old or older.

P arents who are a different race adopt one in 3 children adopted
from foster care. Most adopted children from foster care are nonwhite, w hile the maj orit y (73%) of the childrens adopted parents

is white.
U.S. citizens completed 19,942 international adoptions in 2007,
which declined to 9,319 in 2011 as international adoptions beca me

more res trictive

Around 7 million Americans are adopted persons
http://facts.randomhis tor y.co m/adoption-facts.ht ml

Cost of Adoption

Costs for an adoption var y widel y from $0 to $50,000 depending

on the t ype of adoption pursued.

It generall y cos ts from $0 to $1,000 to adopt a child from a

Count y Foster/A dopt progra m.

A voluntar y adoption of a new born through a non-profit agenc y

w ill generall y cost betw een $10,000 and $25,000

A ttorne y adoptions of new borns generall y run from $20,000 to
$30,000
http://ww w.adoptionhelp.org/qa/how -much-does -adoption-cos t

Med ia Depictions

M edia portra ys adoption negativel y

http://ww w.theguardian.co m/s ociet y/2012/oct/31/adoption-wh y-

s ys tem-ruining-lives
In this article from The Guardian it talks about a 14-year old

s tabbing his fos ter mother

The teenager was punis hed and his mobile devices were taken
awa y from him in which he us ed to keep in contact with his

biological mother
Placing children with foster and adoptive families who cannot cope with their
difficulties
M edia portra ys adoption positivel y
http://liveactionnew s.org/to-the-woman-w ho-adopted-my- bab y/
This article is about a woman w ho put her daughter up for

adoption and she thanked the lad y w ho adopted her child.

Adoption can be a beautiful think as this article shows.
The woman was not read y to take care of her own bab y so

she put her up for adoption

The lad y that adopted the bab y took great care of her and
w elco med her to her new famil y
C overing Adoption: Gen eral D epiction s in Broad cast

N ew s
M an y adoption res earchers and practitioners have
recognized the media's role in shaping public opinion on
adoption iss ues, often focusing on negative portra yals of

adoption
S everal adoption scholars have argued that the dominant
North American famil y ideolog y defines a real famil y as
containing two parents with their biological children, their
kinship bonds tied together geneticall y.

http://onlinelibrar y.wile y.co m/doi/10.1111/j .17413729.2006.00417.x/full

N ew s con tent on adop tion

This article is about a M LB pla yer (Cole Hamels) who adopted a

child from Ethiopia

This six-month old was left in a field b y parents who did not have

the means to provide for her

Local orphanage took her in
"At first, youre thinking of all what-ifs, the alarms, what people are going to
think," said Hamels. And then, when you really sit down and think about it, you
think this is my life. This is our life together. Were going to live it the way that
we choose."
h ttp ://w w w.n bcdfw.com /new s/local/C ole-Ham els -Ad op tion Jou rn ey-to-Af rica-371235531.htm l

Topic Dis cus sion Points

How adoption has evolved over the ye ars

---Adoption has become more legal over the ye ars and also more
open
http://ww w.thelaboroflove.com/articles/how-has-adoptionchanged-over-the-years

How the world views ga y adoption

---Supporters of ga y adoption s uggest that the majorit y of children
up for adoption are in need of homes and s ince parenting
techniques or abilit y is not related to sexual orientation, the law
should allow ga y adoption to take place.

---People against ga y adoption s ugges t that ga y adoption w ill

spark a greater probabilit y of depression, promis cuit y, drug us e
and suicide in regards to the parents .
http://adoption.laws .com/ga y-adoption

Wh y celebrities are adopting

---Famous people adopt for the same reas on that thos e who are not
famous adopt.
http://ww w.thelaboroflove.com/articles/wh y- do-famous-peopleadopt-children

Agen cies, organ ization s, and th ought-leaders

The Michigan Adoption F oundation

http://ww w.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-33973971_7116---,00.html
Homes for Black Children
http://ww w.homes4blackchildren.org/
Ennis Center For Children
http://ww w.enniscenter.org/
Orchards Children Services
http://ww w.orchards .org/
John Lennon
---John Lennons father went AWO L while on a naval ship, and his
mother was unable to care for him, so his aunt adopted hi m.
http://ww w.buzzfeed.co m/s penceralthous e/famous -people-you-

didnt-know -w ere-adopted#.kb49d3ag0j
M ichael Ba y
---The movie fil mmaker was a adopted as a child, spent his earlier
ye ars s earching for his biological mother.

http://ww w.buzzfeed.co m/s penceralthous e/famous -people-you

didnt-know -w ere-adopted#.kb49d3ag0j
Bruce Willis , advocate for adoption
---Too man y children in foster care are falling through cracks
Be a heroand take the ti me to learn about adoption toda y, s a ys

Willis.
http://ww w.americanadoptions.com/adoption/celebrit y_adoption
Hugh J ackman, adoptive parent
---I think adoption is a bles sing all around when its done right,
s a ys J ackman.
http://ww w.americanadoptions.com/adoption/celebrit y_adoption

MAP

M ap of adoption agencies in Wayne Count y

Lis t of some of the adoption agencies that are located in the area

Adoption agencies are located in red

https ://ww w.google.com/ maps /s earch/adoption+agencies+in+ Wayn
e+Count y,+ Michigan/@42.3592601,-83.3106324,11z/data=!3m1!
4b1

M ap of fos ter care homes in Wayne Count y

A lis t of some of the fos ter care homes that are located in the area

Foster care homes are in red

https://www.google.com/maps/search/foster+care+homes+in+wayne+county+mic

higan/@42.3594306,-83.309945,11z
Map of states where same-sex couples are able to get joint
and/or second parent adoptions statewide

States highlighted in light green allow second parent adoption regardless of

marital/civil union/domestic partnership status.

States highlighted in dark green are where joint and or second parent adoption are
allowed only for couples who are married or have a civil union or domestic
partnership.
https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/aclu_map4.pdf

Info graphic on adoption

Some statistics on adoption in the world
https://www.google.com/url?
sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEw
ilzYnVobHLAhXEn4MKHUiyAgUQjB0IBg&url=http%3A%2F
%2Fwww.zdfirm.com%2Fdallas%2Ffamily-law%2Fadoption-statisticsinfographic
%2F&psig=AFQjCNFHB_AAsl3jf5E8sJKbUdlq8JQK8A&ust=14575324523441
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