Why
You Should Understand Adoption
Kudos &
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Media
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A
Journalist's Guide to Adoption
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A Guide
to Adoption
For
Health Care &
Counseling Professionals
Institute
for Adoption Information , Inc.
Adoption has changed dramatically
in the last few decades. What was once a confidential, private,
secretive situation is now a more open and honest process. Still,
health care and counseling professionals, may not be aware of
the changes and may not be able to discuss adoption as one option
in facing an unplanned pregnancy.
The Guide
to Adoption for Counseling and Health Care Professionals is
designed to assist those in the front lines to navigate this
new territory, enable them to offer adoption as a viable option
to parenting and create an environment that is helpful and respectful.
This guide will help professionals:
- Identify their feelings about
adoption and how it impacts their work;
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- Understand the legal process of
adoption and to what expect when faced with different situations;
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- Teach the realities of adoption;
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- Use ethical practice strategies
to help clients work through their decision to parent or make
an adoption plan;
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- Provide a compassionate and confidential
environment when working with expectant mothers and adoptive
families;
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- Access resources for learning
more about adoption; and
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- Employ positive adoption language
to enhance the understanding of adoption.
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While adoption may not be for everyone,
it is important that accurate, reliable information be explored.
Less than 2% of unplanned pregnancies result in an adoption plan
largely owing to:
- Social acceptance of single
parenthood;
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- Lack of accurate information on
adoption in schools, health clinics and family planning settings;
and
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- The social bias against adoption,
which presumes that family ties formed by adoption are less genuine
or are somehow problematic.
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The lack of accurate information
on adoption is especially acute for teens. Indeed, studies found
that pregnancy counselors mistakenly assume that
teens facing an unplanned pregnancy do not want to discuss adoption.
In fact, these studies concluded that those facing an unplanned
pregnancy, including teens, want to explore adoption.
- Nearly 500,000 teen births occur
annually in the U.S.
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- Less than 1% of teen pregnancies
result in an adoption plan.
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- Teen parents are at greater risk
of neglect or abuse, contributing to a crisis in foster care.
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- The gross annual cost to society
of adolescent childbearing and the entire web of social problems
confronting parents was calculated in 1996 to be $29 billion
by The Robin Hood Foundation.
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This book is important because
studies found:
- More than 80%-85% of teens receive
their pre-natal counseling in a health care setting where the
tendency is to short-circuit the consideration of adoption. Workers
either avoided, glossed over, or poorly handled the subject of
adoption.
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- 60% of pregnancy counselors never
mentioned adoption while 40% gave inaccurate information.
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- Most social service agencies,
which provide adoption counseling, do not work in such health
clinics. This makes creating partnerships between pregnancy and
adoption workers of paramount importance.
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- When accurate information was
provided studies found a 19% increase in the creation of adoption
plans.
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Studies of birth parents who thoughtfully
planned adoption and felt they were in control of the process
paint a positive picture. Women who make an adoption plan are:
- More likely to finish school;
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- Less likely to live in poverty
or receive public assistance;
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- More likely to delay marriage
longer than those who parent;
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- More likely to be employed 12
months after birth;
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- Less likely to have another unplanned
pregnancy.
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TO ORDER:
Fill out the form below and mail with $8.00 (postage included
when ordering between 1 & 9 copies) to:
Institute for Adoption Information
409 Dewey St.
Bennington, VT 05201
For Bulk orders of 10 or more,
the price is $6.50 per copy plus postage via first class mail.
For bulk mail postage costs:
| Shipping/Handling: |
| 10 copies =
$ 4.50 |
| 25 copies =
8.50 |
| 50 copies =
12.50 |
| 75 copies =
14.50 |
| 100 copies
= 16.00 |
Please send me _________ copies
of A Guide
to Adoption for Health Care & Counseling Professionals
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Here are some Additional Resources for your use as well.
Address information is for the
use of the Institute for Adoption Information only, to confirm
information on your order, inform you when the order is posted,
or to alert you of news and information you might find useful.
It will not be sold.
Questions or inquiries contact the Institue for Adoption Information at 802-442-2845 or email info@adoptioninformationinstitute.org
Copyright © 2003, Institute
for Adoption Information, Inc. All rights reserved.
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