Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

PURPOSE: As part of the Barriers Study of The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids Research Project, this paper examines the reasons prospective adoptive families cite for discontinuing their plans to adopt from foster care. METHODS: A nationwide sample of 300 families was recruited through state and private adoption agencies. This paper focuses on a sub-sample of 89 who discontinued the adoption process by the three-year follow-up. The majority of these families were couples (N=55, 62%), and Caucasian (N=60, 67%). Families participated in telephone interviews and completed written surveys over a three-year period. Codebooks were developed and piloted. Participant data were double coded and consensed to assess system, family and child related barriers. Barriers were then grouped by themes. This paper reports the primary barriers that led families to discontinue the adoption process. RESULTS: Families who discontinued the process were categorized into four groups based on how many phases of the adoption process they completed prior to discontinuing: 1) discontinued after orientation; 2)discontinued during training/home-study; 3)discontinued after approval but without having a child placed and 4) discontinued after a disrupted placement. The barriers were coded to assess child, family, and system barriers that each group of families experienced. Families who discontinued after orientation (N=5, 3%) and families who discontinued during training/home-study (N=26, 18%) identified the following as primary reasons for discontinuing the adoption process: family commitment, family dynamics, change in commitment to adoption process due to personal circumstances, and family preparation and expectations. In addition, 38% of those families who discontinued during training/home-study cited agency process logistics such as bureaucratic red-tape and process delays as primary reasons for discontinuing. Thirty percent (N=44) were approved for adoption, but never had a child placed with them and subsequently discontinued the adoption process. The primary system barrier cited was adoption process logistics (57%) followed by agency practices, such as communication delays and worker incompetence (43%), level of agency support and availability (25%), and agency cultural competency (16%). The primary family barrier identified by these prospective adopters was: change in commitment to adoption process due to personal circumstances (33%). Families who discontinued the adoption process after a disrupted adoptive placement (N=14, 10%) indicated that the disrupted placement was their primary reason for discontinuing the process (64%). In addition, two family barriers were reported; family commitment (14%) and parent-child matching (14%). The primary agency barrier was adoption process logistics (57%), followed by agency practices (43%), availability of services, non-financial (36%), level of agency support and availability (36%), and agency cultural competency (21%). Fourteen percent reported level of child attachment and child foster care experiences (14%) as primary barriers. IMPLICATIONS: The current emphasis on adoption for children waiting in foster care requires adoption agencies to increase recruitment and retention of prospective adoptive families. Understanding the barriers families may face will assist agencies with family retention and ensure more children achieve permanency. The findings from this study have been submitted to the U.S. Congress and may be useful in formulating changes in adoption policies and practices.