Pound Pup Legacy

Excellent points you bring forward. It's good to see such a list. Many of these questions have been addressed on this website, but never in such a concise manner.

1. Is anyone current on legislation underway to change adoption practices in America?

As I have pointed out in a post that is also called Activism, much of the activism is focussed towards open records, which, despite being a valid right to fight for, leads, in my opinion, away from the broader picture: the malfunctioning child placement industry. As far as law reform in America goes, it is only the open record movement that actually has achieved something. Of course there are organizations like Ethica and PEAR, which aim to change adoption legislation, but so far I haven't seen much effectiveness.

2. what ARE the current laws?

Alas there is not just one law, or one set of laws, but 51 of them. There are federal laws, such as the Adoption and Safe Families Act, but adoption is very much a state regulated affair. That is also one of the problems adoption reform faces. In order to promote change, it has to be done 51 times over again. Cornell University maintains an online collection of all the state laws.

3. is there one particular case we can use as our poster child?

That's an interesting point. There are several approaches possible here, because there are several issues at the same time. We can address the issue of safety in adoptive families, for which all of the abuse cases we collected can be expemplary. We can address the issue of internation adoptees, being deported, because they have commited a crime. We can address the issue of child trafficking in international adoption and if we look beyond adoption and take child placement as broad as I think we should, there is the complete mess called foster care. Far to many people phasing out of this system end up in prison or become homeless or we could focus in on the use of medication in foster care. There are many angles to this and probably a few I haven't even thought about mentioning.

4. is anyone out there a lawyer?

yes we have at least one such member.

5. can we create some child advocacy for adoptees?

I would like to see that broadened to include advocacy for the adult adoptee. I believe our issues don't stop the moment we are no longer small and cute.

6. how can we speak to more than just our choir?

This is a very important point, but also a very difficult one. Having spent time on various forums on the internet, I have come to the conclusion that there is not even such a thing as "our choir". Many adoptees are caught up in their search and reunion issues. for many their main motivation to seek contact with fellow adoptees. This is, I believe, also the main reason the open record movement is the most successful reform movement coming from adoptees. To put it bluntly and maybe some will hate me for saying this, but many adoptees live with their head up their ass. It's sad to notice there is a bigger adoption reform movement from (prospective) adoptive parents who have been screwed by the industry than there is from adoptees.

7. what are social service guidelines regarding home visits?

Again this is very much organized on a state by state basis, which is very risky, especially when inter-state adoption takes place. The Masha Allen case is a prime example of how bad things can go with regards to home visits.

8. what is the screening process for prospective parents?

Here too state laws dictate the minimum requirements and the rest depends on practices of the agency involved. For some agencies, religion is an important factor in deciding the fitness of prospective adoptive parents, others are known to make their decisions mainly based on the affluence of the people wanting to adopt.

9. do agencies have lobbyists?

Yes they have. There is of course the National Council for Adoption, which lobbies for christian adoption agencies, most noteably for LDS family services and Bethany Christian Services. Then there is the Joint Council on International Children's Services, which lobbies for many of the adoption agencies that operate internationally. Focus on Adoption is another lobby groups, which as far as I can tell is mainly geared towards as unethical as possible adoption practices. The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, though often in the news with reports that are critical towards current adoption practices, they are an organization that is funded by the industry itself and founded by Spence-Chapin. Politically important is the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, which consists of 51 senators an 125 representatives, that promote adoption. Both candidates for the presidency are member of the CCAI. Finally there is of course the Adoption Awareness Month.

10. how can we unite and protect future adoptees?

I think the way to achieve this is take this internationally. There is a trend to offshore coersion and other unethical practices to third world countries. In all rich countries the numbers of domestic adoption have dropped, in Europe more dramatically so than in the USA. So we need to be alert on what happens all around the world. At the moment our focus should be on Africa, Ethiopia in particular, since the numbers are soaring there. In many Asian countries the standards of living have improved enough over the years, international adoption should no longer be an option. In Latin and South America, many countries have closed their borders for international adoption, because of the corruption involved. So Africa is the growth market at the moment. If we want to protect future adoptees we should look in that direction. How we can unite is another important question. As PPL we chose to look as internationally as possible, that's why many of our members are from countries other than the USA.

11. can we create a network of sites such as this so various groups can communicate and organize?

I think this very important. Some things can only be achieved at a local level, like ballot 58 in Oregon demonstrates. Other things can only be achieved by making sure we are a voice at the Hague Convention, which requires an international approach.

12. what groups/organizations/sites exist about adoptee rights?

When it comes to adoptee rights in the USA, Bastard Nation immediately comes to mind, while in the UK, Fassit is most active in this area. In the Netherlands, United Adoptees International is an organization known for its adoption activism, carried by adoptees.

13. is there a data base of statistics on adoption?

In the USA, no. Sweden seems to have pretty good statistical information and several longitudinal studies have been performed there. The best statistical information about adoption in the USA dates from before 1975, when the collection of such information stopped.

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It's good to see you want to roll up your sleeves, because there is a lot of work that can be done and I for one am more than willing to do my part. You can find most posts about adoption reform here.