Saving International Adoption

Saving International Adoption

Author: Mark Montgomery

Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press

Published: 2018-01-30

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0826521746

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Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2018 International adoption is in a state of virtual collapse, rates having fallen by more than half since 2004 and continuing to fall. Yet around the world millions of orphaned and vulnerable children need permanent homes, and thousands of American and European families are eager to take them in. Many government officials, international bureaucrats, and social commentators claim these adoptions are not "in the best interests" of the child. They claim that adoption deprives children of their "birth culture," threatens their racial identities, and even encourages widespread child trafficking. Celebrity adopters are publicly excoriated for stealing children from their birth families. This book argues that opposition to adoption ostensibly based on the well-being of the child is often a smokescreen for protecting national pride. Concerns about the harm done by transracial adoption are largely inconsistent with empirical evidence. As for trafficking, opponents of international adoption want to shut it down because it is too much like a market for children. But this book offers a radical challenge to this view—that is, what if instead of trying to suppress market forces in international adoption, we embraced them so they could be properly regulated? What if the international system functioned more like open adoption in the United States, where birth and adoptive parents can meet and privately negotiate the exchange of parental rights? This arrangement, the authors argue, could eliminate the abuses that currently haunt international adoption. The authors challenge the prevailing wisdom with their economic analyses and provocative analogies from other policy realms. Based on their own family's experience with the adoption process, they also write frankly about how that process feels for parents and children.


Book Synopsis Saving International Adoption by : Mark Montgomery

Download or read book Saving International Adoption written by Mark Montgomery and published by Vanderbilt University Press. This book was released on 2018-01-30 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2018 International adoption is in a state of virtual collapse, rates having fallen by more than half since 2004 and continuing to fall. Yet around the world millions of orphaned and vulnerable children need permanent homes, and thousands of American and European families are eager to take them in. Many government officials, international bureaucrats, and social commentators claim these adoptions are not "in the best interests" of the child. They claim that adoption deprives children of their "birth culture," threatens their racial identities, and even encourages widespread child trafficking. Celebrity adopters are publicly excoriated for stealing children from their birth families. This book argues that opposition to adoption ostensibly based on the well-being of the child is often a smokescreen for protecting national pride. Concerns about the harm done by transracial adoption are largely inconsistent with empirical evidence. As for trafficking, opponents of international adoption want to shut it down because it is too much like a market for children. But this book offers a radical challenge to this view—that is, what if instead of trying to suppress market forces in international adoption, we embraced them so they could be properly regulated? What if the international system functioned more like open adoption in the United States, where birth and adoptive parents can meet and privately negotiate the exchange of parental rights? This arrangement, the authors argue, could eliminate the abuses that currently haunt international adoption. The authors challenge the prevailing wisdom with their economic analyses and provocative analogies from other policy realms. Based on their own family's experience with the adoption process, they also write frankly about how that process feels for parents and children.

To Save the Children of Korea

To Save the Children of Korea

Author: Arissa H Oh

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2015-06-17

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 0804795339

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“The important . . . largely unknown story of American adoption of Korean children since the Korean War . . . with remarkably extensive research and great verve.” —Charles K. Armstrong, Columbia University Arissa Oh argues that international adoption began in the aftermath of the Korean War. First established as an emergency measure through which to evacuate mixed-race “GI babies,” it became a mechanism through which the Korean government exported its unwanted children: the poor, the disabled, or those lacking Korean fathers. Focusing on the legal, social, and political systems at work, To Save the Children of Korea shows how the growth of Korean adoption from the 1950s to the 1980s occurred within the context of the neocolonial US-Korea relationship, and was facilitated by crucial congruencies in American and Korean racial thought, government policies, and nationalisms. Korean adoption served as a kind of template as international adoption began, in the late 1960s, to expand to new sending and receiving countries. Ultimately, Oh demonstrates that although Korea was not the first place that Americans adopted from internationally, it was the place where organized, systematic international adoption was born. “Absolutely fascinating.” —Giulia Miller, Times Higher Education “ Gracefully written. . . . Oh shows us how domestic politics and desires are intertwined with geopolitical relationships and aims.” —Naoko Shibusawa, Brown University “Poignant, wide-ranging analysis and research.” —Kevin Y. Kim, Canadian Journal of History “Illuminates how the spheres of ‘public’ and ‘private,’ ‘domestic’ and ‘political’ are deeply imbricated and complicate American ideologies about family, nation, and race.” —Kira A. Donnell, Adoption & Culture


Book Synopsis To Save the Children of Korea by : Arissa H Oh

Download or read book To Save the Children of Korea written by Arissa H Oh and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2015-06-17 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The important . . . largely unknown story of American adoption of Korean children since the Korean War . . . with remarkably extensive research and great verve.” —Charles K. Armstrong, Columbia University Arissa Oh argues that international adoption began in the aftermath of the Korean War. First established as an emergency measure through which to evacuate mixed-race “GI babies,” it became a mechanism through which the Korean government exported its unwanted children: the poor, the disabled, or those lacking Korean fathers. Focusing on the legal, social, and political systems at work, To Save the Children of Korea shows how the growth of Korean adoption from the 1950s to the 1980s occurred within the context of the neocolonial US-Korea relationship, and was facilitated by crucial congruencies in American and Korean racial thought, government policies, and nationalisms. Korean adoption served as a kind of template as international adoption began, in the late 1960s, to expand to new sending and receiving countries. Ultimately, Oh demonstrates that although Korea was not the first place that Americans adopted from internationally, it was the place where organized, systematic international adoption was born. “Absolutely fascinating.” —Giulia Miller, Times Higher Education “ Gracefully written. . . . Oh shows us how domestic politics and desires are intertwined with geopolitical relationships and aims.” —Naoko Shibusawa, Brown University “Poignant, wide-ranging analysis and research.” —Kevin Y. Kim, Canadian Journal of History “Illuminates how the spheres of ‘public’ and ‘private,’ ‘domestic’ and ‘political’ are deeply imbricated and complicate American ideologies about family, nation, and race.” —Kira A. Donnell, Adoption & Culture

The Child Catchers

The Child Catchers

Author: Kathryn Joyce

Publisher: Public Affairs

Published: 2013-04-23

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1586489429

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Adoption has long been enmeshed in the politics of abortion. But as award-winning journalist Joyce makes clear, adoption has lately become entangled in the conservative Christian agenda.


Book Synopsis The Child Catchers by : Kathryn Joyce

Download or read book The Child Catchers written by Kathryn Joyce and published by Public Affairs. This book was released on 2013-04-23 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adoption has long been enmeshed in the politics of abortion. But as award-winning journalist Joyce makes clear, adoption has lately become entangled in the conservative Christian agenda.

Adoption Beyond Borders

Adoption Beyond Borders

Author: Rebecca J. Compton

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-02-15

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 0190247819

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International adoptions have decreased dramatically in the last decade, despite robust evidence of the tremendous benefits that early placement in adoptive families can confer upon children who are not able to remain with birth families. Adoption Beyond Borders integrates evidence from a range of disciplines in the social and biological sciences-- including psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, sociology, anthropology, and social work -- to provide a ringing endorsement of international adoption as a viable child welfare option. The author interweaves narrative accounts of her own adoption journey, which involved visiting a Kazakhstani orphanage daily for nearly a year, to illustrate the complexities and implications of the research evidence. Topics include: the effects of institutionalization on children's developing brains, cognitive abilities, and socio-emotional functioning; the challenges of navigating issues of identity when adopting across national, cultural, and racial lines; the strong emotional bonds that form even without genetic relatedness; and the methods in which adoptive families can address the special needs of children who experienced early neglect and deprivation, thereby providing a supportive environment in which those children can flourish. Striving to attain a balanced, evidence-based perspective on controversial issues, Adoption Beyond Borders argues that international adoption must be maintained and supported as a vital means of promoting international child welfare.


Book Synopsis Adoption Beyond Borders by : Rebecca J. Compton

Download or read book Adoption Beyond Borders written by Rebecca J. Compton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-02-15 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: International adoptions have decreased dramatically in the last decade, despite robust evidence of the tremendous benefits that early placement in adoptive families can confer upon children who are not able to remain with birth families. Adoption Beyond Borders integrates evidence from a range of disciplines in the social and biological sciences-- including psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, sociology, anthropology, and social work -- to provide a ringing endorsement of international adoption as a viable child welfare option. The author interweaves narrative accounts of her own adoption journey, which involved visiting a Kazakhstani orphanage daily for nearly a year, to illustrate the complexities and implications of the research evidence. Topics include: the effects of institutionalization on children's developing brains, cognitive abilities, and socio-emotional functioning; the challenges of navigating issues of identity when adopting across national, cultural, and racial lines; the strong emotional bonds that form even without genetic relatedness; and the methods in which adoptive families can address the special needs of children who experienced early neglect and deprivation, thereby providing a supportive environment in which those children can flourish. Striving to attain a balanced, evidence-based perspective on controversial issues, Adoption Beyond Borders argues that international adoption must be maintained and supported as a vital means of promoting international child welfare.

International Adoption

International Adoption

Author: Laura Briggs

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2009-07-01

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0814795900

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In the past two decades, transnational adoption has exploded in scope and significance, growing up along increasingly globalized economic relations and the development and improvement of reproductive technologies. A complex and understudied system, transnational adoption opens a window onto the relations between nations, the inequalities of the rich and the poor, and the history of race and racialization, Transnational adoption has been marked by the geographies of unequal power, as children move from poorer countries and families to wealthier ones, yet little work has been done to synthesize its complex and sometimes contradictory effects. Rather than focusing only on the United States, as much previous work on the topic does, International Adoption considers the perspectives of a number of sending countries as well as other receiving countries, particularly in Europe. The book also reminds us that the U.S. also sends children into international adoptions—particularly children of color. The book thus complicates the standard scholarly treatment of the subject, which tends to focus on the tensions between those who argue that transnational adoption is an outgrowth of American wealth, power, and military might (as well as a rejection of adoption from domestic foster care) and those who maintain that it is about a desire to help children in need.


Book Synopsis International Adoption by : Laura Briggs

Download or read book International Adoption written by Laura Briggs and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the past two decades, transnational adoption has exploded in scope and significance, growing up along increasingly globalized economic relations and the development and improvement of reproductive technologies. A complex and understudied system, transnational adoption opens a window onto the relations between nations, the inequalities of the rich and the poor, and the history of race and racialization, Transnational adoption has been marked by the geographies of unequal power, as children move from poorer countries and families to wealthier ones, yet little work has been done to synthesize its complex and sometimes contradictory effects. Rather than focusing only on the United States, as much previous work on the topic does, International Adoption considers the perspectives of a number of sending countries as well as other receiving countries, particularly in Europe. The book also reminds us that the U.S. also sends children into international adoptions—particularly children of color. The book thus complicates the standard scholarly treatment of the subject, which tends to focus on the tensions between those who argue that transnational adoption is an outgrowth of American wealth, power, and military might (as well as a rejection of adoption from domestic foster care) and those who maintain that it is about a desire to help children in need.

The Best Possible Immigrants

The Best Possible Immigrants

Author: Rachel Rains Winslow

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Published: 2017-05-02

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 0812249100

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Rachel Rains Winslow examines how the adoption of foreign children transformed from a marginal activity in response to episodic crises in the 1940s to an enduring American institution by the 1970s. She provides the first historical examination of the people, policies, and systems that made the United States an enduring "adoption nation."


Book Synopsis The Best Possible Immigrants by : Rachel Rains Winslow

Download or read book The Best Possible Immigrants written by Rachel Rains Winslow and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2017-05-02 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rachel Rains Winslow examines how the adoption of foreign children transformed from a marginal activity in response to episodic crises in the 1940s to an enduring American institution by the 1970s. She provides the first historical examination of the people, policies, and systems that made the United States an enduring "adoption nation."

Daughter from Afar

Daughter from Afar

Author: Sarah Lynn Woodard

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 0595245439

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An adoptive mother shares her true story about the sadness and joys of the long process to adopt an abandoned Chinese baby girl. Sarah Woodard reveals with humor, sensitivity and honesty the adoption process, the journey to bring home her daughter and the ultimate adventure of becoming a mother. It is an absorbing story, beautifully written, in which two different cultures combine and illuminate each other, culminating in a heart-warming ending. But, as this new family is being born, it is really only the beginning.


Book Synopsis Daughter from Afar by : Sarah Lynn Woodard

Download or read book Daughter from Afar written by Sarah Lynn Woodard and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2002 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An adoptive mother shares her true story about the sadness and joys of the long process to adopt an abandoned Chinese baby girl. Sarah Woodard reveals with humor, sensitivity and honesty the adoption process, the journey to bring home her daughter and the ultimate adventure of becoming a mother. It is an absorbing story, beautifully written, in which two different cultures combine and illuminate each other, culminating in a heart-warming ending. But, as this new family is being born, it is really only the beginning.

Six When He Came to Us

Six When He Came to Us

Author: Ellie Porte Parker

Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing

Published: 2012-08

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 9781457512179

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The public perception concerning adoption of abandoned children has changed over the years from a belief that love would solve all problems to a fear that any child who had spent significant time in an orphanage was irreparably damaged. Neither sentiment is true. The social upheaval in Eastern Europe during the early 1990s left many children orphaned and living in deplorable conditions in orphanages. Many Americans rushed to adopt some of these children but in some cases, the challenges proved to be too great and some of these adoptive parents ended up killing the very children they wanted to help. Using her family's experiences and her knowledge as a child and family psychlogist, the author tries to shed some light on the many sides of international adoption.


Book Synopsis Six When He Came to Us by : Ellie Porte Parker

Download or read book Six When He Came to Us written by Ellie Porte Parker and published by Dog Ear Publishing. This book was released on 2012-08 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The public perception concerning adoption of abandoned children has changed over the years from a belief that love would solve all problems to a fear that any child who had spent significant time in an orphanage was irreparably damaged. Neither sentiment is true. The social upheaval in Eastern Europe during the early 1990s left many children orphaned and living in deplorable conditions in orphanages. Many Americans rushed to adopt some of these children but in some cases, the challenges proved to be too great and some of these adoptive parents ended up killing the very children they wanted to help. Using her family's experiences and her knowledge as a child and family psychlogist, the author tries to shed some light on the many sides of international adoption.

Global Families

Global Families

Author: Catherine Ceniza Choy

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2013-10-11

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1479891169

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In the last fifty years, transnational adoption—specifically, the adoption of Asian children—has exploded in popularity as an alternative path to family making. Despite the cultural acceptance of this practice, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the factors that allowed Asian international adoption to flourish. In Global Families, Catherine Ceniza Choy unearths the little-known historical origins of Asian international adoption in the United States. Beginning with the post-World War II presence of the U.S. military in Asia, she reveals how mixed-race children born of Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese women and U.S. servicemen comprised one of the earliest groups of adoptive children. Based on extensive archival research, Global Families moves beyond one-dimensional portrayals of Asian international adoption as either a progressive form of U.S. multiculturalism or as an exploitative form of cultural and economic imperialism. Rather, Choy acknowledges the complexity of the phenomenon, illuminating both its radical possibilities of a world united across national, cultural, and racial divides through family formation and its strong potential for reinforcing the very racial and cultural hierarchies it sought to challenge.


Book Synopsis Global Families by : Catherine Ceniza Choy

Download or read book Global Families written by Catherine Ceniza Choy and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2013-10-11 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last fifty years, transnational adoption—specifically, the adoption of Asian children—has exploded in popularity as an alternative path to family making. Despite the cultural acceptance of this practice, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the factors that allowed Asian international adoption to flourish. In Global Families, Catherine Ceniza Choy unearths the little-known historical origins of Asian international adoption in the United States. Beginning with the post-World War II presence of the U.S. military in Asia, she reveals how mixed-race children born of Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese women and U.S. servicemen comprised one of the earliest groups of adoptive children. Based on extensive archival research, Global Families moves beyond one-dimensional portrayals of Asian international adoption as either a progressive form of U.S. multiculturalism or as an exploitative form of cultural and economic imperialism. Rather, Choy acknowledges the complexity of the phenomenon, illuminating both its radical possibilities of a world united across national, cultural, and racial divides through family formation and its strong potential for reinforcing the very racial and cultural hierarchies it sought to challenge.

Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child

Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child

Author: Patty Cogen

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com

Published: 2011-05-14

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 145876883X

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Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child guides adoptive parents in promoting a child's emotional and social adjustment, from the family's first hours together through the teen years. It explains how to help an adopted child cope with the ''Big Change,'' bond with new parents, become part of a family, and develop a positive self-image that incorporates both American identity and ethnicity origins. Parents waiting to meet their adoptive children will appreciate Cogen's advice about preparing for the trip and handling the first meeting. The author's main focus, though, is the child's adaptation over the next months and years. Cogen explains how to deal with the child's ''mixed maturities''; how (and why) to tell the child's story from the child's point of view; how to handle sleep problems and resistance to household rules; and how to encourage eye contact and ease transitions and separations. The reassuring narrative tone and the breadth and depth of information make this the most substantive and accessible book available and an indispensable resource for parents who adopt, professionals who advise adoptive parents, and teachers of adoptive children


Book Synopsis Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child by : Patty Cogen

Download or read book Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child written by Patty Cogen and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2011-05-14 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child guides adoptive parents in promoting a child's emotional and social adjustment, from the family's first hours together through the teen years. It explains how to help an adopted child cope with the ''Big Change,'' bond with new parents, become part of a family, and develop a positive self-image that incorporates both American identity and ethnicity origins. Parents waiting to meet their adoptive children will appreciate Cogen's advice about preparing for the trip and handling the first meeting. The author's main focus, though, is the child's adaptation over the next months and years. Cogen explains how to deal with the child's ''mixed maturities''; how (and why) to tell the child's story from the child's point of view; how to handle sleep problems and resistance to household rules; and how to encourage eye contact and ease transitions and separations. The reassuring narrative tone and the breadth and depth of information make this the most substantive and accessible book available and an indispensable resource for parents who adopt, professionals who advise adoptive parents, and teachers of adoptive children