It is paramount for The Government and societal fabric should ensure than any existing regulation on children considers the best interest of children. In most instances the process is too complex and unfriendly to the user.
Government and adoption societies should put in place measures to ensure that the adoption process is accessible and that the society is educated on the importance of adopting children thereby giving equal chances to the less fortunate people (Children and Youth Services Review 781-803.)
Attention Getter
Adoption can be successful if we take time to understand the process and respect children’s needs.
Credibility Statement
It is a highly noble idea for people who are better placed to help the needy and deserving children get quality education and healthcare for they will shape future generations.
Topic Justification
All children need to grow up in a loving and caring environment. They need to be nurtured and cared for in their young age. In addition, children need to be allowed to play and interact freely with their peers in a loving and caring home environment. This can only happen when there is a caring and loving family.
Most children in foster care lack the real feeling and sense of belonging to a family. In order for them to experience this loving atmosphere, it is important for families to go out of their ways and adopt children. Children’s needs are usually influenced by family structure.
Before adopting a child, a family should first endeavour to understand the needs of the child in question. Some of these needs include among others the educational needs of the child and the sources of income. This will also help them understand the needs p the child to be adapted and figure out how they can satisfy those needs so that the child has access to quality life (Geidner para. 5 )
Statement of the problem
In most relationships and families where a child has been adopted, there exists a certain feeling of insecurity between a child and the parents. They both face fears of being abandoned at some point and this make the child to develop feelings of indifference. In addition, the child is normally left wondering if this kind of love has any permanence.
At times, parents may loathe certain behaviors manifested by an adopted child and even attempt to compare their behavior with that of their other children if they have any, or the kind of behavior they would have expected their own children to exhibit.
This puts the adopted child under a lot of pressure because he/she has to style up and try to achieve the kind of behavior that the adopted parents have in mind.
Extent and Seriousness of the Problem
A poor parent to child relationship especially in an unnatural relationship can affect the development and performance of a child. Faced with the need to fulfill one’s obligations by both the parents and the children, unique interracial problems arise making the child to comply with whatever rules he is told to follow so that he retains his position in the society and is also guarded against eternities.
In cases where a child is involved in anti social behaviour, parents tend to develop a behaviour manual to guard the child and address feelings of their insecurity. In instances where the child does not easily take up the behavioral guidelines set, anxiety sets in and the child may develop a need to search for his/her natural parents leaving the foster parents with fear of abandonment (Wingert 1)
Audience Involvement
At this point the presence of an audience becomes very important. The audience could be in smaller groups to discuss the success and failure factors on adoption and report back to the whole team.
The audience should discuss some of the barriers to an effective adoption process. The audience needs to discuss what differentiates parents then finalize the process with those that discontinue it when using child welfare systems.
Could Training and study be a contributing factor to this scenario? The audience should also discuss the uptake of adoption among various categories of people ranging from male or female singles, married couples, the unmarried couples, the opposite sex couples, as well as same sex couples.
Some of the questions that the audience needs to ponder on could be, is it important for race and level of education to influence adoption decisions? The audience should also try and brainstorm on why they prefer adopting male or female children of a certain age with various disabilities but not HIV/ AIDS.
Evaluation of Proposed Alternative Solution
Support from friends and families is very important when making decisions before and after adopting children
Statement of my solution
Research shows that positive support from friends and relatives contributes to chances of adoption.
Explanation of Solution
Close family members help in the psychological and educational development of the adapted children. They also influence financial decisions that directly affect the child like health insurance, social security benefits and medical covers.
Effectiveness of the solution
If the family supports an individual’s decision to adopt they will see to it that the child is taken for counseling sessions, child therapy and trainings in child support groups (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 3). This helps them gain new knowledge and information on how to address some issues that affect their children and share experiences.
Refutation
Although laws prohibit the advertisement of a child for adoption, I object to this practice because there are many able people in the society who are willing to take care of vulnerable children but are hindered by the long and complicated adoption process. Advertisements should be encouraged as long as they are done through approved adoption societies (Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 145)
Positive Visualization
Many children with varying backgrounds and characteristics are available for adoption and advertising through these agencies would help identify potential parents who can take care of them whether international or local. Through advertising agencies one can determine all costs involved in the process and predict the period within which the process will be completed (Gerson 3).
Negative Visualization
Advertising can be disadvantageous because one can easily adapt a child whose medical and personal history is little known. A child may also have developed some growth challenges because of growing up in institutions.
Conclusion
The time is ripe for us to act as responsible citizens so that we can play a pivotal role of trying to shape the lives of parentless children by providing them with the right opportunity to pursue an education, to love and be loved and in return, getting affection. In all this, understanding the process of adoption is the most vital thing.
Works Cited
Adoption Promotion Act of 2003. Public Law 108-145: Information memorandum. 2006. Web.
Geidner, Chris. Adoption Politics: Kaine-backed proposal to open adoptions to gay couples faces opposition from Gov. McDonnell. Web.
Gerson, Michael. Washington Post talks international adoption. 2010. Web.
Reilly, T., & Platz, L. (2003). Characteristics and challenges of families who adopt children with special needs: An empirical study. Children and Youth Services Review: 781-803.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. AFCARS report: Trends in Foster Care and Adoption, FY2000 through FY 2005. Web.
Wingert, Pat. When Adoption Goes Wrong. 2007. Web.