First Published in 2017. In this book the authors move easily and often between the worlds of policy, practice, and research in child and family welfare. Their own research delineates— better than any other to date— the particular factors associated with success>ful and unsuccessful older, special-needs adoptions.

Based on a hugely successful US model, the Seven Core Issues in Adoption is the first conceptual framework of its kind to offer a unifying lens that was inclusive of all individuals touched by the adoption experience. The Seven Core Issues are Loss, Rejection, Shame/Guilt, Grief, Identity, Intimacy, and Mastery/Control. The book expands the model to be inclusive of adoption and all forms of permanency: adoption, foster care, kinship care, donor insemination and surrogacy. Attachment and trauma are integrated with the Seven Core Issues model to address and normalize the additional tasks individuals and families will encounter. The book views the Seven Core Issues from a range of perspectives including: multi-racial, LGBTQ, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, African-American, International, openness, search and reunion, and others. This essential guide introduces each Core Issue, its impact on individuals, offering techniques for growth and healing.

This volume reports the results of a large-scale survey of families who adopted children with special needs: older children, minority children, handicapped children, or sibling groups. In contrast to much of the current literature which focuses on adoption disruption, this study shifts the focus of inquiry to intact families. It assesses perceptions of social work services, parent-child relationships, family functioning, child behavior, school performance, and other aspects of adoptive family life. Rosenthal and Groze compare outcomes for different types of adoptions, including adoptions of children of different ages, adoptions by minority families, transracial adoptions, single-parent adoptions, adoptions by less educated and less wealthy families, adoptions by foster parents, adoptions of children with handicaps, and sibling group adoptions. The authors offer solid advice, based on their sample of 800 respondents, regarding various aspects of practice in the field of adoption, including selection of families, preparation of families and children, and useful follow-up services. Special-Needs Adoption is an invaluable tool for agencies developing adoption programs, and practitioners seeking the latest information regarding adoptive family dynamics.