Foster-to-adopt families can be viewed as systems that are influenced by many other systems (e.g., the legal system, the social service agency, and the birth family). The current qualitative study of 84 foster-to-adopt parents (members of 42 lesbian, gay, and heterosexual couples) examined the types of challenges that parents faced as they navigated multiple systems during the initial post-placement period. Some participants described the legal insecurity associated with their role as foster-to-adopt parents as impacting their personal well-being and their attachment to their children. Lack of support services and disorganization within social service agencies, as well as strained relationships with birth parents, were also identified as stressors for foster-to-adopt parents. Importantly, lesbian and gay participants faced additional concerns regarding the security of their placement, due to the possibility for discrimination within the various systems involved with the foster-to-adopt process. Participants as a whole also identified positive aspects of their experiences within various systems; for example, they appreciated child care subsidies, state-provided health insurance, and supportive social workers. Our findings provide insights into foster-to-adopt parents’ experiences during the initial post-placement period, and have implications for adoption services aimed to improve placement stability and enhance family functioning in foster-to-adopt families.
Little research has examined the perspectives of young adults with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) parents, particularly in relation to their identification with the LGBTQ community. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative study of 42 young adults (ages 18-29) who were raised by LGBQ parents. We found that participants often described their sense of belonging to the LGBTQ community as shifting over the life course. Some participants, particularly those whose parents had always been out, felt connected to the LGBTQ community as children. Of these, most maintained those connections over time. However, some increasingly deidentified with the LGBTQ community, which they sometimes attributed to their own heterosexual identification. Others, particularly those whose parents came out later in life, described a lack of connection to the LGBTQ community as children. Of these, most became increasingly identified with the community, which they often attributed to their own and their parents' increasing sense of comfort with their parents' sexuality. Heterosexual participants who sought out LGBTQ-oriented groups in young adulthood sometimes encountered resistance from these groups, whereby participants' reasons for wanting to become involved were not readily apparent or appreciated. Our findings highlight the need for practitioners to understand the complex and often changing role of the LGBTQ community in the lives of young adults with LGBQ parents.
In seeking to adopt, lesbians and gay men may confront various barriers and obstacles. Ideally they have access to a variety of support resources that can help to buffer the negative effects of these barriers. However, lesbians and gay men living in small-metropolitan communities may have limited access to support resources. The current qualitative study examined the perceptions of 37 same-sex couples who were pursuing adoption while living outside of large metropolitan cities, with attention to the barriers these couples encountered during the adoption process, and the resources they drew upon to cope with such challenges. Findings indicated that same sex couples living in small-metropolitan areas confronted several major barriers in the adoption process, such as a lack of geographically accessible gay-friendly adoption agencies. Despite limited access to support, participants showed evidence of notable resourcefulness. For example, participants with limited access to formal support groups sought out informal supports instead.
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