Adopsjon eller offentlig omsorg? Enstudie av befolkningens syn på adopsjon som tiltak i barnevernet

Abstract

Barnevernet kan gjennomføre adopsjoner av fosterbarn uten biologiske foreldres samtykke. Dette representerer en betydelig utøvelse av statlig makt, og norsk rett krever saerlig tungtveiende grunner for å tillate adopsjon. Det er også sjelden slike adopsjoner gjøres i Norge. Artikkelen undersøker hvordan befolkningen vurderer adopsjon som barneverntiltak, og om de er på linje med politikerne og retten i dette spørsmålet. Vi har gjennomført en surveyundersøkelse til et representativt utvalg (n = 1000) av den norske befolkningen om synet på barnevernsadopsjon. Resultatene fra studien viser at befolkningen generelt synes å vaere positive til adopsjon som tiltak i barnevernet, og at politikerne synes å vaere på linje med befolkningen. Synet på verdien av biologiske bånd i befolkningen varierer med politisk orientering, alder, kjønn og inntekt, men majoriteten er av den oppfatning at fordelene med adopsjon trumfer verdien av biologiske bånd. Når det kommer til bruk av tvang, er befolkningen delt i sitt syn. Vi tror våre funn skyldes at et barneperspektiv har fått større plass i det norske samfunnet.

Securing permanence for children in care: A cross‐country analysis of citizen's view on adoption versus foster care

“…Similar reasoning may be relevant for younger people as well. Compared with previous research (Helland et al, 2020; Skivenes & Thoburn, 2017), we do not see a clear pattern in demographic background characteristic except for age.…”

“…The findings display that a large majority of citizens (three out of four) have a clear preference for adoption for the child in the described situation, and there are significant country differences with the English population on top with 86% favouring adoption and Norwegian population on bottom with 63% favouring adoption. This is a finding that corresponds with previous population studies on placement options (Helland et al, 2020; Skivenes & Thoburn, 2017), but it is also a finding that makes us raise a question of an asymmetry between legal and political discourses on adoption from care and populous opinion. It is very clear that presented with a choice between adoption and foster home for a child, most people prefer an adoption, which would sever the legal bonds between a child and birth parents.…”

“…In England and the USA, for example, adoption from care is an explicit policy choice to secure children permanency (Berrick, 2021; Thoburn, 2021), whereas in Ireland and Finland adoption is only rarely used (Burns & McCaughren, 2021; Eriksson & Pösö, 2021). There seems to be an increased attention in on the use of adoption from care, because it is believed to be in the best interest of the child (Berrick et al, in press; Breen et al, 2020; Helland & Skivenes, 2019; Pösö et al, 2021a). The recognized psychologist Prof Palacios, together with an interdisciplinary and international team of researcher in the field, point out ‘… that adoption provides a legitimate model for the alternative care of children if undertaken within a rights and ethics framework that emphasizes children's best interests, as set out in international conventions and national laws’ (Palacios et al, 2019, p. 57).…”

“…Generally, there is little research on populations view on child protection and the child protection system (Helland & Skivenes, 2019; Skivenes & Benbenishty, 2022), and to our knowledge, there are only three studies that examine populations view on placements options that are including adoptions from care. These includes Skivenes and Thoburn's (2017) study of four country populations (England, Finland, Norway and California, USA) mentioned above, Helland et al's (2020) study of the Norwegian populations' attitudes towards adoptions, and Berrick et al (2022) examining the impact of Norwegian and the Californian (USA) populations view rights and if and how this correlates with view on adoptions from care. The findings from all these studies display that most of the populations would suggest adoption, when presented with a specific case scenario followed by two placement alternatives, foster home or adoption.…”

Populations trust in the child protection system: A cross-country comparison of nine high-income jurisdictions

“…This finding may reflect the fact that the child protection system is often under attack from two sidesthose who feel that the government does not intervene enough in the lives of families to protect children and their safety and rights, and conversely those who feel that it is too intrusive and does not support the sanctity of the family and family rights. Perhaps those in the centre have a less critical view, but in other studies politically left-leaning respondents have held favourable attitudes toward child protection systems and children's rights (Helland et al, 2020;Juhasz and Skivenes, 2016).…”