‘I was putting her first’: Birth parents' experiences of ‘consent’ to adoption from care in England

Lewis, Shirley

doi:10.1111/cfs.12901

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Parents whose children were forcibly removed may face challenges related to stigma and trauma from involvement with child welfare and legal systems (Otterlei & Engebretsen, 2022;Roberts, 2022). Many birth parents report feeling pressured, misled, insufficiently informed, or rushed through the adoption process (Claridge, 2014;Lewis, 2022). These birth parent experiences demonstrate a need for robust, long-term psychological support and adoption-competent healthcare from clinicians that empowers birth parents to make informed decisions about relinquishment and navigate the process, including any subsequent grief or trauma (Claridge, 2014;Foli et al, 2013;Lewis, 2022;MacDougall, 1986).…”

Section: Birth Parentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Adoption as a Reproductive Justice Issue

Wexler

Cai

McKee

et al. 2023

Psychology of Women Quarterly

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Adoption is frequently invoked as a universal social good—an uncomplicated win for adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents alike—that obviates the need for abortion. As antiabortionists weaponize adoption to attack reproductive rights, psychologists must recognize adoption as a key reproductive justice issue with significant, lifelong physical and psychological impacts, especially on adopted people and birth parents. Recognizing critical adoption studies as an application of a reproductive justice framework, we argue that psychologists must understand how adoption is both sustained by and reinforces structural inequality and global reproductive injustice. In a post- Roe reality, clinicians and researchers must critically examine adoption histories and myths in order to address the needs of the adoption triad. As an interdisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians in psychology; medicine; genetic counseling; and women's, gender, sexuality, and Asian American studies, we examine adoption's ties to settler colonialism, racism, classism, and imperialism and interrogate harmful dominant narratives about adoption. We then summarize clinical considerations for working with members of the adoption triad, future directions for research on adoption, and recommendations for both clinicians and researchers to advance adoption competence in the face of current attacks on reproductive rights in the United States.

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Section: Birth Parentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Adoption as a Reproductive Justice Issue

Wexler

Cai

McKee

et al. 2023

Psychology of Women Quarterly

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“…Forskning har videre vist at foreldre kan streve med å forstå hva som skjer i omsorgsovertakelsessaker (Falch Eriksen, 2016;Lewis, 2022;Syrstad & Slettebø, 2019). Foreldre kan oppleve kriser (Egelund & Hestbaek, 2003;Höjer, 2007;Falch -Eriksen, 2016;McKegney, 2003;Nixon et al, 2013) og behøve krisehjelp (Slettebø, 2009;Zorning Andersen & Gjesing, 2016).…”

Section: Foreldres Rettigheter Ved Omsorgsovertakelserunclassified

“…Barnevernsarbeiderne vektla betydningen av å begrunne og informere, men de vedgikk samtidig at dette kunne vaere anstrengende og de var usikre på hvor mye foreldre oppfattet og forstod (Otterlei & Studsrød, 2021, s. 4). Funnene samsvarer med tidligere forskning (Falch Eriksen, 2016;Lewis, 2022;Syrstad & Slettebø, 2019) som har påpekt at det kan vaere vanskelig for foreldre å forstå hva som skjer i omsorgsovertakelsessaker.…”

Section: Emosjonelle Og Relasjonelle Aspekter Synes å True Foreldres ...unclassified

Perspektiver på omsorgsovertakelser: En kvalitativ studie av foreldre og barnevernsarbeideres erfaringer med omsorgsovertakelsesprosesser med tilknyttede problemområder

Otterlei¹

2022

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Care orders are invasive measures with major implications for family life. This thesis is part of the social science research field and explores different perspectives related to care order processes. The thesis focuses on the process that arises when child welfare workers inform parents of the decision to initiate a care order process with the County Social Welfare Boards (County Boards). The overall objective of the thesis is to explore how the care order process can be experienced by both parents and child welfare workers, highlighting problem areas reflected in their stories. To answer the thesis objective, empirical knowledge was obtained from both parents and child welfare workers through semi-structured research interviews. The thesis is based on empirical data from 12 child welfare workers and 13 parents who all had experience from care order meetings. In these meetings parents are made aware of the child welfare service's decision to initiate a care order to the County Boards. The thesis consists of three articles. Article 1 explored how parents experienced receiving the notification of a care order initiative from child welfare workers and how it affected them in the care order meetings (the meeting where they were informed) and in the waiting time leading up to the County Boards’ consideration. Article 2 explored how child welfare workers experienced conveying bad news about a care order initiative to parents and how they coped with the task. Article 3 investigated whether parents felt positioned by child welfare workers in the care takeover process, whether they renegotiated these positions and whether they understood the grief as legitimate or illegitimate in light of the parental failure and society’s expectations of parenthood. The findings from Article 1 showed that parents experienced the message of a care order initiative as very unexpected, with the potential to put parents in crisis. Emotional responses also seemed to impair parents’ ability to receive information and participate in the cases. In addition, findings indicates that parents (and children) may be in dire need of follow-up after the care order meeting and during the waiting period leading up to County Boards’ assessment of the case. Article 2 showed that child welfare workers experienced breaking bad news of a care order process as highly demanding, challenging their personal and professional capacity. In addition, the findings revealed that caseworkers could exercise coping strategies that possibly compromise parents’ right to information and participation. The findings from article 3 showed that parents experienced being positioned in failing, harmful and almost dehumanised parenting positions by child welfare workers. The parents used different strategies in their attempts to renegotiate these positions, which we interpreted as a form of valuation work. Nevertheless, the analysis revealed that parents understood the loss of daily care as illegitimate grief that lacked societal recognition. The articles’ findings brought together several problem areas related to the care order process. The findings suggested that the care order process may threaten parents’ legal rights. In addition, the findings indicated that child welfare workers may struggle to manage the complexity of care order processes. Moreover, care order processes might lead to unintended stigmatisation of the parents. The thesis’s findings contribute important insight by providing empirical knowledge about how parents and child welfare workers may experience care order processes. Furthermore, by highlighting implications, the thesis may also impact practice, policy and education.

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