Recognising resilience factors among people living with HIV seeking to adopt

Abstract

<jats:p> This article discusses the challenges faced by people in the adoption process who are living with HIV, looking especially at resilience factors. Resilience is framed in the context of HIV-related infertility that motivates people living with HIV to apply for adoption. The article draws on psychological definitions of resilience and presents four factors that promote and sustain it: individual strengths, good health management, social network and wider recognition in society. This is illustrated by a case study. The study emphasises that ‘the prospective adoptive child’ should always be at the centre of any assessments and encourages social workers to consider sensitive and inclusive practice when assessing prospective adopters living with HIV. </jats:p>

BRAC2eD model: An approach to de-bias decision-making in adoption assessments with prospective adopters from minoritised ethnic groups

“…The BRAC 2 eD model is a new framework proposed following some reflections on this author’s own work around anti-racist practice, HIV and adoption, direct practice and social work education (Cane, 2020; Cane, Vydellingum and Knibb, 2018). It is presented as a tool that can be used to support social workers’ decision-making processes when working with prospective adopters from minoritised ethnic backgrounds.…”

“…Other narratives suggest that the goalposts on social workers' decisions on what is expected of prospective adopters of ethnic minority backgrounds constantly change, notably through endless requests to meet certain requirements, but when those are met, new requirements not previously highlighted are presented making the process a glass ceiling fraught with difficulties. Similarly, there are often misgivings among some social workers and potential adoptees around the types of occupations of the prospective adopters or health issues that are often misunderstood (e.g., HIV), intersectional identities and misunderstanding around resilience and capabilities, without looking into specific cultural contexts (Cane, 2020). Judgements around bedroom space, the number of children, average income, financial ability and language barriers have been unstandardised and subjective, leading to people from minoritised ethnic groups feeling harshly treated, disrespected, suspicious of the decisions made and lacking trust that their norms, values and cultural beliefs will be respected (Chowdhury, 2021; Savage, 2011).…”