The Internet is having a profound influence on adoption - changing practices and policies, offering new opportunities and resources, and raising ethical, legal and procedural issues... according to a report from the non-profit Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
Among the changes the report cites:
- Increased marketing and sales of adoption-related services, often dubious practices
- Greater ease and an increased chance of finding birth relatives, which may end "closed adoptions."
- A growing number of young adoptees forming relationships with birth relatives, sometimes without the adoptive parents' knowledge and usually without preparation.
About 135,000 children are adopted every year, says the institute's Adam Pertman: 68% are adopted from foster care or child welfare; 17% are infants adopted domestically; and 15% are international.
Helping Agencies With High Performance Information Tools...
With regards to available resources - new software tools and systems, such as FAMCare help agencies, managers and caseworkers correlate, analyze and understand the mountain of data related to children and parents. In addition - new workflow solutions such as Pathways... are streamlining the entire adoption process and record keeping - a sometimes arduous and time consuming endeavor, making the lives of caseworkers and the clients they serve... easier - as it relates to adoption.
