The purpose of this study was to look at the factors that lead to disruption in the adoption of special needs children. Families that adopt special needs children may or may not be aware that they need post adoption services and may be reluctant to ask for them even when they are experiencing difficulty.

A questionaire was developed and given to post-adoptive parents with the results to be used as a guide to examine what services need to be provided in the pre-adoptive process for parents who are adopting children that are coming from foster homes. The results of the study could be utilized by adoption social workers as a means of targeting typical areas of need or resources for families during the adoption process.

Given the general challenges associated with finding alternative care for an increasing number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Zimbabwe, adoption appears to be an appropriate option. In practice adoption appears is one of the alternative forms of child care and ye it t has not received the necessary research attention. This study was aimed at developing an in-depth understanding of the challenges experienced by adoptive parents in the adoption of OVCs in Zimbabwe and the support system available for them in managing such challenges using the ecological systems theory. A qualitative research approach which was designed from exploratory, descriptive and contextual research designs to understand the challenges experienced by adoptive parents in the adoption of OVCs in Zimbabwe was adopted, with purposive and snowball sampling techniques used to identify and recruit a sample of eight parents who have undergone the process of adoption. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews guided by an interview guide and analysed according to Braun and Clarke’s six steps of qualitative data analysis. Trustworthiness of this study was evaluated according to its credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability as proposed by Guba and Lincoln while relevant ethical principles were upheld throughout the entire duration of the study. The findings revealed a variety of socio-demographic features of adoptive parents as well as several challenges and experiences which are presented in a form of 10 themes and 13 subthemes in this report. Conclusions are drawn based on the research process and the research findings from which the recommendations are proposed for research, practice and training and education. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Work)

An empirical study was undertaken to conduct applied, exploratory, descriptive research to establish challenges specific to cross racial adoption in Gauteng, South Africa. The objectives of the overall aim were: * to conduct empirical work and to collect data through the use of focus groups with parents who have cross racially adopted, in order to explore challenges specific to cross racial adoptions * to conduct analysis in order to describe the findings of the empirical data * to conduct a thorough literature review on available literature pertaining to cross racial adoption * to draw conclusions and make recommendations on the completion of the afore mentioned objectives The empirical study demonstrated that: * Parents who cross racially adopt do experience challenges and there are challenges specific to cross racial adoption * A number of the challenges experienced by parents who cross racially adopt are directly linked to a lack of support throughout the adoption process * A need exists for a comprehensive model of support for parents who cross racially adopt The empirical study was successful in identifying, exploring and describing challenges experienced by parents who cross racially adopt in Gauteng. / Social work / M.Diac.(Play Therapy)

An empirical study was undertaken to conduct applied, exploratory, descriptive research to establish challenges specific to cross racial adoption in Gauteng, South Africa. The objectives of the overall aim were: * to conduct empirical work and to collect data through the use of focus groups with parents who have cross racially adopted, in order to explore challenges specific to cross racial adoptions * to conduct analysis in order to describe the findings of the empirical data * to conduct a thorough literature review on available literature pertaining to cross racial adoption * to draw conclusions and make recommendations on the completion of the afore mentioned objectives The empirical study demonstrated that: * Parents who cross racially adopt do experience challenges and there are challenges specific to cross racial adoption * A number of the challenges experienced by parents who cross racially adopt are directly linked to a lack of support throughout the adoption process * A need exists for a comprehensive model of support for parents who cross racially adopt The empirical study was successful in identifying, exploring and describing challenges experienced by parents who cross racially adopt in Gauteng. / Social work / M.Diac.(Play Therapy)