Intercountry adoption in the UK has historically been a small-scale practice, 'tolerated' at best, virtually unregulated and arguably privatized in nature. With the primary purpose of enabling the ratification of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 also aimed to place ICA on equal footing with domestic adoption by applying to it the adoption procedures and services prescribed by the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and its subsequent regulations. However, in the context of an over-burdened national care system, discriminating policy provisions, struggles between ideological support and opposition and a well- established national ICA support community, it appears that the 'two-tier system' has not yet been eliminated, particularly with regard to post-placement support. While adoption legislation has further embedded the provision of support services into the local authority adoption service, in recognition of the challenges of reparative or therapeutic parenting, it is unclear to what extent New Labour's 'third way' family policy ideals of prevention and early intervention include the outcomes of children adopted from overseas. Thus, this study aimed to determine the status of ICA within this policy framework, with consideration of the appropriateness and availability of services for intercountry adoptive families, factors which impact parents' service use and preferences a.nd perceptions of claims and entitlements to services among both families and service providers. As research into adoption support for intercountry adoptive families in the UK, both in the past and present, is limited, this thesis offers much-needed insight into the implications of adoption policy for ICA.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:589953 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Hoffman, Katie Rachelle |
| Publisher | University of Kent |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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