Adoption is a social, emotional, and legal process through which children who will not be raised by their birth parents become full, permanent, and legal members of another family. As such, adoption involves the rights of the birth parents, the child, and the adoptive parents. Adoption is also a lifelong process. Ethical issues change over time as children who were adopted become adults and may choose to claim their right to know their genetic and historical identity. It is imperative that professionals working in adoption act ethically to ensure the rights of all the involved parties at all points in the process. In this section, find resources to help guide the professional's ethical practice in all phases of adoption.

Access to Adoption Records

Series Title
State Statutes
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 395KB)
Year Published
2020
Discusses laws that provide for access to both nonidentifying and identifying information from an adoption record by adoptive parents and adult adoptees. Generally, the person whose information will be disclosed must consent to the disclosure, and methods of providing consent are discussed. Access to the original birth certificate by the adult adoptee also is addressed.

Child Advocacy: A Guide for Adoption Agencies
Lanter & Robbins (2021) 
National Council for Adoption 
Offers guidelines for adoption professionals and reviews ethical considerations related to working on behalf of children and families. 

Ethical Considerations in Adoption Research: Navigating Confidentiality and Privacy Across the Adoption Kinship Network 
Lo, Grotevant, & McRoy (2019)
Adoption Quarterly, 22(1)
Discusses ethical concerns researchers may face when working with populations impacted by adoption, including privacy and confidentiality concerns. 

Ethics in Adoption
North American Council on Adoptable Children 
Lists key principles that should guide professionals working on all types of adoptions. 

Examining the Intersection of Ethics and Adoption
Koh & Kim (2020)
Adoption Quarterly, 24(1)
Examines how ethics intersects with adoption and summarizes five articles featured in a special edition of Adoption Quarterly that focus on ethical adoption. 

Providing Background Information on Children to Prospective Adoptive Parents

Series Title
Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 340KB)
Year Published
2018
This bulletin on providing child background information is designed to assist child welfare professionals who work with families interested in adoption and/or who are about to receive a referral for an adoption placement. It begins by explaining how complete disclosure benefits the child, the family, and the adoption agency by helping families make a fully informed decision; ensures the child being adopted will have full knowledge of his or her family, medical, and genetic history; helps prospective parents understand what supports and services might be needed; and helps agencies protect against wrongful adoption lawsuits. The types of information that should be provided are then reviewed, including material information on the child’s history, a written disclosure of background and health information, acknowledgement of the limitations of disclosure, and information regarding the child or youth’s potential Tribal heritage. Questions to consider about the child's birth family as well as the child's health, placement history, and educational history are listed. Considerations for international adoption are also discussed. The resource includes additional resources and six references.

Striving Towards Ethical Adoption Practice 
Leksander (2022)
Harvard Law School Petrie-Flom Center, Bill of Health
Shares tenets of ethical adoption practice that are oriented toward the goals of antiracism, child centeredness, and reproductive justice. 

Top Ten Ethical Considerations in Open Adoption Practice
Mason 
American Adoption Congress
Presents a list of 10 principles to follow for an ethical open adoption. 

The Truth About Intercountry Adoption’s Decline
Jacobs & Flatley (2019)
The Imprint
Outlines reasons international adoptions to the United States and all other receiving countries have declined. 

Writing Children’s Narratives
AdoptUSKids
Outlines the specific information that should or should not be included when using photolistings to recruit adoptive families and protect the privacy of children and youth.
 

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