New research finds need for legal provision for ‘open adoption’ agreements

Study Recommends Better Links between Crisis Pregnancy and Adoption Counselling Services

Dublin 28th June 2005

New research on domestic adoption has found that legal provisions need to be put in place to secure open adoption agreements within adoption orders. The research, some of the most comprehensive ever into domestic adoption in Ireland, has also found that there should be better links between crisis pregnancy counselling and adoption counselling.

The research, commissioned by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and supported by the Adoption Board, was carried out to assess the level of service provision in domestic adoption and crisis pregnancy counselling services in Ireland. The work was carried out by Drs Valerie Richardson and Hilda Loughran of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at UCD.

The research involved women who had placed their babies for adoption in 2002, as well as a review of current policy and practices in adoption in Ireland. The report makes 14 key findings, as well as key policy and practice recommendations.

The report found that adoption as a solution to crisis pregnancy is now rarely the choice of single mothers and the number of babies available for traditional non-family adoption has fallen dramatically. In 2002, out of a total of 266 adoption orders made by the Adoption Board, 76 were non-family adoptions of Irish children placed by registered adoption agencies.

The availability of open adoptions where the birth parents have some continuing contact with the child was an important consideration of the birth mothers who participated in the research. The current arrangements in Ireland for open adoption are voluntary and unenforceable.

The study supports calls for legal provisions to be put in place to ensure that where a birth parent wishes to have continued contact with his or her child after the making of an adoption order, such contact should be made a condition of the adoption order and be legally enforceable.

The research also found that better links between crisis pregnancy counselling and adoption counselling are necessary to provide women with a crisis pregnancy and considering adoption with a more co-ordinated service.

The study recommends that all professionals who are likely to encounter women in crisis pregnancy should be in a position to give accurate information on current adoption policy. The role of GPs was identified as being particularly important.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Ms Olive Braiden, Chair of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency said: “The report points the way forward on many fronts. The Agency particularly notes the recommendation that priority needs to be given to the development of further easy-access/user-friendly services for crisis pregnancy information. The Agency already has a very strong track record in developing technology based services and we will further look at web-based information sites and text to meet the needs of those seeking information on counselling services. The Agency is also working to develop better links between frontline professionals, such as GPs and social workers in maternity hospitals, and adoption counselling services.
We are developing a manual of good practice for crisis pregnancy counsellors and a number of other resources for community and healthcare professionals, such as teachers and youth workers, giving them basic information on crisis pregnancy and agencies who can provide counselling and support.”

The Crisis Pregnancy Agency is mandated to prepare strategies to provide for a reduction in the number of women with a crisis pregnancy who opt for abortion by offering services and supports which make other options, such as adoption or parenting the baby more attractive. A previous study by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency found that 28% of all women who have been pregnant have experienced a crisis pregnancy.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Mr John Collins, Chief Executive Officer of the Adoption Board said: “The Adoption Board welcomes the publication of this valuable research into the provision of domestic adoption services in the context of crisis pregnancy. It highlights the need to ensure effective links between the crisis pregnancy counselling service funded by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and the adoption services provided by the Health Service Executive and the Board, to ensure a co-ordinated service for those women who choose adoption in a crisis pregnancy. The findings of the research will be incorporated into the Domestic Adoption Framework currently being developed by the Adoption Board. This framework is aimed at ensuring a consistent and appropriate service for all those involved in domestic adoption, both step-parent adoption and ‘stranger’ adoption.”

The Minister for Children, Mr Brian Lenihan TD said: “I would like to commend Drs Richardson and Loughran on their research. Their findings show that there is work to be done in this area. My officials and I will give full consideration to the recommendations they have outlined in the report, and I look forward to working with the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and the Adoption Board on the further development of policy in this area.”

Ends

The full text of the report is available at www.crisispregnancy.ie or www.adoptionboard.ie

For queries, contact Caroline Spillane, Programmes and Communications Manager, Crisis Pregnancy Agency, Tel 01 8146292/087 2644819.