Kristyn Thielbar

In the Spring of 2019, I was in the Research Paper-WRIT (ENG 1114) at Inver Hills Community college. In class, we chose a topic of study to further our understanding of research. I decided to research the Challenges to Consider When Adopting a Child. The three main topics covered throughout this essay contain practical concerns of psychosocial, systemic, and legal challenges before adopting a child into your family.

 

I wanted to develop my understanding of the practical concerns of adopting a child. I went into depth on the seven domains which are family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health. These domains connect to the psychosocial, legal, and systemic challenges within the adoption process. The psychosocial problems that many adopters face include childhood trauma, identity issues, alienation, and spirituality, as well as disabilities that affect a child’s life, such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The systemic challenges of adopting a child describe economic circumstances and laws that may lead to challenges in adoption. Another circumstance where systemic challenges are present is with racial socialization where and how our parents shape our thoughts and feelings on social standings. The legal challenges that occur in the adoption process mention legal acts such as Title IV-E which is part of the Social Security Act which helps with placement for foster care. This act covers some of the costs that are given to children in foster care who meet the requirements of federal eligibility. Another act is The Adoption and Safe Families Act which is designed to prioritize the child’s legal permanence and safety in a foster home. Understanding these domains helps me comprehend the challenges of cohesion of a family that occur within the adoption process. When foster or adopted children build relationships with foster families, it allows them to feel more engaged with others; they have a better sense of trust, and it allows the adopted child to feel good about themselves. When the child has a sense of belonging, they feel more confident in their new family. This research process was gathered through the library databases from Inver Hills Community College, to ensure that the sources were creditable. Throughout the research process, there were criteria that needed to be followed for the final paper, such as the year it was published (within the past 6 years), where the sources were gathered from(had to be from the school database), and having at least 7 sources to avoid biases. This research also helped me find new ways to organize my essays, which taught me to find broader categories of topics (such as Challenges to Adopting a Child) to organize these research papers for college.

 

I will utilize this information throughout my college career and life because I work in childcare, and I hope to adopt a child one day as well. Learning these challenges will help me become aware of the possible downfalls and be supportive of those in foster care. This experience will also help me organize and compose future research papers for 400-level classes at Minnesota State University, Mankato.