The Politics of Adoption: International Perspectives on Law, Policy & Practice

by O'Halloran, Kerry

• ISBN13: 9781402041532
• ISBN10: 1402041535
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-05-31
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The Politics of Adoption identifies and analyses the fundamental social and legal functions of adoption. It is a timely publication as across the world adoption law reform is now giving rise to contentious issues. The change process underway in England & Wales offers an opportunity and a perspective to explore areas of commonality and difference in the experience of other nations. It also provides a window through which to examine the presumption that within and between cultures there exists a common understanding of what is meant by adoption.This book offers a comparative analysis of developments in the law, policy and practice of adoption in England & Wales, the US, Australia and Ireland. It explores the global phenomenon of intercountry adoption. The impact of the European Convention and other international legal instruments are assessed and the resulting implications for the future of adoption are considered. It suggests that the more 'open' experience of adoption in indigenous communities such as the Maori of New Zealand, the Aboriginal people of Australia and the Inuit of Canada challenges some of the basic assumptions underpinning adoption law in modern western nations.Kerry O'Halloran is a lawyer, social worker and academic who has spent most of his professional life engaged with this subject. The Politics of Adoption is the product of rigorous research, validated by academics in the countries concerned and is written in an accessible manner to appeal not only to academics and practitioners but also to the many whose lives have been touched by adoption.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	1	(6)
PART I ADOPTION AND SOCIETY
1. Adoption: Concept, Principles, and Social Construct	7	(32)
2. The Changing Face of Adoption in the United Kingdom	39	(34)
PART II ADOPTION AND THE LAW
3. The Legal Functions of Adoption	73	(28)
4. International Benchmarks for Modern Adoption Law	101	(28)
PART III CONTEMPORARY LAW, POLICY AND PRACTICE
5. The Adoption Process in England & Wales: The Adoption and Children Act 2002	129	(36)
6. The Adoption Process in Ireland	165	(32)
7. The Adoption Process in the US	197	(34)
8. The Adoption Process in Australia	231	(32)
9. Intercountry Adoption	263	(28)
10. Intraculture Adoption	291	(26)
Conclusions	317	(12)
Index	329