Foible in Law Reveals Domestic Tragedies Nationwide

My last two blogs dealt with the Nebraska Safe Haven law which allowed parents to abandon children without fear of persecution, and with its amendment last weekend which makes the law apply to infants under 30 days only. While researching these blogs, I came across some interesting stories. Families.com readers shared my horror at the idea of what being abandoned by a parent–at an age of full awareness of what is happening–must do to a child’s psyche. However, at some other sites I found people commenting in favor of the Nebraska law, which was formerly the only one that did … Continue reading

When Adoptions Don’t Work Out

No one wants to talk about it—not adoptive parents who know how wonderful adoption can be, not prospective parents who desperately want to believe that love will conquer all, not professionals whose reputations and self-image are based on facilitating the happily-ever-after family. Adoptions that don’t work out are a small percentage of adoptions . However, they can represent ten to twenty percent of older-child adoptions (different agencies define “older child” differently when keeping statistics. I believe it generally refers to children over age seven.) Adoptions of older children are ten to twenty percent more likely to eventually disrupt than adoptions … Continue reading