REVIEW OF PURPOSE, SCOPE, AND FUNCTION

At its meeting May 8-9, 1969, the Committee on Adoptions accepted the directive of the Executive Board which created the new Council on Child Health, consisting of the Committees on Adoptions, Infant and Preschool Child, Children with Handicaps, School Health, and Youth. The Committee on Adoptions unanimously agreed that it is important it retain its autonomy and continue to function as a standing committee of the Academy. The Committee concurs that the following facts justify this conclusion: 1. Out-of-wedlock births are currently showing a relative and absolute increase. Since these births are a major source of babies for adoption and until this situation is reversed, adoption will remain a major pediatric consideration. 2. As the social structure of our nation undergoes evolutionary change, new questions arise in adoptions, such as the value of placement of interracial children in Caucasian homes. The Committee must help the Academy resolve these questions. 3. Adoption procedures are undergoing major changes and improvements, catalyzed by the work of the Committee in conjunction with adoption agencies. 4. Guides for the pediatric care of the adopted child will he established by the Committee. 5. Important areas of research in adoptions are not concluded, such as the etiology and incidence of severe emotional problems in adopted children. 6. Much of the work of the Committee is concerned with behavioral pediatrics-one of the most important areas in the future of pediatrics. 7. One function of the Committee should be the continuing revision of the manual on adoptions. 8. The Committee should address itself to the many issues that are involved in abortions, family life education, and contraception.