Adoption in South Africa: trends and patterns in social work practice

Policy in South Africa supports adoption over fostering or residential care, despite a cultural context where longer-term family fostering may be more socially acceptable and provide as much permanency for children. This article reports findings from a research study on adoption in South Africa conducted in 2009. The research included: secondary data analysis of the South African National Adoption Register to establish trends and patterns of adoption in South Africa between 2004 and 2009; and primary data collection through qualitative interviews with key informants in public and private social welfare services, to explore attitudes, knowledge and experiences of social work practice related to adoption. The quantitative findings report the number of national and international adoptions along with trends and socio-demographic patterns of domestic adoptions. The qualitative findings report on social work practice, systemic barriers and social worker attitudes as obstacles to improved social work practice around national adoptions. Comparisons are made to adoption literature in the US, a country with a similar legislative framework and cultural complexities, but significantly more resources for implementation. Recommendations are offered for social work practice, national data collection and policy implementation efforts to support efforts to increase adoption.