Adoption Services Use, Helpfulness, and Need: A Comparison of Public and Private Agency and Independent Adoptive Families

This study examined ways in which adoption service providers can better meet the needs of adoptive families. Eight years after their adoptions, 873 adoptive parents were asked about their utilization of postadoption services, the helpfulness of those services, and their recommendations for both pre- and postadoption services. Data were compared by self-reported adoption type, ie, public agency (n = 368), private agency (n = 168), and independent (n = 337). Findings reveal that less than 30% of adoptive families used most postadoption services. Considerably higher percentages of adopters read books and articles on adoption and attended lectures or seminars on adoption. Most adopters who received services found them helpful. Adopters of all types expressed a strong desire for material information about their adopted child's background and history, as well as for ongoing informational resources to help them in raising their children. However, compared with private agency and independent adopters, public agency adopters were more likely to want clinical services, eg, support groups for adoptive parents and adopted children, child counseling, and family therapy. Program and practice implications are offered, as are suggestions for future research. 7 Tables, 21 References. (Original abstract - amended)