Adoptive parents put through wringer- new report finds

The first ever comprehensive report on people's experiences of the adoption process in Victoria reveals that many found the current system to be inflexible and focused almost exclusively on administrative tasks and bureaucratic formalities. For many prospective applicants, the mismatch between their emotional experiences and the bureaucratic processes caused tension and anxiety the report found. The report "A long gestation: the adoption process in Victoria" was launched this week by Giuliana Fuscaldo, a lecturer in health ethics at the University of Melbourne and Sarah Russell from Research Matters. The research investigated the first-hand experiences of people applying to adopt a child in Victoria either through local or overseas adoption. While there has been substantial research on the history of adoption and the outcomes for adopted children, the study is one of the first to report on the experience of adoption from the perspective of the people who have applied to adopt. People apply to adopt a child for many different reasons - for some people adoption is the end of a long process of trying to make a family. For others adoption is a first choice.