'That was then....but this is now' the divergent histories and development of intercountry adoption and domestic child adoption

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Cuthbert, Denise, Spark, Ceridwen and Murphy, Kate Tamarind (2010) 'That was then....but this is now' the divergent histories and development of intercountry adoption and domestic child adoption. Journal of Historical Sociology, 23 (3). pp. 427-452. ISSN 0952-1909

Abstract

This paper brings historical perspectives to bear on the ambivalent and contradictory position of adoption in Australian public policy. It examines the divergent histories of Australian domestic and intercountry adoption (ICA) since the mid-1970s and the impact of these histories on adoption policy in Australia. It identifies tendencies in contemporary ICA to repeat elements of pre-reform era domestic adoption. In particular, it is argued that the resistance of ICA to the move to openness in local adoption has been an unacknowledged driver of ICA for many Australian families. We offer corrective readings of the rise of ICA in relation to domestic adoption and conclude by offering alternatives for adoption policy which better align the two kinds of adoption, focusing on the needs of children, as distinct from the desires of adults.

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Additional Information

Online ISSN: 1467-6443

Item type Article
URI https://vuir.vu.edu.au/id/eprint/7089
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-6443.2010.01376.x
Official URL http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-...
Subjects Historical > FOR Classification > 1605 Policy and Administration
Historical > FOR Classification > 1608 Sociology
Historical > FOR Classification > 1801 Law
Historical > Faculty/School/Research Centre/Department > School of Social Sciences and Psychology
Historical > SEO Classification > 970121 Expanding Knowledge in History and Archaeology
Keywords ResPubID21271. domestic adoption, intercountry adoption, Australian public policy, adoption policy, Australia
Citations in Scopus 8 - View on Scopus
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