"A piece of you is gone": foster parent experiences of pre-adoptive placement disruption

Abstract

Awaiting adoption is a social problem in America that affects thousands of children as well as families, agencies, communities, the mission of the child welfare system, and society at large. In 2014, over 101,000 children were awaiting adoption in the United States. On average, waiting children have been in out-of-home care for approximately three years. One phenomenon that plagues waiting children and their opportunity for adoption is the disruption of their pre-adoptive placements or the change in a waiting child's placement prior to a finalized adoption. Despite unique placement and permanency needs, waiting children and their foster parents are seldom recognized as unique cohorts. Thus, little is known about the experience of pre-adoptive placement disruption. The status of waiting children, foster care and adoption history and policy, and literature and theory relevant to pre-adoptive placement disruption are discussed. In-depth, semi-structured interviews and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis were used to investigate the research question: What is the experience of pre-adoptive placement disruption for pre-adoptive foster parents? Eleven foster parents participated in nine interviews. Participants were licensed through public or private child welfare agencies. The majority of participants were married, Caucasian, and had adopted from foster care. Important findings emerged from the experiences participants shared. Pre-adoptive placement disruption is characterized by "compound loss" including both the loss of the child and the loss of purpose. Participants experienced the disruption like a broken social contract and attributed the disruption to the child welfare system or the children's perpetrators. Disruption experiences resulted in lasting effects including changes to the profiles of the children participants would foster or adopt in the future, pre-adoptive status, and advocacy efforts. Resolve emerged as a critical factor for participants to approach foster and pre-adoptive care in new ways. Vulnerability, isolation, and ambivalence emerged as essential elements of living through disruption. Findings suggest the importance of assessing pre-adoptive parents' motivations and expectations, validating their experiences, acknowledging their losses, and practicing with transparency and competency. Implications exist for child welfare and social work practice and education. Additional research is needed regarding barriers and supports of adoption from foster care.