Australian Journal of Adoption, Vol 1, No 2 (2009)

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Perspectives on local and intercountry adoption: Canada, US and Australia A report of an adoption seminar and roundtable.

Amy Pollard

Abstract


A report by Amy Pollard on the adoption seminar and roundtable, 'Perspectives on local and intercountry adoption: Canada, US and Australia', jointly convened by the Australian Catholic University and the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University on 12th June 2009.

The seminar featured two presentations from special guest and the lead speaker for the event Karen Balcom (McMaster University in Canada): ‘The U.S. Enacts the Hague Convention on Protection of Children in Respect of Intercountry Adoption: One Year In’ and ‘Research directions in the history of adoption to/from/within Canada and the United States’.

Denise Cuthbert (Monash University) ‘How can adoption be so bad for Australian children, yet so good for children born overseas?’

Shurlee Swain (Australian Catholic University), ‘What shall we do with ‘poor little Chinky’? Race and adoption in Australia between the wars’.

During the roundtable practitioners and policy workers indicated they would like to see the following types of research in the future about adoption: a continuation of adoptee memoir literature, focusing particularly on the journey of discovery; a consideration of the support systems needed to help adoptees and adoptee parents; individual narratives highlighting the lifelong nature of adoption; research focused on birth fathers and more multidisciplinary research to inform future policy and practice.

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