2SLGBTQA+ Families and Parenting

In 2000, changes to the Ontario Child and Family Services Act made it possible for lesbian and gay couples to jointly adopt a child. This research investigated the extent to which Ontario adoption agencies and licensees are supportive of adoption by sexual and gender minority people. Results indicate that while overall, there is support for sexual and gender minority adopters in Ontario, disparities exist on the basis of agency type (public vs. private vs. international; religious/cultural affiliation) and location (urban centres vs. smaller communities), as well as the applicants’ identity (lesbian/gay vs. other minority identities). Policy and practice implications of these findings are be discussed.

In 2000, the Ontario Child and Family Services Act was amended to permit same-sex adoption. The goal of our research was to examine whether this legislative change has translated into increased access to adoption for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ2S+) people. Forty-three LGBTQ2S+ individuals/couples who had either adopted successfully or were approved for adoption since 2000 completed a narrative interview. In this paper, we will draw from participants’ stories of adoption to illustrate the current strengths and limitations of the adoption system in Ontario, Canada, and to offer recommendations for further improvements to facilitate access for LGBTQ2S+ people.

Bisexuality and disclosure in the adoption system.

Increasing numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, and queer (LGBTQ2S+) people are choosing to parent through adoption. The minimal research available, focused particularly on lesbian and gay adoptive parents, suggests they face significant barriers to adoption (including being held to a higher standard than heterosexual adoptive parents), homophobia from child welfare professionals, and limited social support post-adoption. These issues have significant implications for the mental health of LGBTQ2S+ adoptive parents, but have not been researched to date. Seven interviews were conducted with Canadian lesbian and queer adoptive parents to examine the mental health impact of adoption and identify barriers to accessing health and social services. Adoptive parents described multiple challenges related to the adoption process and becoming a parent. Further research is needed to identify the long-term mental health effects of the stress of the adoption process on lesbian and queer parents, and their need for support services.

Substantial research has been conducted on new parents’ adjustment during the transition to biological parenthood. However, very little is known about adjustment experiences during the transition to adoptive parenthood. Such information could assist in creating support systems for adoptive parents similar to those that currently exist for biological parents. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine individual and relational adjustment outcomes during the transition to adoptive parenthood, limited to those studies that examined the immediate post-adoption period through 3 years post-placement. By searching six databases using a variety of keywords including post-adoption, adapt, and parent, 11 research studies were identified that reported on parental mental health, physical health, and intimate partner relationship satisfaction in the immediate post-adoption period. The studies reviewed appear to indicate that post-adoption depression is relatively common, although perhaps less so than depression among biological parents. It is difficult to draw conclusions about physical health and relationship satisfaction as only one study directly assessing each outcome was located. Findings suggest that additional research is warranted to provide a clearer characterization of physical and psychological adaptation to parenthood among adoptive parents.

Research investigating the practices of and barriers to provision of post-placement adoption support is sparse and has primarily focused on the perspectives of adoptive parents. This pilot study aims to contribute to this limited literature by investigating current practices and barriers from the perspective of adoption professionals. Eighteen adoption workers from two public adoption agencies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, participated in two focus groups to discuss the post-placement supports they provide and/or utilise, as well as any barriers faced during support provision. Data were analysed using a descriptive phenomenological approach. Workers identified several key challenges to providing post-placement support, including barriers both internal (systemic) and external to the adoption system. The results suggest that further research in this area is warranted, ultimately to assist in the development of strategies to overcome barriers faced by adoption workers as they attempt to provide post-placement support.

Research indicates that the transition to adoptive parenthood can be challenging for many adoptive parents, but that the provision of post-placement services may mitigate these challenges. However, little is known about the specific post-placement service needs of adoptive parents during this transition. This paper describes a pilot project from Ontario, Canada which sought to explore the support needs of adoptive parents in the post-placement period. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine newly placed adoptive parents. Eight of the nine participants were married; two had adopted internationally, five had adopted through the public system in Ontario and the remaining participant utilized private adoption. Through our analysis of the data, we identified two meta-themes: a) challenges and b) facilitators accompanying the transition to adoptive parenthood. Grounded theory methodology was used to develop these themes into a conceptual framework describing the transition to adoptive parenthood. This framework posits that each parent negotiates a particular set of challenges and facilitators associated with their specific adoption experience. In future, this framework can become a tool to assist adoptive parents and practitioners to proactively identify and address potential challenges during the transition to parenthood.