Counseling Center for the Adoption Family

The Guiding Principles

The Guiding Principles of The National Association of Adoption Counselors

ADOPTION : DEFINITION AND BELIEFS

Definition: Adoption is a means of meeting the developmental needs of a child by legally transferring ongoing parental responsibilities for that child from the birth parents to adoptive parents. The adoption process creates a new kinship network that forever links the two families through the child who is shared by both. This kinship network may also include significant other families, both formal and informal who have been a part of the child's experience.

Basic Beliefs:

A] The purpose of adoption is to provide children permanent, safe families that can meet their ongoing developmental needs and offer them continuity of care when the families into which they were born are unable to do so.

B] Adoption creates its own set of social and emotional conditions independent of the people involved or the other circumstances of their lives.

C] By definition, every child comes into adoption already connected to another family.

D] Adoption is a unique relationship building process that is rooted in loss but one that deepens and grows through union. It is a challenging experience for the children and parents involved, and one that will have life-long impact on the lives of all those involved.

E] Adoption adds a unique dimension of complexity to every developmental phase for the children involved and every life stage for their families.

F] Effective counseling for those in the adoption triad depends upon recognition and understanding of adoption and its impact on their lives.