History Of Adoption
For people today, adoption is either used to create or expand a family. In ancient times, adoption was not in the interest of the child. Orphaned or abandoned children often became enslaved. In the Roman Empire, males were often adopted by sonless wealthy familes to provide a male heir. Several Roman emperors, including Marcus Aurelius, were adopted. During the middle ages, adoption declined. The Catholic church began to encourage adoption in the interest of abandoned or orphaned children. They established homes and standard treatment for the children.
Since settlers arrived in the United States, war, poverty, and disease have left countless children orphaned. Informal adoptions, where a family member would take the child, were common until the 1850's. The number of informal adoptions was rising, and legalizing the process was a necessity. In 1851, Massachusetts passed the nation's first adoption statute. Judges were now required to determine if adoptive parents had the consent from the adoptee's parent or guardian to raise the child.
During the civil war, the number of orphans increased. In New York, the city streets were crowded with homeless children. Charles Brace, who founded the Children's Aid Society in 1853, came up with the idea to relocate and find homes for these children. This sparked the idea for the Orphan Trains. From 1859 to 1929, more than 200,000 orphaned chidlren were transported from coastal cities to rural parts of the Midwest. Many people had mixed feelings about this. Some believed it led to indentured servents, while others said it got them off the streets. President Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Movement was aimed at improving children's welfare. In 1909 at the First White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children, Roosevelt spoke of moving away from institutional orphanages and towards putting children in homes.
The demand for babies grew after World War I. This was due to three main reasons: the drop of population due to the war, the influenza epedimic of 1918, and the development of feeding formula. Adoptions were happening everywhere. The new normal was now a closed adoption. In closed adoptions, the identities of the biological parents are kept a secret. During this time, people thought it was for the child's own good. If they didnt know where they came from, they could bond to their new parents better.
The demand for healthy babies began to exceed the number available during the mid 1950's. This was due to improved and more effective contraception, a rise in the abortion rate (following the Roe vs. Wade case in 1973) and an increase in unmarried women keeping their children instead of putting them up for adoption. Open adoptions became more accepted in the 1970's. In an open adoption, the birth and adoptive parents are known. Adoptive parents could now find children through contact with the birth mother, advertisements, lawyers, or professionals specializing in adoption. In 1970, adoption reached its highest point. Since then it has leveled out.
Since settlers arrived in the United States, war, poverty, and disease have left countless children orphaned. Informal adoptions, where a family member would take the child, were common until the 1850's. The number of informal adoptions was rising, and legalizing the process was a necessity. In 1851, Massachusetts passed the nation's first adoption statute. Judges were now required to determine if adoptive parents had the consent from the adoptee's parent or guardian to raise the child.
During the civil war, the number of orphans increased. In New York, the city streets were crowded with homeless children. Charles Brace, who founded the Children's Aid Society in 1853, came up with the idea to relocate and find homes for these children. This sparked the idea for the Orphan Trains. From 1859 to 1929, more than 200,000 orphaned chidlren were transported from coastal cities to rural parts of the Midwest. Many people had mixed feelings about this. Some believed it led to indentured servents, while others said it got them off the streets. President Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Movement was aimed at improving children's welfare. In 1909 at the First White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children, Roosevelt spoke of moving away from institutional orphanages and towards putting children in homes.
The demand for babies grew after World War I. This was due to three main reasons: the drop of population due to the war, the influenza epedimic of 1918, and the development of feeding formula. Adoptions were happening everywhere. The new normal was now a closed adoption. In closed adoptions, the identities of the biological parents are kept a secret. During this time, people thought it was for the child's own good. If they didnt know where they came from, they could bond to their new parents better.
The demand for healthy babies began to exceed the number available during the mid 1950's. This was due to improved and more effective contraception, a rise in the abortion rate (following the Roe vs. Wade case in 1973) and an increase in unmarried women keeping their children instead of putting them up for adoption. Open adoptions became more accepted in the 1970's. In an open adoption, the birth and adoptive parents are known. Adoptive parents could now find children through contact with the birth mother, advertisements, lawyers, or professionals specializing in adoption. In 1970, adoption reached its highest point. Since then it has leveled out.
Timeline of Adoption History
1851-Massachusetts passed the first modern adoption law, recognizing adoption as a social and legal operation based on child welfare rather than adult interests.
1854-New York Children's Aid Society, under the direction of reformer Charles Loring Brace, launched the orphan trains.
1868-Massachusetts Board of State Charities began paying for children to board in private family homes: in 1869, an agent was appointed to visit children in their homes.
1898-The Catholic Home Bureau was organized in New York by the St. Vincent De Paul Society. It was the first Catholic agency to place children in homes rather than orphanages, a model soon followed in other cities.
1910-1930-The first specialized adoption agencies were founded, including the Spence Alumni Society, the Free Synagogue Child Adoption Committee, the Alice Chapin Nursery (all in New York) and the Cradle in Evanston, Illinois.
1911-Dr. Arnold Gesell founded the Juvenile Psycho Clinic (later the Clinic of Child Development) at Yale.
1912-Congress created the U.S. Children's Bureau in the Department of Labor
1917-Minnesota passed first law mandating social investigation of all adoptions (including home studies) and providing for the confidentiality of adoption records.
1935-Social Security Act included provision for aid to dependent children, crippled children's programs, and child welfare, which eventually led to a dramatic expansion of foster care.
1937-1938-First Child Welfare League of America initiative that distinguished minimum standards for permanent (adoptive) and temporary (foster) placements.
1953-1954-Child Welfare League of America conducted nationwide survey of adoption agency practices.
1960-Psychiatrist Marshall Schechter published a study claiming that adopted children were 100 times more likely than their non-adopted counterparts to show up in clinical populations. This sparked a vigorous debate about whether adoptive kinship was itself a risk factor for mental disturbance and illness and inspired a new round of studies into the psychopathology of adoption.
1961- The Immigration and Nationality Act incorporated, for the first time, provisions for the international adoption of foreign-born children by U.S. citizens.
1965- The Los Angeles County Bureau of Adoptions launched the first organized program of single parent adoptions in order to locate homes for hard-to-place children with special needs.
1969-President Nixon created the Office of Child Development to coordinate and administer Head Start and U.S. Children's Bureau functions.
1970-Adoptions reached their century-long statistical peak at approximately 175,000 per year. Almost 80 percent of the total were arranged by agencies.
1971-Florence Fisher founded the Adoptees Liberty Movement Association “to abolish the existing practice of sealed records” and advocate for “opening of records to any adopted person over eighteen who wants, for any reason, to see them.”
1976-Concerned United Birthparents founded
1996-Bastard Nation founded. Its mission statement promoted “the full human and civil rights of adult adoptees,” including access to sealed records.
1997-Adoption and Safe Families Act stressed permanency planning for children and represented a policy
shift away from family reunification and toward adoption.
1854-New York Children's Aid Society, under the direction of reformer Charles Loring Brace, launched the orphan trains.
1868-Massachusetts Board of State Charities began paying for children to board in private family homes: in 1869, an agent was appointed to visit children in their homes.
1898-The Catholic Home Bureau was organized in New York by the St. Vincent De Paul Society. It was the first Catholic agency to place children in homes rather than orphanages, a model soon followed in other cities.
1910-1930-The first specialized adoption agencies were founded, including the Spence Alumni Society, the Free Synagogue Child Adoption Committee, the Alice Chapin Nursery (all in New York) and the Cradle in Evanston, Illinois.
1911-Dr. Arnold Gesell founded the Juvenile Psycho Clinic (later the Clinic of Child Development) at Yale.
1912-Congress created the U.S. Children's Bureau in the Department of Labor
1917-Minnesota passed first law mandating social investigation of all adoptions (including home studies) and providing for the confidentiality of adoption records.
1935-Social Security Act included provision for aid to dependent children, crippled children's programs, and child welfare, which eventually led to a dramatic expansion of foster care.
1937-1938-First Child Welfare League of America initiative that distinguished minimum standards for permanent (adoptive) and temporary (foster) placements.
1953-1954-Child Welfare League of America conducted nationwide survey of adoption agency practices.
1960-Psychiatrist Marshall Schechter published a study claiming that adopted children were 100 times more likely than their non-adopted counterparts to show up in clinical populations. This sparked a vigorous debate about whether adoptive kinship was itself a risk factor for mental disturbance and illness and inspired a new round of studies into the psychopathology of adoption.
1961- The Immigration and Nationality Act incorporated, for the first time, provisions for the international adoption of foreign-born children by U.S. citizens.
1965- The Los Angeles County Bureau of Adoptions launched the first organized program of single parent adoptions in order to locate homes for hard-to-place children with special needs.
1969-President Nixon created the Office of Child Development to coordinate and administer Head Start and U.S. Children's Bureau functions.
1970-Adoptions reached their century-long statistical peak at approximately 175,000 per year. Almost 80 percent of the total were arranged by agencies.
1971-Florence Fisher founded the Adoptees Liberty Movement Association “to abolish the existing practice of sealed records” and advocate for “opening of records to any adopted person over eighteen who wants, for any reason, to see them.”
1976-Concerned United Birthparents founded
1996-Bastard Nation founded. Its mission statement promoted “the full human and civil rights of adult adoptees,” including access to sealed records.
1997-Adoption and Safe Families Act stressed permanency planning for children and represented a policy
shift away from family reunification and toward adoption.