Care and Commitment: Foster Parent Adoption Decisions

William Meezan · Joan F. Shireman

nov 1985 · State University of New York Press

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Care and Commitment is the first book to address the growing issue of foster parent adoption. Meezan and Shireman go directly to the source to find out why some foster parents, when given the opportunity, choose to adopt the children in their care while others do not. Differences between the two sets of families are explored in terms of family characteristics, child characteristics, family-child interaction, and child welfare agency service.

The culmination of a two-year study, this book presents the perspectives of both families who have made the decision and their social workers. It affords also the first look at foster parent adoptions that have failed, highlighting the importance of agency service in such adoptions. The book's timely and original findings are crucial for child welfare practitioners and all those interested in permanency planning for children and in the processes of family formation.

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William Meezan is Associate Professor at the Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago. Joan F. Shireman is Professor of Social Work, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.

Both have extensive experience in child welfare services. Dr. Meezan's particular expertise is policy analysis, and Dr. Shireman has a background in direct services to children and families. These two perspectives are uniquely synthesized in this book.