Adoptions

Adoption Counseling Service

The objective of the adoption counseling service is to support children and protect their best interests, to help and support biological parents considering adoption by discussing available options with them, establish the suitability of and provide training to potential adoptive parents and when needed , to offer post-adoption support to the parties.

Adoption, ie the placement of a child for adoption is a legal binding measure. It results in the rights and duties of parents being transferred to the adoptive parents. An adopted child has the same legal entitlements within an adoptive family as a biological child. An adoption is final and cannot be reversed. The relevant legal provisions are the laws relating to adoption (153/1985) and (508/1997) in addition to international conventions.

Both those considering giving a child up for adoption as well as prospective adopters are required to undergo adoption counseling prior to an adoption taking place. This also applies to relative adoptions and counseling should include all parties within the adoption process.

The purpose of the Adoption Counseling Service is

• To support children and to protect their best interests
• To help and support the decision making process of biological parents by discussing the available alternatives
• To establish the suitability of and provide training to prospective adopters
• Where needed to support the parties after adoption has taken place

What is the Adoption Counseling Service?

The adoption of a child requires that parties undergo adoption counseling, available either at the social services department of the local municipality or in the regional office of Save the Children Finland. Clients should contact their local administration in order to establish how the adoption process is organised locally.

At the beginning of the process the suitability of prospective adopters to become adoptive parents is assessed (including factors such as age, socio-economic situation and health). The preparedness of a prospective adopter to become the parent of an adopted child is also assessed. Areas of discussion are the applicant’s motivation, personal history, current life circumstances, relationship status, social networks, past losses, issues of parenting, the individuality of the adoptive child and other relevant issues. The preparatory course also deals with the applicant’s vision of both the adopted child and of becoming an adoptive parent. The rights of the adoptive child to know about his or her background information are also discussed together with the significance of these issues in relation to the development of the child’s sense of identity.

Each adoption process and its duration are individual. The domestic adoption process lasts from 3-5 years as a result of the limited demand for adoptive families. Intercountry adoptions take an average of 2 - 4 years. At the end of the counseling process in relation to intercountry adoptions, the social worker writes an assessment report giving details about the applicants, their life circumstances, background, motivation, and their suitability and qualifications to be parents.

Once a child is received into a family the process moves into the follow-up phase. We support both the adopted child and the adoptive parents during the transitional phase.

Domestic  adoptions

In domestic adoptions, the process of adoption is undertaken including all the parties of the adoption triangle, the child, the biological parents and the prospective adoptive parents. The most important factor within the adoption process is to protect the child’s best interests and to find a safe and permanent home for him or her. Save the Children Finland places around 30 children in adoptive homes within Finland each year.

Giving up a child for adoption

Parents who are thinking about giving up a child for adoption are supported in considering their life circumstances and the different options available to them. It is the right of the parents to decide whether or not a child should be given up for adoption. The consent of the father is also needed if the child has been born within a marriage or paternity has been confirmed. The parents have a minimum of eight weeks consideration time following the birth of a child before their consent to an adoption can be formally given. Biological parents are allowed to express preferences in relation to the adoptive family. During this consideration time the child can be cared for either in a children’s home or placed in a foster family. The adoption counseling service is free of charge to parents giving up a child for adoption.

Who is able to adopt?

The law states that a person over 25 years of age, either married or single can be considered for adoption. Adoptive parents must be able to provide a lifelong caring and warm environment for a child.

The Child’s Background Information

Adoptive parents receive all available background information of a child, including health factors and reason for the relinquishment of the child for adotion. This information helps adoptive parents understand the choice made by the biological parents and answer the child’s questions in relation to his or her own history. The child has a right to know about his or her own history and the responsibility for providing this information lies primarily with the adoptive parents. It is best for a child to be aware of his or her own history from a young age.

Intercountry Adoptions

The purpose of intercountry adoptions is to promote the child’s best interests. It is an option in those cases where adoptive parents cannot be found within child’s own country. An adoption results in a permanent relationship between the child and the adoptive parents. An adoptive child has the same legal position within a family as would a biological child.

In recent years approximately 200-250 children have come to live in Finland annually as a result of intercountry adoptions. In comparison the number of prospective adopters is many times this amount.

A person resident in Finland wishing to adopt a child from abroad is required to undergo a adoption counseling, register as a client of the intercountry adoption service and have an intercountry adoption permit granted.

Intercountry adoptions within Finland are governed by

• The law on adoption
• The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions
• The law of the adopted child’s birth country.

The process starts and finishes with the Adoption Counseling Service

The legally required adoption counseling service is provided by either the local municipality or by the regional offices of Save the Children Finland. The process consists of a collaborating process together with the social worker in order to assess the suitability and preparedness of the prospective adopters. At the end of the process the social worker writes an assessment report giving details about the applicants, their life circumstances, background, motivation, and their suitability and qualifications as parents to an internationally adopted child.

A follow up of the placement is also included as part of the official adoption process. Social workers are also available where needed to support adoptive families in their new life circumstances. Follow up reports must also be provided for officials of the child’s birth country.

Intercountry Adoption Service

Save the Children is one of three agencies approved as a mediating organization for intercountry adoptions by the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Intercountry adoption is offered as an option for those children for whom adoptive parents cannot be found within their own country.

Following the completion of the adoption counseling, prospective adoptive parents apply for an intercountry adoption permit. This application is processed by the committee on intercountry adoptions within the Finnish Ministry for Social Affairs and Health. Once the permit has been granted the adoption application can be sent to the country that the applicants qualify for. The intercountry adoption service gives guidance in relation to the application process, sends the application on behalf of the family, follows up the process until the finalization of the adoption and supports the family whilst the process is ongoing.

During the application procedure prospective adopters are not in personal contact with the officials within the child’s country of origin. Information about an identified child is conveyed to the prospective adoptive family via the intercountry adoption service. The decision to place a child within a family abroad is always taken by the officials within a child’s birth country. Adoptive parents will then travel themselves to the child’s birth country in order to meet the child and travel home with him or her.

Post Adoption Service

Adoptive children, parents having given a child up for adoption in addition to a child’s carers and descendants can access post adoption service. The different parties may wish to have information about each other, their roots, siblings, genetic factors and the reasons for the adoption taking place.

The social workers of Save the Children’s regional offices are available to either the adopted child or family members at a later stage, for example in relation to dealing with the history of the adoption. The intercountry adoption service can also help where information is required from the officials in a child’s birth country. Save the Children also organise birhtcountry tours. At the present time tours are being organised to Russia only. Wherever possible Save the Children Finland also assists families making their own arrangements to visit a child’s birth country.

Development Projects

Life story project (2006-2009)

The Life Story Project- Post adoption services developed from the Child’s Perspective.

Adoption is a significant event in the life of a child. The child will have to deal with the experience of adoption or adoption related issues at many stages of his or her life. Adoptive parents may also need support in their parenting and in order to address adoption issues together with the child.

The Life story project was a four year development project of Save the Children Finland (2006-2009). During this period we were seeking to both identify and test different ways in which to support both adoptive children and parents at different stages of life. With these methods we support particularly the interaction and bonding between children and parents as well as improve the life story experience. In addition the project increased knowledge on the child’s experience of adoption. The project enforced the adoption work to become more child-focused both in Finland and in the country of origin.

Save the Children are developing post- adoption services in order to assist the creation of the life story and especially an analysis of the adoption process. The organisation is developing each stage of the adoption process concerned with the child’s background and the life story work so that at a later stage the post adoption services will better meet the clients’ needs. Save the Children Finland is also developing other identity and life story related working practices for example adoptee peer groups in addition to birthcountry tours.

For more information please contact Irene Pärssinen-Hentula, Chief of The Intercountry Adoption Service, tel. +358 10 843 5021.
e-mail: irene.parssinen-hentula@savethechildren.fi.

Child Protection Guardianship Project 2005-2009

The child protection guardianship project (2005-2009) was a joint project between Save the Children, Ensi ja turvakotien liitto, Nuorten ystävät, SOS-lapsikylät, Helsingin diakonissalaitos and Folkhälsan Raseborg which is financed by the Finnish Money slots association.

More about the guardianship role in child protection cases can be found at http://www.sosiaaliportti.fi/en-GB/guardianship_in_child_protection

Adoption Research Project (2007-2009)

The objective of this four year research project is to follow up the experiences and wellbeing of children adopted in Finland and to identify the needs of the adoptive parents as well as their experiences of both applying for assistance and receiving support in relation to social and healthcare issues. The project coordinator is Save the Children Finland´s senior physician, child psychiatrist mr Jari Sinkkonen, tel. + 358 10 843 5000
e-mail: jari.sinkkonen@savethechildren.fi

The Save the Children Children’s Home Bridge Project

This three-year project started on 1.3.2008 with the aim of further developing children’s homes with the help individual caseworkers for children. The name of the project is derived from the idea of building bridges on one hand between the children’s home and the child’s family and on the other between the child’s past, present and future. The project is taking place both within children’s homes and possibly also through meeting parents within a child’s family.

Bringing Experiences into View- The Development within Foster Placements of work on Violence

This development project is a joint one between Save the Children and Viola- väkivallasta vapaaksi ry (Viola-Freedom from Violence) in order to develop work in relation to violence. Different parties within foster placements will be supported by bringing to forth their different experiences of violence. The aim is to assist foster families in dealing with cases of child cruelty or violence both through professional therapeutic methods and through peer group support. It is a four year project financed by Finnish Money slotts association.