Comments on: Do you think it is possible for adoption workers to give unbiased advice about adoption?

By: Velvet

Velvet — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:50:20 +0000

the councilers at agencies do not always have to be social workers if the agenciy is private. they just go through a training program. and i know they do have placement goals. if they dont place babies there job is in danger.

By: Annabelle

Annabelle — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:26:04 +0000

Well many times the adoption worker is a licensed social worker bound by a code of ethics and they get paid a salary regardless of whether a baby is placed or not. There are adoption agencies out there that are ethical despite what you hear on these boards.

By: Isabel A

Isabel A — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:12:22 +0000

Nope. Most adoption workers are not even degreed in social work or any related field.
I would be very careful in trusting someone who claims to work in the adoption industry in real life or on the internet unless they have an actual degree in social work or a comparable field.
People here have even talked about the role of adoption caseworkers. Some of them are specifically trained to befriend potential “birth mothers” so that if they do have a change of heart and decide to parent, the caseworker can try to persuade them to relinquish. Of course the fact that the person who mentioned this said it like it was a good thing is truly gut-wrenching in and of itself. But that is another story.
The truth is, most adoption agencies are in it for the money and very few practice ethically. I would not trust most adoption workers especially here on Y!A where they change their names on a whim and pose as adoptees and “birthmothers” and adoptive mothers whenever they feel it will get them further. SCARY.

By: Mom5grlz

Mom5grlz — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:30:02 +0000

Hmmmm, I never thought of it that way. As much as i do admire the work of social workers, as far as adoption, i agree they can not give unbiased advice. That was hard to admit.

I must say that when i read a question i only look at answers from people who have actually been thru that experience. So rarely would i even read a social workers comments here.

By: Kristy

Kristy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:48:02 +0000

Yes. If a birthmother is looking for help about what she should do, she should go to a social worker first… I think.

By: Gaia Raain

Gaia Raain — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:46:10 +0000

Rare, but possible. If someone has really taken the time and effort to research adoption from all sides, and does not stand to gain from it (for instance, if they’re not getting bonuses, raises, etc…just a paycheck), then sure it’s POSSIBLE.

ETA: Our social worker ONLY does the special needs adoptions through the state. I’m guessing her paycheck is the same as everyone else in the agency, but I’m also sure she doesn’t get any kind of commission or bonus (if she did, we would have had a child placed by now). There are a LOT of PAP’s adopting through foster care in Oregon right now. They can’t keep up. Which is fine, I’d rather have too many PAP’s, and not enough foster children to go around, than the other possibility. I will wait my turn as long as the waiting kids are ending up in the family they need to be with. And that’s the attitude our worker seems to have. She just doesn’t seem to have any ulterior motives. Maybe I’m wrong, who knows.

By: Cam

Cam — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:07:39 +0000

I have nothing but respect for the adoption workers involved in my daughter’s adoption. From social worker to counselors to attorneys. I saw nothing but compassion and respect to the birth mother. They were there to support HER DECISION.

None of it was about me except for the excellent education I received should I actually become the parent of an adopted child. Nobody was offering or promising me a baby and nobody was grabbing money out of my pocket.

By: sunny

sunny — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:29:50 +0000

Just as it’s impossible for a Ford salesman to give unbiased advice about a Mustang, it’s is impossible for an adoption worker to give prospective mothers or potential adoptive parents unbiased advice. There would be NO upside to doing that.

Both the car salesman and the adoption worker have the same objective; to CLOSE the sale for a commission, job security or both.

ETA:To the poster who compared an adoption worker to a doctor: there a HUGE difference between a professional like a doctor, who is DEGREED in his profession, is board certified, belongs to a professional organization, the American Medical Association, and takes the Hippocratic Oath. Adoption workers are hardly ‘professionals’.

By: Heather H

Heather H — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:12:00 +0000

No. Its a case of the fox counselling the hen.

By: Lillie

Lillie — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:38:11 +0000

The doctor analogy has a point, but doctors don’t just go recommending unnecessary surgeries to make money. There is that little thing called malpractice, ethics, that they must consider. It probably happens – rarely – but it is not the norm.

And doctors don’t have to worry about where their next patient will come from. There are considerably more sick and injured people in the world than there are women looking to give up their babies.

However, what kind of ethics and accountability standards are in place for adoption workers? We’ve all heard of these few cases that have made the news where babies were adopted without the father’s consent, where the mother herself was somehow tricked, yet these agencies and workers don’t seem to get punished for their wrongdoing. These cases are rare, but even one case of wrongdoing like that is one too many.

I would hope that there is some accountability for their work…that they CAN be trusted to conduct their affairs ethically. Otherwise, how could anyone really trust that they are operating in anyone’s best interest but their own?