Families in Society: 'What couples who adopt children from child welfare want professionals to know about supporting their marriages'.

92:4, October/ December 2011, pp 390-96

Couples who adopt from the child welfare system face a complex array of needs on individual, couple and family levels. The aim of this article is to provide suggestions for supporting the marriages of couples who adopt children from the child welfare system. The study involved four focus groups including a total of 22 participants representing 13 households. Primary enquiries and suggested follow-up probes were applied across the focus groups. Analysis revealed three categories of responses: the failure of the adoption process to focus on the relationship between parents; the importance of interaction with other adoptive families; and the value of support from professionals who work with the whole family. The data reveal that couples want professionals to address the impact of adoption on the marital relationship prior to placement of children, to facilitate contact among adoptive couples that focuses on couple relationships in addition to parenting issues after children have been placed, and to support actively the marital relationship in post-placement or post-adoption services even when children's behaviours or needs constitute the presenting problem.