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Journal Article Recent cases that awarded custody to the birth father of a child have prompted state legislatures to reform adoption laws that were originally intended to secure permanency for children who had lost both parents. Contemporary cases often involve unwed fathers who are not given the opportunity to approve or object to the adoption. However, judgments that favor the birth father in such cases cause the separation of the child from the only parents he or she has ever known, causing attachment disruption and other difficulties. States attempted to remedy the situation by either expanding their…
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Journal Article This article examines provisions of the Uniform Adoption Act in the context of efforts by unwed fathers to assume custody of children who have been adopted. It describes the psychological impact of adoption on the birth parents, the adoptive parents, and the child, and highlights court decisions in three controversial cases involving the rights of unwed fathers in adoptions. In each case, the biological father sought to overturn an adoption to which the biological mother had consented. The adoptive parents countered with charges that the father had abandoned his child. The Uniform Adoption…
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Journal Article Fifteen foster fathers were interviewed for this study about their experience as foster parents. The men provided information about their motivations for becoming foster fathers, their function as a foster parent, attachment and loss during their relationship, and personal connections between the child and the birth family. In general, the study found that the motivations of foster fathers focused on the emotional benefits and the strength of commitment the man feels to the child. The foster fathers reported involvement in all parts of the child's life, with the exception of contact with…
