Twenty-five years of adult adoption in New Zealand 1985-2010: An overview of adult adoption since the implementation of the Adult Adoption Information Act 1985

Authors

  • Anne Aburn

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol26iss4id28

Abstract

When the Adult Adoption Information Act 1985 was introduced it enabled many people who were adopted to reclaim their original identities. The Act also enabled parents who had relinquished children for adoption to reunite with them. 

The Act made provision for 24 dedicated social workers known as Adult Adoption Information Officers to be appointed throughout New Zealand. This article, which is a personal reflection on how the Act was implemented and the changes in adoption practice over 25 years, was originally written in 2010 for all Ministry of Social Development Adoption Social Workers. 

Author Biography

Anne Aburn

Anne Aburn is a Senior Practitioner (Adoptions & Caregiver), Wairarapa/Tararua.

References

Department of Justice. (1987). Adoption Act 1955: A review by an interdepartmental working party: Proposals for discussion. Wellington: Department of Justice.

Dalziel, L. (2003). Changes to family law legislation in the 21st century. July 17 Beehive. Retrieved from http://www. beehive.govt.nz/node/17342

Dominick, C. (1988). Early contact in adoption. Wellington: Department of Social Welfare.

Griffiths, K. (1998). New Zealand adoption: History and practice – social and legal – 1840-1996. (Wellington) 132.

Iwanek, M. (1997). Healing history: The story of adoption in New Zealand. Social Work Now, 8, 13-17.

Kennard, J. (1991). Adoption information: The repossession of identity. Unpublished MA thesis. Wellington: Victoria University.

Kirk, H.D. (1964). Shared fate: A theory of adoption and mental health. New York: Free Press of Glencoe, a division of Macmillan.

Law Commission. (2000). Report 65. Adoption and its alternatives. A different approach and a new framework. Wellington: New Zealand.

New Zealand Child &Young Persons Service. (1995). Adoption information manual (p. 2).

New Zealand Year Book. (2008).

Shawyer, J. (1979). Death by adoption. Cicada Press.

Triseliotis, J. (1973). In search of origins. Routledge and Keegan Paul.

Weaver, A. (1999). Addressing the psycho-social implications in social policy: The case of adoption and early intervention strategies (pp. 53-61). MPP Research Paper, Victoria University of Wellington.

Webb, P. (1979). A review of the law on adoption. Wellington: Department of Justice.

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Published

2016-03-12

How to Cite

Aburn, A. (2016). Twenty-five years of adult adoption in New Zealand 1985-2010: An overview of adult adoption since the implementation of the Adult Adoption Information Act 1985. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 26(4), 78–89. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol26iss4id28

Issue

Vol. 26 No. 4 (2014)

Section

Articles

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