Evidence of meeting #11 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was adoption.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
Thanks for being with us. I look forward to your possible appearance again, Laura and Barbara, at a future time when we can get into more of the details of obstacles you presently see and some of the other difficulties in the system and where we might ease that.
I have a younger brother whose oldest is an adopted son. He's a wonderful teenaged young man at this point and is a great hockey player and all those kinds of things. They weren't able to have children, so that's why they proceeded with the adoption. After they adopted him, they conceived and had two children. Sometimes that's the way it works, it seems.
Anyhow, this gal was from the other end of the country, this young gal in her late teens, and she felt that she was not able to be the mom and provide the kind of support context for the young baby, so they made the choice. It was a good thing for her and, obviously, for them as well.
I guess that gets to my two questions. The second is about open adoption, its track record, and what you're finding to be the assessment of it over these many years. The other thing is, do you have ways, either through the Adoption Council of Canada or children's aid societies, of promoting adoption to university gals, late teenage gals, or otherwise--older than that as well--who are caught in unplanned pregnancies?
I appreciated your little statement before in terms of there being no unwanted child, only unfound parents, and I believe that really is true. When gals maybe don't feel able to carry...maybe that would be their first choice, but they feel they can't, or are troubled or uneasy with proceeding to an abortion, do you have ways to promote that in a university context across our country, to let them know of the real possibility of adoption, and the open adoption as well?
Executive Director, Children's Aid Society of Ottawa
I can speak to open adoption. We feel very strongly that if the child is older and has a strong sense of their past, the more open an adoption is, the more chance an effective bonding will occur. We've seen that happen on a regular basis with adoption.
People want to know their past, and they want to have relationships with significant individuals in their lives, even if they cannot live with them. So it's a very conscientious effort we make, based on, of course, the skills or the circumstance of why a child is in our society. We mediate openness agreements between the potential adoptive parents, the birth parents, and the child, based on their age and experience, so it is a very effective way of ensuring a lasting relationship.
Board Member, Adoption Council of Canada
We do not currently reach out to university students or to anyone in particular to say that adoption is an option except in the sense that, as the Adoption Council of Canada, we try to promote adoption as an option to anyone. We represent birth parents as well as adoptees and adoptive parents.
Part of our challenge is funding. We don't actually receive any support from any provinces, with the exception of Alberta, which gives us $10,000 a year towards our Canada's Waiting Children program. We're constantly struggling to find funding.
We would like to be able to promote adoption as an option more effectively across the country to everyone; we're not going to target a particular population, I don't think, but we are looking at trying to raise the funds for a national campaign identifying, perhaps, prominent Canadians who have benefited from adoption, and making it more high profile as an issue. We would love to see people like yourselves talking about it more often, just talking about the issue of the children who are in child welfare systems across Canada and the fact they need homes.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
Thank you very much.
I just wanted to clarify this with the committee members. Before I arrived, I understand that you decided we would go until a quarter past five today, which means that we would have a little more time for questions. Because you came to that agreement when I was not in the chair, I wanted--
Yes, Madam Folco.
Liberal
Raymonde Folco Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Actually, I was chairing, as you know, in your absence, and from what I understood of the discussion, it had already been discussed that we would stop at a quarter past five to go into committee business. What we suggested is that we start 15 minutes earlier so that we would stop at five o'clock to have committee business for half an hour. Is this correct?
Just check with the other committee members.
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
Prior to five o'clock? So 15 minutes seems to be what it was. Well, then, if it's okay with the witnesses, I will just see if there are any more questions. Maybe we'll give each of the parties two minutes just so we can keep within our timeframes.
Madam Minna.
Liberal
Maria Minna Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
I'll be very quick. I just wanted to clarify something from Ms. Eggertson.
Earlier you mentioned custodial care. I'm not quite sure what that is. That's one question. If you could answer that, I'll ask you the other one afterwards.
Board Member, Adoption Council of Canada
There are various forms of care arrangements. For instance, in the aboriginal community where adoption may not be named as such, there is often a way of reaching a custodial care agreement with either a family member or a band member willing to permanently raise that child.
We're talking about a range of permanency options that mean something different depending on the community in which they are negotiated.
Is that correct, Barbara?
Liberal
Maria Minna Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Here's my other question. You mentioned that you have adopted two children, and you also at one point mentioned older children. I wondered about two things. Could you tell us what you mean by older children? Also, what is the success with adoption of older children in terms of adjustment within families?
I think people might be a little hesitant because they might think the children are set in their ways or that the adjustment period might be harder than it would be with a younger child. I'm wondering if there are any studies to that effect.
Board Member, Adoption Council of Canada
Sure. I can speak to that. And Barbara is also an adoptive parent.
My children were eight and nine respectively when I adopted them. There are definitely issues of attachment, as was discussed. These children have known their birth families; it's not like the situation of an infant. I was adopted myself as an infant, but I don't have any memories of my birth family. Children who come into care when they have been in their birth families for some period of time, and who then eventually become legally free for adoption, have memories. They often have had visits in the past. They may have siblings. They may be separated from siblings. Their whole conception of family is a little more complicated, perhaps, than the situation when you're adopting an infant.
Primarily, in my view and in my experience, the issues that are difficult are issues of trauma rather than issues of adoption. The children don't come into the Children's Aid Society just because their parents were killed in a car accident, necessarily; there is usually some reason why they are not with their family of origin. Those reasons may be very difficult for the children. That is often what plays out in their adoptive families.
I think adopting older children can be extremely successful, but the parents need to be well supported. I did it as a single parent and I know that I had a lot of help from the Children's Aid Society here in Ottawa. It really made a difference for me.
The other thing is that issues can emerge, as they can for any children growing up in a family. Whether you are the biological parent or the adoptive parent, there are things you may or may not be prepared for, and you may need to be flexible. You may need to adjust your expectations and you may go through difficult patches sometimes, but with enough support, I think these can be very successful placements and adoptions.
Bloc
Daniel Paillé Bloc Hochelaga, QC
Briefly, let me just say that regardless of whether a child is adopted or not, the adolescent crisis phase is unavoidable. Whether a child was adopted at two months or at 10 years of age, the time will come when he wants to know his parents' identity. At some point, he wants to see his parents.
I have a question about your photo gallery. Is your exhibition open to the public or do you screen the people who wish to view the photographs?
Executive Director, Children's Aid Society of Ottawa
It's open to the public. The screening process is for when people want to go further and get further information around pursuing adoption.
Bloc
Executive Director, Children's Aid Society of Ottawa
I think what you're suggesting is the dilemma we're in, which is how you promote and engage people in adoption for older children and sibling groups in a respectful way. It can be challenging for people to feel comfortable with that modality. You're not wrong to ask the question; it's what agencies throughout North America have found in making these decisions. Which is worse? Is it worse to promote the fact that children are available to adopt or worse to consider letting children languish in care because we're not able to communicate? It's an interesting values dilemma that we all struggle with in reaching a decision.
In our agency, we have made the decision that if we're inclusive and respectful in how we do it, the issue is to ensure that we meet the expectations of the child, which is to have a forever family. If there are ways that we can do it without having to try these social marketing techniques, we would be happy to go forward with those ideas as well.
Bloc
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
I'm sorry, but your time is up.
Mr. Martin, do you have any questions?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
Well, I think we had better just continue with our process.
We will thank the witnesses very much again for being here. Hopefully we'll be able to bring them back and we can have more of our questions answered when we're actually doing the formal report, but I think this is a great way to launch—
Conservative
Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
Am I not to going to get a chance to ask a question?
