PEAR’s Cautionary Statement About Private Respite Care Providers and Families Adopting from Disruptions Outside of the Child Welfare System
PEAR has received numerous accounts about private respite care providers and families adopting children from disruptions who are not reputable. In some cases, there have been very serious abuse allegations against these providers and families.
Adoptive parents in need of respite care or permanent placements for their children should exercise extreme caution when searching for private resources. Over the last few years, there have been several high-profile accounts of abusive “collector” families in the media. PEAR has, however, received many more reports of such families who have not been shut down by state agencies, and who continue to take in children from unsuspecting families in dire need of assistance.
Adoptive parents must know that there is no standard of care. Each state and each county is different in how they handle child abuse and neglect cases. If the allegations we have received about some respite care providers and/or families who take children through disruptions are true, many states are failing to adequately protect these children.
Although we sympathize with adoptive parents facing such a challenging situation, it must be understood that even if a family has not been charged with a crime, this does not mean abuse and neglect is not occurring in their homes.
PEAR fully understands how limited, difficult, and expensive access to good support, care, and post-adoption programs in the United States can be for many children in need. This helps explain why some adoptive parents look for help privately or within the greater adoption community. If you choose to seek out a private care arrangement for your child, please exercise caution and due diligence.
Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/
People for Ethical Adoption Reform
www.pear-now.org
www.pear-now.org