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ABSTRACTCommunity-partnered research presents unique opportunities for personal and professional development among social work practitioners, researchers, and students. It is a vehicle for promoting social work values, generating and sharing knowledge, and connecting research to practice. Findings from these types of partnerships can be instructive for those interested in pursuing community-partnered research to improve practice. In this article, we describe lessons learned from a Boston-based university and community agency research partnership. We include implications for partnership development, teaching, scholarship, and service to provide guidance for those interested in community-partnered research efforts. Although time intensive, community-partnered research exemplifies essential social work values and has the potential to benefit university and community partners.

The aim of our study was to examine the associations between heterosexual and sexual minority adoptive parents’ adoption-related help-seeking and their service satisfaction with pediatricians and mental health providers. We examined associations with (a) satisfaction with pediatricians and (b) understanding of adoption by a mental health provider among adoptive parents who sought advice for adoption-related issues using data drawn from the Modern Adoptive Families study (N= 1,419). Logistic regressions were used to examine associations with service-seeking and satisfaction with professionals’ adoption advice. About half of the sample adopted a child with either special needs at placement (55%) and/or preplacement adversity (74%), which were significantly associated with seeking adoption-related advice. Consulting pediatricians about adoption was common (78%), and 83% of those parents reported being satisfied with adoption-related advice provided by their pediatrician. About half (51%) of the parents sought mental health services, but only 41% of those parents reported having access to an adoption-competent mental health provider and 50% of those parents felt their mental health provider understood adoption. Parent sexual orientation, higher income, older child age, and having a child with special needs were positively associated with satisfaction with adoption-related advice provided by the pediatrician and having a mental health provider who understood adoption. Adopting a child with special needs at placement and an older child were positive associations of seeking adoption-related help, while parent demographics, including higher household income, were positively associated with satisfaction. Results suggest an inclusive family-centered approach to care is important.

ABSTRACTDespite increasing numbers of lesbian- and gay- (LG-) parent families, little research on LG-adoptive-parent families has examined parental beliefs and perceptions related to discussing their sexual minority status with their children. This study assessed 266 LG adoptive parents (160 lesbian mothers, 106 gay fathers) from the Modern Adoptive Families (MAF) study, a nationwide survey (2012–2013) of adoptive parents' pre- and post-placement experiences. A cultural socialization lens provided the framework for examining LG parenting beliefs and practices. Two measurement scales were developed to examine parents' perceptions and self-efficacy related to socializing their child about being in a sexual-minority-parent family. Results indicate that LG parents endorse the importance of unique socialization practices and generally feel confident engaging in these practices. Parent education, transracial adoption, endorsement of racial socialization, and socialization self-efficacy were positively associated with endorsement of socialization practices. Excellent reliability suggests the 2 scales have the potential of being psychometrically sound instruments with which to measure parental endorsement and related self-efficacy of socialization practices for families headed by sexual minority parents. Findings contribute to a deeper understanding of socialization and communication patterns in LG-headed families, especially those formed through adoption. Research, policy, and practice implications are discussed.

The Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative (GCSWI) reflects the power and potential of social work to accelerate social innovations and resolve major social problems. The complexity of these societal problems mandates profession-wide entrepreneurial readiness to engage in transdisciplinary, interprofessional, and translational collaborations. The GCSWI galvanizes shifts in undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and early career supports to equip social work graduates at all levels to design, test, disseminate, and sustain innovative solutions. This paper describes the relevance of the GCSWI to professional education and suggests the collective-impact model as a heuristic for professional preparation to collaborate in grand challenge contexts. This paper also describes the pedagogical thinking underlying a T-shaped professional and the logic behind translational and innovation meta-competencies as pipeline connections across grand challenges, disciplinary partners, and stakeholder involvement. In addition, the paper illustrates meta-competencies preparation for practice that infuses an innovation mindset and skill readiness consonant with a collective-impact framework, and it illustrates application of meta-competencies within the Grand Challenge to Achieve Equal Opportunity and Justice.

This article addresses the attitudes of 125 birth mothers about their roles in their birth children's lives, 12 to 20 years postplacement. As part of a longitudinal study on adoption openness, decision-making is explored for birth mothers who maintained direct contact with the adoptive family, for those with ongoing mediated contact, mediated contact that had stopped, and those without contact. Analyses also were conducted to determine if birth mother planned searches were related to their age, marital status, and parenting status. Significant differences were found for type of openness. To contextualize the findings, birth mother reasons for making decisions about searching were analyzed. Recommendations are provided for adopted adults, birth parents considering a reunion, and adoption agency staff.

The authors compare a sample of African American families who adopted from two private African American agencies in California with a sample of African American families who adopted from public California child welfare agencies. Findings show clear distinctions between the private and public adopters. The authors also present results from a questionnaire that asks about the adoption process and the families' adoptive history. Strikingly, 70% of the private agency adopters had attempted to first adopt through (primarily) public agencies, and the majority of those had been unsuccessful. Nearly 90% of the families who responded to a question of how important a private African American adoption agency was in their decision to adopt indicated that it was very important or important.

Contact in adoption is a complex issue that adoption professionals frequently negotiate. Today most adoption placements include an initial plan for contact that in many instances changes over time. By understanding contact as an issue that presents itself over the course of an adopted person's lifetime, the complexities it brings to the adoption experience can be seen. Gretchen Miller Wrobel, Harold D Grotevant, Jerica Berge, Tai Mendenhall and Ruth McRoy discuss contact from a US perspective using findings from the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Project, a longitudinal study of openness in adoption. They examine how curiosity, satisfaction with adoptive contact, family communication and searching influence decision-making about the extent of contact. Implications for adoption professionals in the USA and the UK are also presented.

The variety of uses of groups in the field of adoptions is traced historically and the group process is presented as an effective approach to studying prospective adoptive families. A case study of a culturally specific group of prospective black adoptive applicants is described and analyzed. Special emphasis is placed on the unique skills and knowledge needed by adoption workers in establishing trust and relationships with groups of black families who are interested in adopting.

This article discusses the impact of unemploy- ment on the independence striving of Black youth. A group counseling rogram is described for helping Black teenagers identify an 1 cope with somc of these separation issues, while also helping them to increase their qualificat~ons for employ- ment and their job search skills. Group rncmbers increased their awareness of alternative ways for gaining some emotional and functional independence from parents when opportunities for financial independence were unavailable or limited. Spe- cific group counseling strategies which wcre found to be effec- tive with the youth in thls program are presented.

A study identifies familial and contextual factors that may influence the development of racial self-perceptions among black children whose major reference groups are white. It also suggests responsibilities for transracial adoptive families and agencies that provide service for them.

Computer-based tools can be helpful to practitioners in making decisions about child placement. The system described in this article is based on statistical modeling of residential programs for children. Its use is illustrated by a hypothetical case history of a teenager.

Using theories of separation and loss, this article discusses the significance of the termination process on clients and workers. Specific suggestions are given for preparing students in both the classroom and in the field to handle the ending phase of the helping process. Strategies are presented for evaluating student learning of this crucial content.

Adoption revelation and ongoing communication can be problematic in some adoptive families. The authors examine these issues from a cognitive perspective. Case illustrations are presented from an exploratory study of adopted adolescents in residential treatment. A guide for assessing communication problems is presented and interventive methods are suggested for use by adoption workers and other mental health professionals.

Examines openness in child adoption. Direct contact between the child's families by birth and by adoption; Assumptions of the practice of confidentiality; Birthmothers' feelings concerning adoption; Adoptive parents' reactions on the establishment of an open relationship with birthmothers; Children's feelings concerning their adoption.