Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, and two-spirit adoption in Ontario: Policy, practice and personal narratives

An overarching goal of our work in the area of LGBTQ2S+ parenting is to improve the quality and accessibility of health and social services for all LGBTQ2S+ parents and prospective parents. One of our earlier studies addressed this goal by focusing on LGBTQ2S+ adoption: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, and two-spirit adoption in Ontario: Policy, practice and personal narratives. We collected survey data from 44 adoption agencies in Ontario (97 were asked to participate). We found that only 13 agencies had a policy regarding adoption by LGBTQ2S+, most of which were public, secular agencies in larger urban settings; only 16 actively recruited LGBTQ2S+ adoptive parents, i.e., table at community organizations or events (i.e., Pride); and only 3 of 44 agencies/individuals who participated indicated that they had received education about specific needs and concerns of sexual and gender minority prospective parents. We also interviewed LGBTQ2S+ adoptive parents to learn about their stories of adoption, beginning with their decisions to pursue adoption and closing with their experiences since the adopted child(ren) joined their family.

Team:

• Principal Investigator: Dr. Lori Ross
• Collaborators: Dr. Leah Steele, Rachel Epstein and Dr. Carol Strike
• Research Coordinator: Scott Anderson

Funding:

Funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Council of Canada

Project Outcomes:

• Queer Parenting Info Brochure Series: LGBTQ Adoption
• Paper: Policy and Practice Regarding Adoption by Sexual and Gender Minority People in Ontario
• Paper: Policy, Practice, and Personal Narratives: Experiences of LGBTQ People with Adoption in Ontario, Canada
• Paper: Lesbian and queer mothers navigating the adoption system: The impacts on mental health
• Book Chapter: To bi or not to bi: Bisexuality and disclosure in the adoption system. In Who’s your daddy? And other writings on queer parenting
• Paper: Adaptation to Parenthood During the Post-Adoption Period: A Review of the Literature
• Paper: Current Practices and Barriers to the Provision of Post-Placement Support: A Pilot Study from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Paper: The transition to adoptive parenthood: A pilot study of parents adopting in Ontario, Canada