The Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-12-13, Page 30•
PAGE 2R-.G0DERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY. DECEMBER 13, 1973
a home dor Christmas
1
Less than four years ago,
forty-five children were on
adoption placement in the
C.ounty. Of these, thrity-two
children were placed. by other
Children's Aid Societies, and
most' were new born infants,
noting a surplus -of infants
related to .adoptive applicants.
through -out the province.
At the end of September of
this year, the number of
children on adoption had
decreased to, sixteen, with
several older children, and
some from out of the province,
on adoptiOn probation.
WHAT ARE YOUR CHAN-,
CES OF ADOPTING THE
CHIL,D YOU WANT?. Adop-
tion, as a way to have a family,
has become increasingly impor-
tant in North America. For
.many families it is the only
ti
li?d, 75.9% were accepted
a xjearly all were ..able to
have -6.ilt placed 'withohm .
In 197 , f t,9..b applicant;:
66.8% were' firceptvd and a
nearly "equal -_number` brume
adoptive parents.
It becomes apparent that the
number of families who achieve'
this goal relates to the number
and the kind of children
a%a.ilable.
Is there a
right to adopt?"'
the parents and the child In
learning to live together The
rate of breakdown was one -in -
20 for children past age two in
1972
These formerly "hard -
to place" children are
�;0,m tImt. part of a sister_
$ her group who need to stay
together; at child who'itt,,han-
dreappetj in stonme'Y;•
phvsicall:s or, has a -health
problem; a l"hill of a .mixed.,
racial background; a child who
has an emotional problem; a
childu who is a slow learner;
even frankly retarded children
are finding adoptive.parents to
love them and give them the
- security they need.
The Children's Aid Society is
not a broker - or an agent to
find a. child for couples• who
'want children. The Law does,
not see the C.A.S. that way
The Child Welfare Act,
The number of tilder children
needing adoption is not
unlimited! Fortunately, in On-
. tario fewer children ..are taken
into, car•O‘-, by Children's Aid
requires .Children's Aid, Societies than in the past and •
Societies tt; find adttptive therefore fewer become
homes. for children who are . available .for adoption. Many
legally free to lie a(lopted... people have the Inisconceptioo
Nowhere in law is. it..stated that "you can always adopt a
that anYone, has "the right" to child." Some couples applying
to adopt have been told this 1-).,•
their doctors. In some cases the
Children's ' Aid - Societies
husband or wife has undergone
muSt find homes for children,
voluntary sterilization after
nor -children for homes. They
their first • tl,vo children were
are obliged to find the best
born in t he belief t hat they
possible home for each child in
could add to t heir family
way. For others it is an oppor- of Ontario'
tunity to give a home to a child
where there are 'already
children. -In Ontario this trend
reached its peak in 1969 with .
nearly 9,000 children in adop-
tion. placement through
Children's Aid Societies. 1
Three years later this figure
droppe'd to 5,500 children - a.
One reason is, there • are
fewer babies needing adoptive
homes. In 1969, 9,74 sing e
mothers asked. for help from
the C.A.S. The satne ye'ar 4,669
- tion •in Ontario. Three years
later only half that number of
nuithers asked for help. Babies
needing adoption" dropped to
about 2,000 in 1972. Yet that
• same year, -nearly 6,000
, Clearly in the 70's only one
family in three who apply will
be able adopt -an infant.
In the late 70's the chance
may be as little as one in ten.
The scarcity of infants needing
adoption is continental - the
same in Los Angeles as in
Toronto; in Vancouver_as in
New York. Does this meari that
adoption will disappear? • Of
course, if you have 6,000
couples-apPlying to adopt 2,000
babies - 4,000 are going to be
disappointed. Recently the
Government of Ontario studied
the records of 638 adoption
homes which had been ap-.
proved by Children's Aid
Societ ies for one or two
children. each. The study was
.made to find out why no adop-
•tion had taken place.
In 44% of cases there were
,"no children available." In
50% of cases, there were
. children available but "they
did not meet the. adoptive
parents specifications." In only
'feel that the parents were ap-
propriate fiir the particular
children who were available.'
There are also' of course
would-be adopters' Whose ap-
plications are not aceerited. In -
1970, the, peak yea -r for ap-
plications when 7,881 couples
adopt.
their care.
Because of the shortage of in-
fants, some Societies are now
limiting applications for infants
where families already have
several children. adopting homeless children has
become popular in some circles.
Fortunately there is an alter- However, it is not always
native to adopting an infant - possible to carry this plan t'o
one which can satisfy the needs
of many who wish to be parents
or to have more children.
/
All kinds of children.
through adoption and that it
was their "duty" to do so.
The idea 'of limited one's
natural family to two and then
are adopted
The last few years in Ontario
have seen a tremendous in-
crease in the number of
children adopted who, in for-
mer years, Would have been
considered ineligible for adop-
tion. Such -"ineligibility" more,
often related' to the notion that
only infants could be suc-
cessfully adopted - .att-id then
only if it was the exact
"model" the parents wanted
rather than to the charac-
teristics of the • child.
Today we find that if we
broaden. the search, there are
Parents waiting for almost
ever,• child who is legally free.
Many children themselves en-
ter whole-heartedly. int('; the
risk of "shared destiny". .
.„,From 1969 when 778 "non -
infants" were placed 'for adop-
tion until 1972 when 1,874
were placed, the increase was.
140% ! In tvvo years, although
the number of such placements.
doubled, the nurnber of break-
downs per placement was cut in
half, as Societies became more
skillful in .placing older
children 'and more helpful to
completion. Couples should
check before taking the
irrevocable step of sterilization.
Some families for whom
there is no Child legall; free
adoption, have found satisfac-
tion, in fostering children for
specified periods.
The sante altruistic feeling of
giving a home to a homeless
chil& has led many people to
seek a child from an under-
developed country. What are
the possibilities?
International
adoption
wise not have had a permanent Your potentiality as parents to
any particular child who may
he waiting is the only matter of
importance. It is not so much a
'question., of good, better and
,kitkt as it it of: Would this child
"radians have "111 t>e c'iVnfortable and fit in with
passionate interest inn adopting t sfamily? A woman who
children from strife -torn coup }t�', "-f an artistic child who
tries. This is a venture of en s Nti)oher interests with her
mous ' runiplexity.r.'rst �'
be rffisappointed in a girl
depends on the sets t•' whine main pursuit is spurts. A
of icies Of the Feder Govern- •whohopes for a cr.n to
Ninth
‘Vith various upheavals
in underdeveloped c6untrie,a
takink place today, many
'A small number of inter-
national adoptions - both from
and to Canada - have taken
place each year for several
years. "These adoptions were
-possible because of agreements
with the countries involved and
working arrangements with
their social services. The C.A.S.
has participated to find a home
for the child who would other-
Steps to adoption
placements do work out. Much
depends on the exi
pa rent s t hernSe iv es. This,
-almost indefinable quality is
probably the key to success in
adopting older children.
- Often a flood of applications
will result from the appearance
of a particular child or group in
"Today's Child" la syndicated'
news column about adoptive
chigiren). Sometimes we are
able to intereit applicants in
other children . we know are
waiting. Sometimes the ap-
plicants themselves have
responded with more generosity
-than they can really afford. O.r
it may be they have fallen in
love with the picture and do
not fully weigh the written
words.
Whatever the reason a
plicants do not achieve the goa
(continuect„on page 49)
FOR THE FINEST IN -
HUNTING
FISHING
& SPORTS EQUIPMENT
Schaeler Interiors Suagest
—HOBBIES
—CRAFTS
HUCK'sS24.6
SPORTING GOOD91S5
73 Hamilton St.
•
GIVE A HOBBY FOR CHRISTMAS
"rute ',At®
WINEAMAKING KITS
You will have started and helped the recipient discover a hobby that is
easy, fun and economical. You'll have given them, a hobby that many
people have already discovered and it will give them somethlng to share
with friends.
Welcome to the Wine Art World and remember: you're not giving wine,
you're giving happiness.
- There are- no -test s"., .to
determine if you are the kind of
adopter t he Children's Aiq
looks for, Some applicants'
come to the Society in the statP
of mind of a student writing his
final exam. .This creates a
situation where. the applicants
both for.approval and hate
the -authority t hat can give. or
withhold it. No si
examination t akes place.
.adoption appliCants meet in a
group the firSt time they come
to the office. This is only partly
a time -saving device so that in-
. formation may be given to
several people at once. A. more
valuable aspect of the meeting
iS t hat applicants share t heir
feelinys, hopes and doubts
about4' adot pion 'wore freely
than they might individually.
They are helpful to each other.
•What the Society tries to do
is get ,to know you as people.
EQUIPMENT INCLUDED
• Primary Fermenter
• Syphon Hose
• Fermentation Lock
• Plastic Sheet
• Floating Thermometer
• Wooden Spoon
BUSINESS
DIRECTORY
• Bottle Labels
• Pot Meta Disulphite Crystals
• Art of Making Wine
• Premium European Grape Juice
• Concentrate
• Record Card
One Gallon Kit 9 9 5
CONTENTS:
CONCENTRATED
GRAPE JUICE (MS S02)
TO PRODUCE
CONTENU
JUS DE RAISIN
POUR PRODUIRE UN VIN DE TYPE
I Make sure
your
farm buildings
are efficient
Ronald L.
. McDonald
39 St. David St., 524-6253
Goderich, Ontario
DIESEL
-1973
Pumps and Injectors
Repaired
For All Popular Makes
Huron Fuel, Injection
Equiiiment
Bayfieid Rd. 482-7971
The Square
• OPTOMETRIST
R. W. BELL
524-7661
Next Spring and Summer you'll be glad
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attention. Maybe you even need new
buildings to increase efficiency. Fix, and
build — now when you have the time —
with a Victoria and Grey custom bait
loan ... today, at Victoria and Grey.
Member Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation
Ross
London
• STOCKS • BONDS
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GARY BEAN
Call ZENITH 61200
for Friday appointments
at 54 South St., Goderich
Cards For
All Occasions
* Gifts
* Books
* Stationery Supplies A
ANDERSON'S
BOOK CENTRE
33 EAST St
Goderich
CONTENTS
CONCENTRATED
GRAPE JUICE
TO PRODUCE
TYPE WINE
100 FL. OZ. /2.84 LM1ES
CHISHOLM
FUELS
Distrikutors For
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devoted entirely to verving
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For
VICTORL4 and GREY
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tiorving a Invading In your community
FASHION
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The Place To Gp Is
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GoderiCh
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PRODUCTS
HOME. FARM
INDUSTRY
529-7524
SCHAEFER'S Interiors
ON THE SQUARE ,
MCAVAV:VaMtNZZNVAV:M;MVVZVNVA'/F:AliiiAVM:*N'ItA'VAV