Child Preparation for Adoption as an Ethical Requirement during Pre-Placement: The PPCA

Abstract

Child adoption is a highly demanding process for all those involved, including the child, parents, and professionals. Support is needed to maximize the chances of adequate preparation, focusing on not just the parents’ preparedness but also the child’s preparation for adoption. Preparing a child for adoption is an ethical obligation. Assuming that the child is at the center of the adoption process, this paper highlights the importance of acknowledging the child’s specific needs and giving them adequate opportunity to develop into a fully engaged agent throughout the process. This article focuses on the Program for Preparing Children for Adoption (PPCA), a specific manual intervention designed to help professionals prepare children for adoption. The program is based on theoretical concepts of the psychology of adoption, the bioecological development perspective and a narrative psychology approach. First, the PPCA’s theoretical background is presented, followed by each one of its core aspects and specific activities. The article concludes with a summary of this program’s major contributions to child preparation as well as recommendations for future research and practice.