Past adoption experiences: Impacts, insights and implications for policy and practice

The National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Practices examined the extent and effects of closed adoptions in Australia, to strengthen the evidence available to governments and service providers in addressing the current needs of those affected. With over 1500 participants, the study results provide an in-depth understanding of the complex and, in many cases, urgent public health needs of those affected. These implications not only include the addressing the effects of ongoing trauma, grief and loss associated with past practices, but also the implications for adopted individuals and subsequent generations who want access to genetic and medical histories. The article highlights the characteristics of practice interventions that study participants deemed necessary to adequately respond to their current needs and, importantly, reflects on the parallels existing between the current adoption and assisted reproduction environments and the lessons needing to be learned from past practices