Adoptive Homes and the Meaning of Family: Implications for Gay and Lesbian Prospective Parents

Abstract

Restrictions on the adoption rights of gay men and lesbians limit their possibilities to become parents, even as thousands of children wait to be placed in adoptive families in the United States. This article will review past and current policy on gay and lesbian couple adoption in the United States. Policy changes are then suggested to expand the definition of adoptive families and to create non-discriminatory adoption guidelines to protect gay men and lesbians as legitimate families. Finally, the role of social workers and their responsibility under both the laws and systems of adoption protocol will be explored.

Keywords

• Social work
• Social service
• Families
• Public policy
• LGBTQ
• Queer community
• Adoption
• LGBTQ adoption
• LGBT adoption
• United States law
• Adoptive families