Despite keen public, professional and media interest in the topic, adoption agencies have developed few specific policies on the issue of lesbian and gay adoption, either in Britain or the United States. In the following article, originally published by the Child Welfare League of America, Ann Sullivan provides an overview of key considerations about homosexual adopters. The issues are of universal interest, although the legal, social and policy contexts will vary from country to country. For example, some of the points raised under the section ‘Consequences of Inaction’ may be less relevant in the UK than the US.
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