terms of the everyday environment in which children are reared, a need fervently advocated by Bronfenbrenner, who argues that "much of contemporary developmental psychology is the science of the strange behavior of children in strange situations with strange adults for the briefest possible periods of time" (Bronfenbrenner, 1977, p513). I believe that I will find the DSS adoption process to be very intricate and complex.

In October 1997 Diana Smith and her husband Mark decided that they wanted to add to their family. They explored different options and decided upon adoption. They also decided upon certain criteria. They did not want a newborn baby, but in fact, wanted a toddler. They also decided that since they naturally had three girls, they wanted to adopt a boy. They then decided upon the method by which they would adopt, and that was to be through the Department of Social Services adoption process in their state. Before going any further, Diana and Mark decided to involve their three children (all in either teens or early 20's and still living at home) in the decision. The girls welcomed the idea and Diana and Mark went to th

attachment pattern. In T.B. Brazelton & M.W. Yogman (Eds.), Affective Development in infancy. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

By this time the Smith family loved and cared for John a great deal and saw him through the process of his mother giving up her parental rights. But, before she did, she signed an open adoption agreement. The agreement was that she would get one school picture and report of how he was doing and also one supervised visit, once a year until the age of 18. The agreement was also made with the condition that the Smith's would have to contact her at their convenience and set a time and place at their own convenience. If John's biological mother were unable to make the meeting no other meeting would be planned for that year. Should the biological mother miss a meeting twice consecutively then the agreement is off.

Once a child has been taken into custody, the Department of Social Services does everything in its power to help parents get on their feet. Usually parents are given a time period of 18 months to improve their situation. The program used is called a Service Plan Agreement (SAP), which is a contract between the biological parent and the courts. There is a list of requirements that the parent must complete, but completing the list of requirements is not enough. A parent must show a want to be a parent and an attitude change. When a parent does not fulfill any of these requirements she/he is then made aware that they can voluntarily surrender their parental rights. If a parent resists, DSS takes measures to terminate parental rights. Either way the child is now released for adoption.

Carlson, V., Cicchetti, D., & Braunwald, K. (1989). Contributions of the

yearbook. Washington, D.C: Childrens Defense Fund.

The Smiths happened to be married, fairly well off, and experienced in child rearing, but the state does not require this of all their foster care providers. DSS accepts persons who are single or married, from all economic, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. Applicants who both own or rent a home are accepted, as are those who either do or do not have children. The only real requirement is that the applicant be 21 years of age and able to provide a safe and healthy environment for a child.

Some common words found in the essay are:
John John, Helen Lorusso, Smith's John, Social Services, Approval Smith's, Agreement SAP, Diana John's, STUDY Ecological, Defense Fund, Parenting MAPP, adoptive parents, parental rights, department social services, social services, department social, adoption process, foster parents, maltreated infants, home visits, abuse neglect, defense fund, list requirements parent, defense fund 1994, child released adoption, children's defense fund,
Approximate Word count = 2022
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)