Intercountry adoptive parent education

• Module 1 - Introduction
  • What is adoption?
  • Who is involved in the adoption process?
  • The adoption process
  • Adoption Services Queensland
  • Suggested reading
• Module 2 - The needs of overseas children requiring permanent adoptive placements in Queensland
  • Overseas country information
  • Are you suited to intercountry adoption?
  • Motivation to adopt
  • Issues and challenges faced by adoptive parents
  • Placement proposals
  • Building resilience with your adopted child
  • Suggested reading
• Module 3 - Child development
  • Understanding child development
  • Factors that impact on child development
  • A child's understanding of adoption
  • Suggested reading
• Module 4 - Attachment and bonding
  • Attachment theory
  • What is attachment and bonding?
  • Types of attachment
  • Attachment behaviour
  • Signs of healthy attachment and bonding
  • Attachment disorder
  • Impact of attachment on adoptive parenting
  • The arousal-relaxation cycle
  • Developing an attachment with your child
  • Suggested reading
• Module 5 - Separation, grief and loss
  • Definition of loss and grief
  • The impact of loss on adoptive parents
  • The impact of loss on adopted children
  • Effects and strategies for dealing with a child's loss
  • Understanding the impact of loss on an adopted child
  • The impact of loss on birth parents
  • The grief process
  • Suggested reading
• Module 6 - Identity and culture
  • Your feelings about ethnic background and culture
  • The impact of adoption on your family
  • Definition of ethnicity, culture and identity
  • Addressing cultural identity
  • The cultural heritage plan
  • Barriers to developing a child's cultural identity
  • A child's racial awareness
  • Stages of development of racial identity
  • Combating racism
  • Telling your child they are adopted
  • The adoptive family life cycle
  • Suggested reading
• Module 7 - Preparing for assessment
  • Departmental assessment considerations
  • Assessing a couple's suitability
  • Meeting the assessment criteria
  • The assessment process
  • Placement considerations
  • Assessors - their perspective
  • Establishing a family tree and Ecomap
  • Suggested reading
• Module 8 - Placement information
  • Medical assessment of children adopted from overseas
  • Lodging an application with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
  • Migration Health Check
  • Naming your child
  • Travel arrangements
  • Arrival in Australia
  • Queensland Birth Certificate
  • Australian Citizenship
  • Adoptive parent support groups
  • Life Story Book
  • Suggested reading
• Module 9 - General reading
• Family profile
  • My family profile
• Printable version
• Contacts

Naming your child

The Adoption of Children Act 1964 states that an adopted child will have the same surname as their adoptive parents upon the making of an Adoption Order.

The child's adoptive parents nominate the first name they wish the child to be known by, and if approved by the Chief Executive of the Department of Child Safety, the child will have that name upon the making of an Adoption Order.

It is our practice to ensure that a child's original given name is included on their adoption birth certificate. In the case of intercountry adoption, a child's name may be one of the few things that a child brings to their new culture and country.

The majority of adoptive parents recognise that a child's birth name is a very important and significant factor in the acceptance of a child's identity, and their feelings of self worth about their birth history, culture and country.

For these reasons, we encourage parents of an adopted child, who is not a baby, to keep the child's original given name as their adopted name. If an adopted child is an infant up to 18 months old, their original given name should be retained as one of their given names.

In cases where the birth name has a meaning that is not understood, is difficult to pronounce or there are other exceptional circumstances, consideration may be given to variations of a child's original name. It is acknowledged that this can be a sensitive issue for some adoptive parents who have strong feelings about giving a child a new name in order to secure a child's identity with their family.

However, a child's name is a tangible link to their family of birth, culture and country of origin. Naming a child, in some circumstances, appears to have lifelong implications for the adopted person's sense of identity.

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Last updated

19 October 2007