FOSTER-CARE AND ADOPTION POLICY IN ROMANIA - SUGGESTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION

Building an effective child welfare system is a monumental task facing postrevolution Romania. Following revelations on American and Western European television about the large number of ''orphans '' in Romania , many couples flocked to that country to adopt children. A significan t number of adopted Romanian children were brought to the United State s. Some of these children are now evidencing problems that are bringin g them to the attention of health and social service agencies. This ar ticle examines the macroeconomic policies that led to the institutiona lization of a large number of children in Romania. Although institutio nal care is the current norm, a legal basis exists for building family foster care as an alternative. Romania's new adoption law replaces pr ivate adoptions with agency-based work. International adoption agencie s are involved in developing community-based foster care and permanenc y planning as part of their work. This article challenges internationa l adoption agencies to use clinical assessments of developmental delay s and more rigorous health examinations for children released for adop tion.