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The U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) was initiated in 1986 to provide prospective, descriptive, longitudinal data on the first wave of planned lesbian families with children conceived through donor insemination (DI). It is the largest and longest-running study of its kind in the United States. The study was designed to follow a cohort of lesbian mothers with age-matched children from the conception of their child until that child reached adulthood. The aim of the NLLFS is to report on the growth, development, and mental health of the children; to describe the parenting experiences in lesbian-led families; to describe the lesbian mothers' lives, relationships, and careers; and to document the effects of homophobia on the mothers and the children. This chapter presents an overview of the data collected on the NLLFS families from conception of the index children until they reached the age of seventeen. The NLLFS is an ongoing study for which data continue to be collected and analyzed.

This chapter describes research on adjustment and development among adolescents living with same-sex couples. Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which provided a nearly representative sample of adolescents and their parents in the United States during the 1990s. By selecting those youngsters in Add Health who were living with same-sex parents, and comparing them both to a matched group of youngsters living with other-sex parents and to the overall sample, the chapter aims to address questions about adjustment among teens living with same-sex parents. Whether they lived with same-sex or opposite-sex couples, adolescents whose parents reported having close relationships with them were likely to report higher self-esteem, fewer depressive symptoms, less use of alcohol and tobacco, and less delinquent behavior. They were also likely to have more friends in school, to have more supportive friends, and to achieve greater centrality within their friendship networks than other adolescents.

This chapter examines how child welfare agencies manage applications from prospective families headed by lesbians and gay men, what unique issues are encountered in this process, and how gays and lesbians respond to the homestudy assessment process. States and child welfare agencies are responsible for ensuring a timely and appropriate foster or adoptive family for every child who needs one. In meeting this responsibility, states and child welfare agencies must explore all potential resources for all children and youth awaiting placement in a family, including qualified lesbians and gay men who wish to parent and are eager to open their hearts and lives to children and youth in need.

This chapter reviews the social and political context of gay and lesbian adoption. It describes common experiences that gay men and lesbians have as they journey toward and beyond adoptive parenthood. To address some of the gaps in empirical knowledge, it presents findings from a recently completed national study of adoptive families. The findings focus on the different service needs gay and lesbian families have before and after adoption, service use, and helpfulness of services used by families. Those involved in adoption practice with gay and lesbian families, as well as adoptive families themselves and the greater adoption community, should benefit from these findings.

This chapter summarizes the main points made in this book and highlights important research and social casework issues that remain to be addressed, as well as best practices for facilitating successful adoptions by lesbian and gay parents. The chapters in this book have pointed out that much has been learned about parenting and adoption by sexual minority individuals and couples over the past few decades. For instance, we know that lesbians and gay men are interested in parenting and often turn to adoption as a means of achieving their goal. We know this is happening more and more across the country (as well as in other Western countries), supported by most state laws and the willingness of the majority of adoption agencies to work with this group of individuals. In addition, we know that lesbians and gay men are just as nurturing and competent as their heterosexual peers and that their children show patterns of adjustment similar to the children of straight parents. Despite the support of most agencies for placing children with lesbians and gay men, we also know that there continues to be resistance among some adoption workers regarding this type of placement.

This chapter traces the history of adoption in America. It covers adoption in early America, the rise of the orphanage, the emergence of the adoption agency system, adoption practice following World War II, and gay and lesbian adoption. American adoption is a story intimately linked to larger social changes over three centuries. Once thought of as little laborers, children increasingly became cherished for themselves. Once imagined as a single model, family structure bent and reshaped itself to the winds of change. We now have families with stepchildren, with half-brothers and half-sisters and blends of both; families with children and parents of different races and colors, families with two mothers, and families with two fathers. Adoption has always been a kind of front line of social change in reimagining the family, the place where change has been most evident, most scrutinized, and most controversial. Over time, it has helped to lead the way to acceptance of a diversity of family forms.

This chapter discusses changes that have occurred in the American family over the past few decades. We have witnessed a radical reduction in the social stigmas against nontraditional families associated with divorce, single parenthood, interracial marriage, and nonbiological parent–child relationships. The result is a growth in the diversity of families—from ones in which children are raised by single parents, stepparents, grandparents, and parents of different races or ethnicities, to ones with parents who are lesbian or gay, or who are foster parents, adoptive parents, and even parents whose families have been created through artificial reproductive techniques such as egg and sperm donation, surrogacy, and, most recently, embryo transfers.

This chapter provides an overview of adoption law and principles in the United States, situates lesbian and gay adoption within those norms, and illustrates how the courts and legislatures have responded to the increasing numbers of openly identified lesbians and gays who are seeking to adopt children as individuals and couples. It addresses issues surrounding the enforcement of adoption decrees and concludes with a consideration of practical implications of the variety and indeterminacy of legal rules regarding lesbian and gay adoption.

Although it is widely acknowledged by social casework professionals that lesbian and gay individuals have been adopting children for some time, relatively little is known about adoption agency policies and practices in this area, or about the extent to which such placements are being made. The debate about adoption by lesbians, gays, and same-sex couples, as well as the development of best-practice standards in this area, requires sound empirical data and a thorough understanding of the parameters influencing such placements. In an attempt to address these issues and to promote a more informed dialogue on this controversial topic, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute conducted a systematic, nationwide analysis of how agencies handle interest by lesbians and gay men in adopting children, the extent to which agencies are making such placements, and agency staff attitudes regarding adoption by this group of individuals. This chapter provides an overview of the results of this research and the implications of these results for adoption practice.

This chapter outlines the empirical and theoretical foundations of stressors and strengths in child development and family life, and subsequently applies these constructs to a large, national sample of gay and lesbian adoptive families. This information is intended to aid adoption professionals in identifying possible sources of strength and support in their work with gay and lesbian adoptive families, as well as to help these families plan for the common challenges they may face in raising their children.

This chapter provides an overview of assessment and intervention issues in clinical practice with lesbian and gay adoptive parent families. It begins by describing the context of lesbian and gay adoption and then addresses the various phases of lesbian and gay adoptive parent family formation (from assessment to postplacement)—with an emphasis on the contexts influencing family development at these stages—as well as relevant assessment and intervention issues. Recommendations for adoption workers and therapists who work with lesbian and gay adoptive families at these phases will be made throughout. Case examples are provided to illustrate key issues and conflicts faced by these families, as well as opportunities and challenges for therapists.

This chapter discusses the bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in schools. It identifies several religious and political dimensions of LGBT bullying and offers strategies for acknowledging and addressing these issues. It considers the nature and extent of sexual bullying/harassment in schools and the impact of sexual bullying/ harassment on victims. It discusses programs and strategies for preventing sexual bullying/harassment in schools.