STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION RATE IN ABIA STATE (A CASE STUDY OF ABIA STATE MOTHERLESS BABIES HOME)

TABLE OF CONTENT

CONTENT                                                                                     PAGE            

TITTLE PAGE ——————————————————–                                                                 

APPROVAL PAGE ————————————————-                                                            

DEDICATION ——————————————————–                                                                   

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT——————————————-      

TABLE OF CONTENT———————————————      

ABSTRACT ———————————————————-                                                                      

CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION  ——————————————-                                                      
   1. STATEMENT OF PRBLEM——————————-       
   1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY———–
   1. SIGNIFICANT/IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY—–
   1. SCOPE OF THE STUDY———————————-       
   1. RESEARCH QUESTION———————————-       
   1. LIMITATION OF STUDY———————————-       
   1. DEFINITION OF TERMS———————————

CHAPTER TWO

2.0  LITERATURE REVIEW ——————————————-       

CHAPTER THREE

• METHODOLOGY———————————————— 
  • SOURCE OF DATA——————————————— 
  • POPULATIONOF STUDY————————————   
  • SAMPLE SIZE————————————————–   
  • SAMPLE TECHNIQUES————————————-    
  • METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS—————————     
  • LIMITATION OF THE STUDY—————————–             

CHAPTER FOUR

4.1   DATA————————————————————–  

4.2   DATA ANALYSIS———————————————-            

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0    SUMMARY——————————————————   

5.1   CONCLUSION————————————————–   

5.2   RECOMMENDATION—————————————–   

REFERENCE———————————————————-           

ABSTRACT

The case of abandoned children was the order of the day in many decades ago. This was due to single ladies who fell victims of unwanted pregnancy, death of parents, killing of twins and so on.

As a result of this, the Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services in Nigeria saw it as a challenge which led to their devising a means through which such children can be taken care of.

They introduced what is called foster care and adoption in Nigeria in 1965 with the passing into law of the adoption Act of No 12 in the then Eastern region of Nigeria. This work is aimed at examining cases of babies in two age groups to know whether adoption of babies was dependent on sex of babies.

This project work on statistical analysis of foster care and adoption rate in our society takes Abia as case study. 

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

In every year there are cases of abandoned children born by single ladies who fell victim of unwanted pregnancy and most a times with failed attempts to terminate the pregnancy. There are also other cases of abandoned children due to death of parents. These children are being taken of at motherless baby home.

Therefore, foster care means the temporal stay of a child in a home that is not his/her for certain period of time while adoption is the permanent placement of a child in another home for care and up bringing.

        Nwankwo (1979) described foster care and adoption as when a woman has an unwanted child who could abandon the child at the social welfare office for them to take care of his/her in order to avoid problems in future. But before she abandon  the child she will sign an undertaken making it clear that she is handing the child over to be adopted permanently by anybody  who wish to have the child. She would be required to take an oath that she would never ask for the child again in her life time.

        Eze Okafor (2004) said that foster care and adoption takes place when parents who have children wanted either male or female child or feel like rendering help to humanity by adopting an abandoned child comes for adoption.

The probation officer gives them guidelines to write letter specifying the sex they want.

The application is to notify the officer of their intention. The officer will give them four forms to fill.

 The probation officer will also interview the prospective parents, supervise their homes and if the condition of the home is conducive or favorable then, he will hand over the child with sex and age duly specified after approval by a medical doctor to the prospective parents. The prospective parents take care of the child for short time of about five or six months and then send the child to the probation officer who in turn will send the child for another medical check up.

The officer will also recheck the home of the prospective parents and if it is still conducive he will recommend that after careful investigation on the ability and fitness based on the application to adopt, the couple are therefore recommend fit to adopt the child permanently.

Eze Okafor (2004) said in continuation that after the recommendation by the probation officer, the prospective parents will appear in court with the approved information from the probation officer and interpret it in a lay man’s language to the prospective parents.

 The chief magistrate will quote Mathew 7:7 to them. If they find out that they are Christians “ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find and knock and it will open unto you.” The court will remind them about love and charity. The chief magistrate will give final order that the court is satisfied and that the application is qualified to adopt this child having fulfilled all the necessary condition in accordance with laid down law of adoption Act No 12 of Eastern Nigeria 1965.

Foster care and adoption was introduced by the Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services in the year 1965 in Nigeria. This was later shifted to the state Ministry of Health when the work load was too much on them. So, foster care and adoption were said to have formally started in Nigeria in 1965 with the passing into law of Adoption Act No 12 in then Eastern Nigeria which include Abia, Imo, Cross River and Ebonyi State.

Prior to the Nigeria civil war government paid huge amount of money to foster parents for care and up bringing of children they adopted. This was because only few parents were willing to adopt motherless babies by them. The reason was that prospective parents were afraid of what their kinsmen, relations neighbor e.t.c. would say. Glory be to God that today revise is the case as a result of the light ushered in by civilization and a new dimension of reasoning.