Abstract
Högbacka examines the process whereby the family of origin is disaggregated, starting with the role of adoption social workers as representatives of the wider adoption system. The position of adoption social work is first placed in the context of changing understandings and realities of social work in South Africa. The chapter then considers how adoptions are facilitated and investigates the interactions between (white) social workers and (black) first mothers in the context of lacking resources. It also pays attention to the notions of family applied in the adoption process.
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Högbacka, R. (2016). The Un-Making of the Family of Origin: Adoption Social Workers as Intermediaries. In: Global Families, Inequality and Transnational Adoption. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52476-8_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52476-8_4
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