The Children Money Can Buy covers decades of dramatic societal change in foster care and adoption, including the pendulum swings regarding open adoption and attitudes toward birth parents, the gradual acceptance of gay and lesbian adoption, the proliferation of unregulated adoption facilitators in the U.S., ethical concerns related to international adoption, and the role money inevitably plays in the foster care and adoption systems. Special attention is given to the practice of "baby brokering" and the accompanying exorbitant finder's fees and financial incentives encouraging birth mothers to relinquish (or pretend that they are planning to relinquish) their babies that permeate much of U.S. infant adoption today. The Children Money Can Buy illuminates the worlds of foster care and adoption through the personal stories Moody witnessed and experienced in her many years working in the foster care and adoption systems. These compelling stories about real people and situations illustrate larger life lessons about the way our society values-and fails to value-parents and children. They explore the root of ethical problems which are not only financially driven but reflect society's basic belief that some children are more valuable than others. Finally, Moody makes a plea for change and gives suggestions about how the foster care and adoption systems could work together for the benefit of children and families.
Part One: Foster Care 1. Why Do I Want This Job? 2. Service Plans 3. Who Are These Parents and Children? 4. Foster Home Highs and Lows 5. The Cycle of Dysfunction 6. Boy Troubles 7. Termination of Parental Rights 8. Making My Escape Part Two: Agency Adoption 9. The Home Study Process 10. Adoption Is the Good Thing That Happens 11. Adoption Disruptions 12. "Doing Good" Isn't Always Good 13. The Need for Open Adoption 14. Finding Just The Right Home Part Three: Adoptive Parenthood and Sisterhood 15. Children Are Exactly Who They Are Meant To Be 16. How to Talk About Adoption 17. A Homeland Tour: Honoring Your Child's Heritage 18. A Sister's Journey of the Heart 19. Awkward (and Worse) Encounters for Adoptive Families 20. Jocelyn's Birth Mother Part Four: Adoption Connections 21. Our Own Adoption Agency 22. Birth Parent Counseling Etiquette 23. Two Open Adoptions 24. Choosing an Adoptive Family 25. Money Matters 26. Scammers 27. Can Foster Care and Adoption Work Together? Part Five: Changes 28. A Battle for Gay Adoption 29. Baby Brokers 30. The Ethics of International Adoption 31. The Ethics of Foster Care
