Medicals for fostering or adoption

Going back to before the 1980s, did anyone who was adopted or fostered have to undergo any medicals as part of this? When you entered the system or changed families, and was there an annual exams or other requirements?

Yes in our state it is required but I suspect it mainly basic labs and not much of an exam.

Here in The USA we have 50 states that act as 50 semi independent regions. Health and human services are under state control so every state has a different bureaucratic protocol. I entered foster care at age four and was adopted by my family at 14. My parents took me in as a foster child at age 11 and by that time the system had done it's damage to me. To say I was a work in progress was an understatement.

My FPs arranged a doctor's visit shortly after I moved in. I hadn't really seen a doctor in a few years and from what I could remember the exam itself was just checking my vitals, etc so naturally there was some concern about my health. Being in foster care also caused some psychological damage. I was painfully shy and withdrawn. Attending school was difficult. I was incapable of forming relationships with others. In other words I was a loner.

My FPs informed me that this physical exam would be quite thorough. The doctor informed me she would have to touch my body in sensitive and uncomfortable ways. I was extremely anxious but somehow I respected her honesty compounded with her kind and reassuring demeanor. There I was underwear clad in front of 3 people who might as well been total strangers. Throughout the exam both my doctor and my FPs kept encouraging me by telling me I was doing a great job, everything's ok and how brave I was.

The exam concluded with the doctor ordering some lab tests, a chest x ray (asthma) and an EKG. Then something odd happened. The doctor excused my parents from the room so we could have a private talk.

“I am willing to bet good money your FPs have some goals for you. The system has given you a beating you didn't deserve. Your FPs only want to help you succeed. You are going to be a teenager soon enough so it's important we get you ready for those changes that are on the way. I know you are capable of trusting people and with our help you are going to learn you can develop your abilities and be a happy person.” I broke down and started crying. I understand now that I was sobbing because I felt a great burden was being taken from me.

My FPs, my doctor and my new counselor (private counselor) helped me gain some self confidence. Positive influence and solid nurturing helped me to become far less socially awkward. By the time my HS years rolled around I made a few real friends who understood me. My closest friend (to this day) convinced me to join him on the cross country team. I felt pressured but I did it. It was a game changer. I did well and enjoyed being amongst my teammates. My coach pushed me just hard enough for me to keep going and not to give up. Shyness was yielding to confidence.

The summer before grade 9 was one of my best ever. Right as school was ending my parents took me for my annual check up. My mom said “The doctor has to advise the adoption board you are in good health.” My jaw dropped. Mom smiled at me and said “What part of the word adoption do you not understand?” You are going to be OUR son, so please start calling us mom and dad. We would appreciate that."

Once again the same old thing but this time my parents asked me if I wanted to be alone for the exam. It was another major hurdle I crossed. My doctor was also quite pleased with my decision. We had a conversation. “If you ever want to talk in private about something you can trust me. I will only have to tell your parents if you are going to harm yourself or somebody else. I will also help you understand and navigate the health care system. Managing your health is a responsibility you need to learn, and I am happy to. .”she stopped and looked at my school form. “it says on this form you are going to run cross country? That is so great. I bet your soon to be parents are proud of you. Damnit, so am I. Wow! Let's get you checked over and make sure you are in good health. I have to also submit this paperwork to the adoption review board and along with it I will submit a personal letter recommending your adoption. You have made incredible progress since you became my patient. The courts are always a little backed up but hopefully they can fast track you and get your adoption approved by the time school starts".

A week later my caseworker requested an appointment. Thing seemed to be going well because we had not been in contact in about 7 months. No news is good news, I suppose. “Thanks for coming into see me, I know it has been a while but you folks have been doing so well from what I can see I decided to let time take it's course. So let's get down to business. I need you to sign some forms today so we can get your adoption concluded. If all goes well this matter should be concluded in a few weeks. Ultimately it is not my decision but my input is crucial in this process and of course I will give my stamp of approval. Your counselor as well as myself recognize you have made great strides. You have always done well in school and since you have been in the care of your FPs the accelerator switch got kicked on. According to your doctor you are in excellent health and far more stable and confident. She could have just signed the forms and sent you on your way but she also submitted a personal letter of recommendation regarding your adoption. I cannot agree more and congratulations on your decision to participate in cross country. I think it will benefit you in many ways "

Adoption day came about a month later. It went well. The best day of my life, in fact. I had a short chat with a judge after which he summoned my parents in and made it official.

@daltonclancy What an incredible, deeply moving account! I'm so glad things worked out for you!

In the 1950s in France, “wayward”, delinquent or simply orphan girls were sent to kind of “reform” boarding schools and one of the first acts was to give a “medical” including a virginity check.

@Pecan nutjob – Nice.

I mean, thats horrible

@XposeHer Similar things happened in other countries. In Australia there was a scandal about the Parramatta school, where troubled teenage girls were submitted to “medicals” involving pelvic exams for the enjoyment of some doctors. I think some medical staff was belatedly sentenced.

Going back to before the 1980s, did anyone who was adopted or fostered have to undergo any medicals as part of this? When you entered the system or changed families, and was there an annual exams or other requirements?

Me and my wife took in our first foster child in 1980. That was in Belgium. It was a very simple and straightforward procedure, not many administrative or medical requirements. I suppose it helped because a doctor, childhood friend of my wife's and wife of a good friend of mine, vouched for us.

I have no knowledge of there being any medical requirements other than following what all other parents had to follow as well re inoculations and school exams. I had the impression that, probably as in most countries, fostering services are happy to find any willing candidate parents and do their best to make the procedure easy.

Me and my wife took in our first foster child in 1980. That was in Belgium. It was a very simple and straightforward procedure, not many administrative or medical requirements. I suppose it helped because a doctor, childhood friend of my wife's and wife of a good friend of mine, vouched for us.

I have no knowledge of there being any medical requirements other than following what all other parents had to follow as well re inoculations and school exams. I had the impression that, probably as in most countries, fostering services are happy to find any willing candidate parents and do their best to make the procedure easy.

That is a very accurate assessment. Becoming a Foster Parent is not difficult provided you are of sound mind and character, so to speak. Regretfully many state agencies play fast and loose with that requirement so there is a possibility a child can be placed into a foster home of abuse (and or) neglect. By the time my adoptive parents took me in I was damaged goods. They, along with my doctor, my caseworker and my counselor salvaged my spirit and helped me move forward into a relatively normal adolescence. I was fortunate I was adopted by people who were not just very affluent but also very caring people. I ended up living in an upper middle class home and attending an excellent private High School. When I obtained my driver's license my parents bought me my first car: A brand new Nissan Xterra with all the bells and whistles. I attended a very prestigious Jesuit University on scholarship, my parents paid the rest. To this very day I am thankful for what I have been given. I do not take my circumstances for granted. Not now, not ever.

My adoption physical (required by the state) was very comprehensive. I had two forms to be completed. One for the state and one for the Catholic High School I was scheduled to attend in the fall. The state form was far more detailed (from what I understand). My doctor explained the state form included a rectal examination. I became very upset about this due to my neglect and abuse in my previous foster homes. She informed me she would rather not do this and promised she would not do this to me ever again unless I started developing symptoms in that part of my body. (hope I am not crossing a line regarding content with this experience but this was a real experience I was involved with. I see you are a moderator. If you take this down, let me offer my apologies in advance). It was not an easy thing to have done but I “Manned Up”. My doctor kept her promise.

@Examined I wonder if you have heard of the Harpenden Growth Study? They observed growth and development of a number of looked-after children over several years. That would suggest that they were subject to regular exams.

While attending a clinic myself in the late 80s I heard staff referring to other patients as being ‘from Beech House’ which I found out later was a Childrens Home but I never got to find out the details of what they were there for.

Am ex of mine told me how his foster parents used to examine him

I'm an ex foster carer. I've supported several children through LAC “looked after child” medicals. They were never all that thoroughly done. They included very quick checks of vitals and height, weight etc and that was it. I've since adopted three of my previous foster children and as such, no longer foster. On every occasion, the medicals missed my son's autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and it's taken years of fighting to get help for all of my children.

My husband and I on the other hand are both are healthy adults, no medical history of illness but we got subjected to extremely rigorous medicals detailed on a very lengthy blue form. It got progressively more and more invasive as the doctor worked through the form which, even after a very involved gyno check and breast exam, the thing I found most difficult was the doctor staring into my eyes with some kind of torch instrument. I have no idea what he was checking for but it took several long seconds with his face right up against mine and I could feel him breathing on my neck, conscious not to breath too heavily on him. It was very intense and actually somewhat freaked me out.

other hand are both are healthy adults, no medical history of illness but we got subjected to extremely rigourous medicals detailed on a very lengthy blue form. It got progressively more and more invasive

My wife and I fostered and never had anything to do with medical exams. The first boy was in a children's hospital, waiting to be put with foster parents, so I suspect he was given some sort of exam there.

But as for my wife and I, neither of us were asked to be examined for anything. No medical exam at all. All we got was one visit from a social worker beforehand. We cleaned up the house like maniacs and she never looked at anything. It was more like ascertaining if we really meant it.

@daltonclancy Any idea why that form included a rectal exam?! To detect anal sex or abuse?

@daltonclancy Any idea why that form included a rectal exam?! To detect anal sex or abuse?

That could be your answer but my FP's we're not suspected of abuse. In fact my FP's provided me an excellent living situation that allowed me to grow as a person. Possibly to check for disease? All I can tell you is I did not enjoy it

@Patientlywaiting thanks for that answer, very interesting. I had heard that examinations were a part of the process, at least a number of years ago.

@Examined @Patientlywaiting My ex-husband and I underwent similar medicals some as those mentioned some years ago when we fostered and later adopted.

@Examined @Patientlywaiting My ex-husband and I underwent similar medicals some as those mentioned some years ago when we fostered and later adopted.

What was the reasoning behind this and what things did they check?

@nightowl I‘m not completely sure on the reasoning for them but I think for fostering the reasoning was making sure you were medically fit enough to keep up with the rigours of looking after children, for adoption I think it was a combination of that and making sure you weren’t about to drop dead in the near future leaving the child you had adopted minus a parent again.

For fostering we had a mental health assessment and a full physical examination which for me included a breast exam and for hubby a testicular exam and hernia check. When we later adopted it was much the same except for me it also included an internal examination.

@nightowl I‘m not completely sure on the reasoning for them but I think for fostering the reasoning was making sure you were medically fit enough to keep up with the rigours of looking after children, for adoption I think it was a combination of that and making sure you weren’t about to drop dead in the near future leaving the child you had adopted minus a parent again.

For fostering we had a mental health assessment and a full physical examination which for me included a breast exam and for hubby a testicular exam and hernia check. When we later adopted it was much the same except for me it also included an internal examination.

Jeez i have relatives who fostered kids , but i never knew they went through this.

@nightowl I‘m not completely sure on the reasoning for them but I think for fostering the reasoning was making sure you were medically fit enough to keep up with the rigours of looking after children, for adoption I think it was a combination of that and making sure you weren’t about to drop dead in the near future leaving the child you had adopted minus a parent again.

For fostering we had a mental health assessment and a full physical examination which for me included a breast exam and for hubby a testicular exam and hernia check. When we later adopted it was much the same except for me it also included an internal examination.

I appreciate the logic behind it although to have kids the conventual way doesn't require this lol why was there an internal exam for example as you're not making this child by reproducing as such?

@nightowl I think it was probably based on having to be fostered the child/children has already been through some form of traumatic experience, so to minimise further chances of that, bringing a child into the world in the conventIona means usually means they haven’t had that previous trauma. It would probably also be a hard sell to build that into the conventional process of having kids, fostering/adoption has more state involvement.

As with the rest of the medical I think the internal was just part of a thorough examination designed to rule out any serious illnesses that could impair your ability to fulfil the role of an adoptive parent to the full extent.

@drgiggles I’m not sure if this still happens this way, for hubby and I this was nearly 30 years ago.

I know theyare always looking for foster parents but its quite a process to go through , I know they have to be careful who they select.

Jeez i have relatives who fostered kids , but i never knew they went through this.

They may likely not have gone through any of this.

@drgiggles I’m not sure if this still happens this way, for hubby and I this was nearly 30 years ago.

When my wife and I fostered it was more than 40 years ago and as I've written below, there was never any medical requirements that either of us had to fulfill, no doctor's exam or anything.

Nor was anything required later for adoption either, that was some 30 years ago. I am really surprised at what I read here. If I had a more salacious bent of mind, I'd say that the medical requirements were instituted to either generate some extra income for doctors or someone who made up the rules had a naughty mind …

When this thread popped up I was thinking aobut the examinations that the kids surely have to go through before being given to a new foster family.

N.

Interesting topic. Here in the UK I was unaware that these medical examinations took place for fostering and adoption.

However when I was growing up in the 1950s/60s, a lot of attention was given to checking out the health of citizens, especially at an earlier age. I underwent full strip examinations for school, pre-employment and life insurance. My GP was not averse to asking me to drop my trousers! How useful these examinations were I don't know, but my parents and I felt reassured.

Sadly, these examinations have largely died away. These days it is blood tests and scans. Progress, I guess.

However when I was growing up in the 1950s/60s, a lot of attention was given to checking out the health of citizens, especially at an earlier age.

This was probably still a holdover from the times of rationing and hardships during the war in Europe. What were the effects of rationing on the health of parents (women especially) giving birth to babies in the 1950s and 1960s? This would have been a very important matter to have more reliable knowledge of.

I remember reading that the teeth of children born to mothers who matured into adulthood during the war, were often not as healthy as should otherwise be expected. Probably due to a deficiency in foodstuffs available during rationing.

My mother's first child, a half-sister of mine, died just a few days before liberation, only a few days old. The family attributed this to inadequate nutrition during the occupation, even though expecting mothers received small supplements to their normal ration.

So I would expect that governments/health ministries in those years, paid extra attention to such matters as the health of children, in order to be better prepared for future wars and the inevitable rationing policies that would ensue. Remember, in the 1950/60s almost everyone assumed there would most certainly be a third WW.

@nightowl I think it was probably based on having to be fostered the child/children has already been through some form of traumatic experience, so to minimise further chances of that, bringing a child into the world in the conventIona means usually means they haven’t had that previous trauma. It would probably also be a hard sell to build that into the conventional process of having kids, fostering/adoption has more state involvement.

As with the rest of the medical I think the internal was just part of a thorough examination designed to rule out any serious illnesses that could impair your ability to fulfil the role of an adoptive parent to the full extent.

Makes sense I guess. I presume when it happened to yourself it was prior to your medfet interest.but provides some happy memories all the same?

Like I say, my ex was fostered and his foster parents examined him.His foster father should I say