Abbie Goldberg delivers keynote at the adoption research conference

Psychology Professor Abbie Goldberg presented a keynote lecture at the International Conference on Adoption Research at the beginning of July.

Her lecture, “Parenting at the Margins: Unequal Burdens and Risks in LGBTQ+ Adoption and Child Welfare,” explored what it is like to parent at the margins of legitimacy within contemporary adoption and child welfare systems — specifically how LGBTQ+ families shoulder unequal burdens and face stratified risks across both family formation and family preservation.

In adoption and foster care, LGBTQ+ prospective parents are often more likely to be matched with children who have significant mental health, physical health, and academic needs, reflecting both their openness to higher-need placements and enduring hierarchies that privilege heterosexual couples for “lower-risk” children. Once formed, however, LGBTQ+ adoptive parent families frequently encounter discrimination, inadequate institutional support, and heightened scrutiny in educational, mental health, and child welfare settings. The challenges that these families face are increasingly the focus of research, and yet families are also blamed for any problems that may surface as a result of their disproportionate risk.

Goldberg also addressed a rarely-discussed topic: namely, the risks facing LGBTQ+ parents who may be in danger of losing their (often biological) children to the child welfare system itself. LGBTQ+ parents —particularly transgender parents, LGBTQ+ parents of color, and low-income LGBTQ+ parents— face disproportionate surveillance and risk of child removal, which fosters fear of state intervention.

The conference provided an opportunity for researchers and adoption professionals from around the world to come together, build networks, and explore new avenues for research and intervention.