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This nonmedical book represents an all-inclusive survey of adoption as well as related subjects in the child welfare field, such as the problems of unmarried parents and the foster care of children. The authors delve deeply into current literature and are able to review statistical studies as well as practices of agencies and private individuals who participate in adoptive placements. Case history material is perhaps too abundantly used for illustration.
The first chapter considers adoption from the viewpoint of a couple seeking a child via an adoption agency. One is impressed that the authors, an adoptive parent and a lawyer, lack understanding of the total thinking behind the "red tape" of an agency. However, it is recognized that agencies, which once had to devise regulations to limit the number of applicants for children because of insufficient numbers, are now faced with a surplus of applications. The increasing number of children