Report on

Initiative to Establish Networking Forum for thePromotion of Family-Based Care for Children

March 2017
International Social Service Japan

Initiative Overview: Establishing Networking Forum for the Promotion of FamilyBased Care for Children(1) Objective of the Initiative
This year, as a result of amendments to the Child Welfare Act and to adoption laws
enacted to enhance the protection of children, the need to promote family-based care isgarnering more and more attention. However, adoptions continue to be carried out ina fragmented manner with little or no coordination between child guidance centers onone hand and individuals or private agencies handling adoption on the other.
To enable access to family-based care for even just one more child in the future
by increasing the level of coordination between relevant parties, we launched thisinitiative by looking into two areas of concern. First, we asked what types oflimitations private adoption agencies currently face in making their activities orresponsibilities known to the public. The second area of our inquiry focused on thelack of opportunities for child guidance centers, baby homes, child care facilities andprivate adoption agencies to share their experiences with one another.
Our primary objectives in launching this initiative were (1) to study the role ofprivate adoption agencies, and (2) to create a networking forum for child guidance
centers, other public child-welfare institutions and private adoption agencies in orderto enhance coordination between all such entities. We believe that this type of
networking is crucial for promoting family-based care for children and ourimplementation plan for this initiative includes publicizing the capabilities andresponsibilities of private adoption agencies as well as finding ways to provide
information regarding the benefits of family-based care to public child welfareinstitutions.
(2) Details of Implementation
1 Meeting with Advisory Panel (held once this past year)○In August 2016, we held a special meeting with our advisory panel comprised of Mieko
Iwasaki, Director of the Osaka office of the Public Interest Corporation Association andKiyoshi Miyajima, Associate Professor of Japan College of Social Work, Professional
Graduate School and the representative director of an NPO for children called “ProjectAt Home”.

The main topics included identifying entities to target for inclusion in theinitiative [Establishing Networking Form for the Promotion of Family-Based Care forChildren] (hereinafter Networking Conference), researching into target regions, andhow to take into consideration regional differences in the level of understanding offamily-based care as the implementation of the initiative gets underway.
With regards to the target entities, in order to facilitate lively discussion andto allow for meaningful support and coordination among members, it was decided tolimit the number of participants to 30. The question and answer session was led byexperts in many diverse areas, which made it possible to have a discussion on a broad
spectrum of ideas and issues. It was also decided that three networking conferences
would be held during the upcoming year and that the first two conferences would focus
on discussing in detail the needs of public institutions, baby homes, and child carecenters as well as what ISSJ should communicate and obtain from them, all of which
would then be comprehensively reviewed at the third conference.
2 Networking Conferences (held three times this past year) ※Agenda and○handouts can be found below
Three networking conferences were held this past year: October 2016 in Tokyo;
December 2016 in Osaka; and February 2017 in Tokyo. The first two conferencesfeatured discussions on the status of cooperation among child guidance centers andprivate adoption agencies as well as presentations on the roles and activities of thefollowing three associations: (i) an association with a long history of promoting familybased care in Osaka City, (ii) a support group called “Wanokai” that facilitates contact
between biological and adoptive parents, and (iii) ISSJ in terms of our work onintercountry adoptions. Using the comments from the participants in the first twoconferences and the advisory panel, the third conference focused on deepening theunderstanding of the respective roles of various adoption-related entities with anemphasis on the importance of “teamwork”, particularly in the areas of home
investigations and matching. In that regard, we shared our own experience inworking successfully in three-way coordination with a child guidance center and a babyhome.
To facilitate a healthy exchange of diverse perspectives and experiences, weinvited representatives from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, prefecturalgovernments, child consultation centers, as well as academic researchers in the field,

child care facility operators, private adoption agencies, and other experts (who served
as designated facilitators for the question and answer sessions) to each networking
conference. As a result, these conferences provided valuable opportunities for theparticipants to deepen their comprehensive understanding of the adoption process andissues.
③ Preparation and Distribution of Outcome Report
Based on the discussions at the advisory panel meeting and the subsequent networking
conferences mentioned above, the advisory panel, experts in the field, and ISSJ will
prepare a comprehensive report on the outcome of this networking initiative which will
include promotional information on the benefits of “permanent family-based care” to bedisseminated to relevant organizations and the public. For the general public,
excerpts from the outcome report will be posted on ISSJ website, including an English
translation thereof to be posted on the English version of the website. We will also
distribute 250 copies of the outcome report to relevant organizations such as childguidance centers, child care facilities, baby homes and ISSJ members.
(3) Findings from the Initiative
Through this initiative, we identified two main areas for further consideration: (1) thegeneral lack of opportunities to share information among entities and parties directly
involved in the adoption process; and (2) a barrier to promoting family-based carecaused by discrepancies in the level of knowledge of adoption among relevantorganizations.
With respect to item (1), according to the feedback received from the conference
attendees (representatives and staff from child guidance centers and child welfarefacilities), it was clear that our initiative provided a valuable opportunity for sharing
information and deepening understanding on adoption. At the same time, concerns
were raised about the general lack of opportunities to learn about the role andcapabilities of private adoption agencies, particularly when it comes to informationexchange on a consistent basis. Our initiative also highlighted the severity oflimitations placed on the ability to promote the practice of adoption in Japanese society.
As for item (2), the network conferences made it possible for the participants to be
introduced to and learn about each other’s roles and capabilities. In fact, many of them
expressed interest in participating in future opportunities to deepen their knowledge ofadoption practices (for example, how the children are selected for adoption, how tomatch children with adoptive parents, post-adoption support, searching for birth roots,and placing siblings together or older children in family-based care). We also learned
about the extent of gaps in knowledge among relevant child welfare entities that needto be addressed in the future.
In summary, this initiative highlighted the need to facilitate continuous informationexchange and to promote awareness and understanding of adoption practices among all
relevant child-welfare entities. To achieve this, it is imperative for private adoption
agencies to continue their outreach efforts.