Continuing education in genetics for Adoption workers in Wisconsin

Abstract

In response to 1982 legislation and 1984 changes in the Wisconsin Adoption Records Laws requiring the collection of a medical-genetic history at the time of termination of parental rights, a continuing education program in genetics was conducted for adoption workers in 1984 and 1985. The education program provided 14 workshops in five locations throughout the state and consisted of a variety of formats and levels of training. In all, 164 participants were trained at least at the introductory level with approximately 40 of these individuals taking part in the advanced levels of training. Evaluations of the training by participants and by a sample of the agency supervisors of trainees ranked the program very highly. A review of genetic history forms completed in post-training sessions verified the expectation that training was beneficial. Trained workers completing the medical-genetic history forms scored somewhat higher than untrained workers and much higher than parents who completed the forms without professional guidance. Medical-genetic history forms completed by birth fathers as part of step-parent adoptions contained little to no useful information about the birth father's genetic background.

Attitudes to and experiences of genetic information and testing among professionals working in the context of adoption

“…There is a clear need for training and increased liaison between other departments or agencies, such as the local authority, with local genetics services. In 1992, a series of papers published in the Journal of Genetic Counseling proposed introducing training workshops for social workers (Burns and Reiser, 1992; Delp and Kaepernick, 1992; Rauch and Plumridge, 1992). Although this research was in the context of the 1990s US adoption system and has only limited parallels with current practice in Wales, the fundamental principles of their genetic training could help guide new training programmes.…”

The genetic self: The Human Genome Project, genetic counseling and family therapy.

“…Often there is a need for genetic evaluation of congenital anomalies or maternal exposures to potentially damaging substances before placements can be finalized. There have been a number of attempts to foster partnerships between genetics professionals and adoption workers (Rauch & Plumridge, 1992; Burners & Reiser, 1992; Delp & Kaepernick, 1992).…”