Adoption Ethics in a Digital World: Challenges and Best Practices¹

Abstract

This article discusses the range of ethical issues that today’s explosion of information and communications technology (ICT) has brought to the adoption landscape. It draws on recently adopted technology-related ethics standards and practice standards pertaining to human service professionals’ use of technology to deliver services and communicate with clients, both of which are highly relevant and useful in helping adoption professionals create guidelines for managing the ethical, policy, and practice challenges and conundrums created by the rise and expansion of digital technology in adoption. The discussion concludes with specific practice and policy guidelines that adoption professionals and people whose lives are touched by adoption should follow in order to protect privacy and confidentiality, maintain clear boundaries, and promote autonomy and self-determination in adoption.

Keywords:

• Ethics
• technology
• confidentiality
• boundaries
• informed consent