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Adoption in the United States: A Survey of Adoptive Parents


Adoption in the United States: A Survey of Adoptive Parents
Many families face fear and uncertainty when they consider their response to God’s call to take care of the widows and parentless (James 1:27). Every prospective adoptive parent questions the potential impact adopting a child may have on their family. Specifically, would adoption disrupt or enhance their family? A new survey of adoptive parents provides insight about the similar characteristics, adoption experiences, and well-being of adopted children and their families.
In 2007, an estimated 1.8 million children were living in adoptive homes with neither biological parent. Between April 2007 and June 2008, family members of 2,089 randomly selected adopted children under 18 years of age were interviewed about the child’s and family’s vitality and well-being. These interviews also provided information about demographic characteristics of these families. The finding of the survey was recently released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The study, Adoption USA: A Chartbook Based on the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents (Chartbook), identified the three primary ways to adopt in the United States – foster care adoption, private domestic adoption and international adoption. The survey took an extensive look at children and their adoptive families regarding demographic and socio-economic characteristics. And, in an effort to understand the holistic impact of the adoption process and evaluate parental and child satisfaction, the survey included information regarding the parents’ motivation for adoption, satisfaction with their agency, and openness of the adoption (i.e., contact with the birth-family). 
To accomplish these goals, the survey was broken into two sections. Section 1 focused on “the population,” i.e., the children and families themselves. Section 2 focused on the adoption process, specifically the different types of adoption and the adoptive parent’s experiences. 
Types of Adoptions
Foster care adoptions: The children adopted from foster care were generally removed from the care of their families due to the families’ inability or unwillingness to provide appropriate care. On average, foster care children tended to be older when they were adopted. Local welfare agencies typically oversee these types of adoptions.
Private domestic adoptions: These children are generally adopted from within the United States, and are not part of the foster care system at any time prior to their adoption. These adoptions may be arranged independently, often through lawyers or private adoption agencies.
International adoptions: These children were born and reside in foreign countries. Adoptive parents generally work with private U.S. adoption agencies that coordinate with adoption agencies in the prospective adoptive child’s country of origin.
“Among all the adopted children in 2007, excluding those living with one biological parent (i.e., step families), one out of four was adopted from foreign nations (25%); of the remaining children adopted domestically, half were adopted from foster care (37%) and half through private means (38%).
The Findings
Throughout the Chartbook, the authors share extensively about the indicators pertaining to the characteristics, experiences, and well-being of adopted children and their families. The following highlights some of the findings related to adopted children in general:
  • 85% of adopted children are in excellent or very good health.
  • The majority of adopted children fare well according to measures of social and emotional well-being. 
  • 88% of adopted children ages 6 and older exhibit positive social behaviors.
  • 87 percent of adopted children have parents who said they would “definitely” make the same decision to adopt their child.
  • Four out of ten adopted children are in transracial adoptions (Adoptive parents are of a different race, culture or ethnicity than their child)
Foster Care Adoption
  • The number of adoptions from foster care has ranged from 51,000 to 53,000 annually between 2002 and 2007.
  • Of the 1.8 million children living in adoptive homes in 2007, about 661,000 children were adopted from foster care.
  • 153,000, or 23 percent, were adopted by relatives.
  • 262,000, or 40 percent, were adopted by someone who knew them prior to the adoption (including relatives).
  • 454,000, or 69 percent, were adopted by their foster parent.
Private Adoption
  • Of the 1.8 million children living in adoptive homes in 2007, about 677,000 children were adopted privately from sources other than foster care.
  • 276,00, or 41 percent, were adopted by relatives.
  • 301,000, or 44 percent, were adopted by someone who knew them prior to the adoption (including family).
  • The majority of children adopted privately were placed with the adoptive family as newborns or when they were younger than one month old (62 percent).
International Adoption
  • Of the 1.8 million children living in adoptive homes in 2007, about 444,000 children were adopted internationally.
  • 6 out of 10 internationally adopted children were adopted from Asia, with over have of them coming from China.
  • Many children adopted internationally have lived in congregate care facilities (residential group foster homes, treatment facilities, juvenile detention centers, hospitals or orphanages) prior to living with their adoptive families (70 percent).
  • International adoption expenses are significantly higher than domestic adoptions.
The findings above are only a glimpse of the wealth of information that can be gleaned from the Chartbook survey. Perhaps for the first time ever, this survey compiles and summarizes the experiences of adoptive parents. As many families consider their response to God’s call to take care of the parentless the Chartbook survey provides parents and families a clear picture of what they can expect from adopting as experienced by those who have already adopted.
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