Adoption

Program Trends

Adoption is always considered for any child who is unable to return home or to be placed with relatives. Adoption services include:

• Assessment of children for whom adoption is the appropriate plan.
• Recruitment, preparation and study of adoptive families.
• Preparation, placement and ongoing supervision of the child in the adoptive home.
• Adoption preservation services for adoptive families and their children following legal finalization of the adoption. These services include counseling, referral, subsidy and support services.
• Counseling, information and referral, and other support services for birth parents who are considering adoption as an alternative for their child or children.
• Post-legal services, as mandated by law, including counseling, information services and reunion registry services for birth families, adult adoptees and adoptive families.

A large number of children needing adoption services are older, black or racially mixed, have physical or emotional handicaps or are members of sibling groups. Of the 484 children placed for adoption by department staff in FY 97-98, nearly all (472) had special needs. Fifty-three percent of the children were adopted by their foster parents, and relatives adopted 8 percent. The following chart indicates the age and race of children placed in FY 97-98:

Approximately 64 percent of the children placed for adoption were minority children and 36 percent were white children. In FY 97-98, the Department of Social Services placed 21 children under age 1, for 4 percent of the total number of children placed. The proportion of children under 6 equaled 49 percent of the total children placed.

Approximately 51 percent of the children placed for adoption in FY 97-98 were 6 or older. This is an important statistic in that older children have complex histories, require extra preparation and require extraordinary effort in finding suitable adoptive homes.