New Survey Reveals Millions of Americans Have Considered Foster Care Adoption; Yet Majority Are Confused about the Process and the Children Waiting for Adoption
Data also show that Americans are considering adoption from foster care more often than any other form of adoption, including private infant and international adoption
(Dublin, OH - November 1, 2007) A new national survey released today reveals that 48 million Americans have considered adoption from foster care;i yet a majority of Americans hold misperceptions about the foster care adoption process and the children who are eligible for adoption. According to the survey commissioned by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, two-thirds of those considering foster care adoption are unnecessarily concerned that biological parents can return to claim their children and nearly half of all Americans mistakenly believe that foster care adoption is expensive, when in reality adopting from foster care is without substantial cost.
Conducted by Harris Interactive, the survey of 1,660 Americans focused specifically on national attitudes toward foster care adoption. Despite the confusion over the foster care adoption process, almost two-thirds (69 percent) of American adults believe society should be doing more to encourage adoption from foster care.
“The findings tell us that Americans embrace foster care adoption as a viable method of expanding families,” said Rita Soronen, executive director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. “However, it is clear that there is work to be done to dispel the myths that surround the foster care adoption process in order to turn interest into adoption. With so many millions of Americans considering adoption from foster care, there is no reason why there should still be 114,000 children waiting in the system for forever families.”
Foster care adoption is the adoption of a child from the U.S. foster care system whose birthparents’ parental rights have been terminated and is therefore legally available for adoption. There are currently 114,000 waiting children who are eligible for adoption in the U.S. foster care system.ii Many of these children spend five years or more waiting for a family.iii Each year, close to 25,000 children in foster care reach the age of 18 without ever finding a permanent family.iv
The results indicate three areas where the majority of misperceptions exist: the children eligible for adoption the U.S. foster care system, the adoption process and the types of parents capable of adoption.
- Beliefs about children in foster care: Nearly half (45 percent) of Americans currently believe children in foster care have entered the system because of juvenile delinquency. In reality, the vast majority of children enter the foster care system through no fault of their own, as victims of neglect, abandonment and/or abuse.
- Beliefs about the foster care process: Two-thirds (67 percent) of those considering adoption are concerned with being sure that the biological parent will not be able to take the child back. In reality, once a child has been legally made available for adoption, birth parents can not claim a child or sue for their return.
Nearly half (46 percent) of all Americans mistakenly believe that foster care adoption is expensive, when in reality adopting from foster care without substantial cost and there is financial support available for adoptive parents after the adoption is finalized.
More than one third (36 percent) of Americans are simply confused or unsure about the adoption process as a whole.
- Beliefs about the diversity of parents capable of adoption: Half of Americans (48 percent) believe that a single parent raising an adoptive child definitely can provide a healthy and loving environment; however 32 percent of children adopted from foster care in 2005 were adopted by single parents or unmarried couples.v
Only a third (37 percent) of those surveyed believe a person over the age of 55 definitely can provide a healthy and loving environment for a child. In reality 23 percent of adopted children live with an adoptive parent 55 years of older.vi
“Misperceptions about foster care adoption create barriers that keep wonderful children from loving adoptive parents,” said Soronen. “We need to inform potential adoptive parents about the need, the affordability and the finality of foster care adoption so we can begin to make strides towards connecting more waiting children in foster care with forever families.”
The survey also shows that three in 10 Americans have considered or are currently considering adoption and 71 percent of that group considers foster care adoption above other forms of adoption, including private infant adoption and international adoption. Those results translate into 48 million Americans who have considered or are currently considering adoption from foster care.
Americans are both familiar with foster care adoption (79 percent) and hold overwhelmingly favorable opinions of it (88 percent). Almost a quarter of Americans (21 percent)vii have considered foster care adoption at some time during their lives. However, Americans tend to have a relatively negative opinion of the U.S. foster care system. These findings reflect confusion about the process, what it entails, who it involves and what it achieves.
“This survey provides adoption advocates with new insight on the general public’s perception of foster care adoption and the foster care system,” said Humphrey Taylor, chairman of Harris Interactive. “Not only will this data help advocates better communicate with and ultimately recruit potential adoptive parents, but it also points to perceived problems with the foster care adoption system itself so that policymakers, agencies and practitioners better understand what issues need to be addressed.”
Based on the survey findings, The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption recommends the following actions to promote positive change across the foster care adoption landscape.
- Aggressively disseminate the urgency and scope of this issue to the American pubic to elevate foster care adoption as a critical community, state and national priority.
- Educate the public, the media and policymakers about the realities of foster care adoption relative to its affordability, the finality of the adoptive parent’s custody and the diversity of individuals who can be successful parents.
- Advocate that federal and state policymakers understand and address the long-term financial, educational, medical and mental health support needs of families who adopt from foster care to generate additional safety-nets for adoptive families.
- Inform adoption agencies and practitioners about the critical nature of responding to initial contact from those interested in adopting and supporting their efforts to drive accountable, results-driven quality customer service, from initial phone call to post-adoption support.
- Promote the need for an elevated commitment to child-focused recruitment of adoptive families for the longest-waiting children in the foster care system.
For more information on the survey and to access the complete results, log on to
www.DaveThomasFoundationforAdoption.org. View the
Foster Care Adoption Fact Sheet to learn more about foster care adoption today.
About Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a non-profit 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to dramatically increasing the adoptions of the more than 140,000 children in North America’s foster care systems waiting to be adopted. Created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas who was adopted as a child, the Foundation spearheads programs such as
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, which puts adoption recruiters in 50 states and Canada to find permanent, loving families for children in the foster care system, and
Adoption-Friendly Workplace, which encourages employers to offer adoption benefits to their employees. The Foundation also works with adoption advocates and officials to streamline the adoption process and make adoption more affordable for families. As the only foundation dedicated exclusively to foster care adoption, we are driven by Dave’s simple value: Do what’s best for the child. To learn more about the Foundation’s work, please visit www.DaveThomasFoundationforAdoption.org.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and one of the fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls, and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.
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i. The number of Americans considering foster care adoption based upon 71 percent of three in 10 Americans according to U.S. Census Bureau U.S adult. population estimate of 225,662,922 million, July 1, 2006. http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2006/NC-EST2006-02.xls
ii. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children; Interim Estimates for FY 2005.
iii. Ibid.
iv. Ibid.
v. Ibid.
vi. Ibid.
vii. The percent of Americans considering foster care adoption based upon 71 percent of three in 10 Americans who have considered adoption.
Contact:
Rita Soronen, Executive Director
(614) 764-8482