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Overview

Adoption is a lifelong, life-changing journey for all members of the adoption triad: birth parents, adopted people, and adoptive parents. Adoption, the legal transfer of parental rights from one parent to another, provides children with love, nurturance, and stability and promotes their well-being and their opportunity to become healthy, productive adults.

In the United States adoption is governed by State law, although State law must comply with overarching Federal legislation.

Adoption is essential for the permanency of many children, including:

• Children and youth in foster care who will not be reunited with their birth parents. In many cases these children are adopted by other birth relatives.
• Other U.S. infants and children whose birth parents make adoption plans for them. Birth mothers or fathers may or may not have ongoing contact with the adoptive family or child.
• Children in other countries who need families. In intercountry adoptions, little or no information may be known about a child's birth family at the time of adoption.

Public agencies place foster children for adoption. Private agencies sometimes contract with the public child welfare agency to place foster children; they also may place U.S. infants, or children from other countries. In some States, facilitators (attorneys, physicians, or other intermediaries) may coordinate adoptions without an agency's involvement.

Research demonstrates that most children who are adopted thrive. With training and support, the most ordinary people have grown into their roles as adoptive parents with amazing results. These parents clearly show that adoption is one path to the love, stability, and nurturing all children need.

• Frequently asked questions

Selected Resources The Basics of Adoption Practice: A Bulletin for Professionals Child Welfare Information Gateway (2006) Provides an overview of the basics of adoption practice and the responsibilities of adoption workers. Handbook of Adoption: Implications for Researchers, Practitioners, and Families Javier, Baden, Biafora, & Camacho-Gingerich (2006) View Abstract Designed for researchers, practitioners, students, and families, this handbook explores issues surrounding adoption that impact birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted persons. National Foster Care & Adoption Directory Child Welfare Information Gateway Licensed private and local public adoption agencies; support groups for foster and adoptive parents, birth parents, and those searching for birth relatives; and other State adoption services and officials in each State. State Adoption Information Websites Resource list of links to adoption information included on State child welfare agency websites. AdoptUsKids The only national, federally funded photolisting service for children in foster care waiting for permanent families.

	Related Information Gateway Topics Systemwide: Workforce & training resources - Training for birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents Conference calendar

Updated on December 12, 2007