Secondary Research

Summary

Women

According to Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics of the National Center for Health Statistics, the prevalence of adoption by ever-married women aged 18-44 increases with age, education and income. Fertility problems have also been linked to the pursuit of adoption. The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse website (www.calib.com/naic) states that 9.9 million American women have ever considered adoption. However, The National Center for Health Statistics study found that of those women who had ever considered adoption, only 15.9 percent took any steps toward adoption. Of those who did take steps, 31 percent adopted one or more children.

Single Adoptive Parents

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges that the number of single parent placements slowly and steadily continues to increase, both in domestic and international adoption. Typically, single parents are female, most likely to adopt older children and less likely to have been a foster parent to the adopted child.

Cost of Adoption

International adoption is substantially more expensive than domestic adoption. According to Adoptions in California: Current Demographic Profiles and Projections through the End of the Century, intercountry private agency or independent adoption costs range from $7,000 to $30,000 depending on travel costs, in-country stay, escort fees, and INS/state department fees.
There are some resources for parents seeking to adopt internationally. The federal government offers a tax credit of $5,000 per child. In addition, adoption loans are available through the National Adoption Foundation, but they are difficult to secure.

Preferences for Characteristics of Children

Research done through the National Center for Health Statistics in 1999 indicates that preferences are strong with regard to age, disability status, race, and number of adopted children. The same study indicates that preferences are less strong for sex or religious affiliation of a child. The following information also came from this study: · Number of children Nearly two-thirds of people currently seeking/planning to adopt preferred to adopt a single child, but roughly 70 percent were willing to accept two or more siblings at once. · Age of children Older children are not as easily accepted. Nearly 60 percent of people currently seeking/planning to adopt would prefer a child under two years of age. While 86 percent would accept a child two to five years of age, only 37 percent would accept a child older than 12. · Disability status of children Over one half (54 percent) of people currently seeking/planning to adopt would prefer a nondisabled child, but only one-third (33 percent) would accept a severely disabled child. 83 percent would accept a mildly disabled child.

Relevance of Adoption to the General Population

A 1997 study by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute shows that the majority of Americans are personally affected by adoption. In fact, the survey found that 6 in 10 Americans have had personal experience with adoption. Personal experience was defined as "they themselves, a family member, or a close friend was adopted, had adopted a child, or had placed a child for adoption."

International Adoption

The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse indicates that the number of international adoptees brought to the United States more than doubled from 1992 (6,536 adoptees) to 1997 (13,620 adoptees). International adoption can be complicated, paperwork-intensive, and expensive. Certain health risks are also involved in adopting foreign children. These include the effects of poor prenatal/postnatal care, early neglect, lack of health care services, etc. Some specific problems are malnutrition, parasites, minor congenital defects, developmental delay, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV/AIDS. Special needs adoptions may cost less and involve shorter waiting periods. The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse notes "some children exhibit remarkable recovery from the developmental delays after they have proper nutrition and medical care and are in a family setting."

Why parents choose to adopt abroad

An article in the April 2000 edition of Russian Life magazine, "Adopting from Russia: A Way of Perceptions," claims: "The most significant reason adopters go aboard is because the American system is slow, bureaucratic and unpredictable. There are often long waits for domestic adoptions, as well as strict regulations that exclude people because of age or because they are unmarried. Some states actually require people to prove that they are infertile before allowing them to adopt. There are no such constraints to adopt from Russia, and the entire adoption process takes only five to nine months. One adoptive mother of two, Marlene Cimons, said, "This is not about where the kid is from. A child is a child I don't care it it's good for Russia or bad for Russia. Its what's good for the children. That's my motivation, and I dare say that is why most everyone else does it too."

Russian adoption

Russia was the greatest source for intercountry adoptions in 1997. The following table shows the number of immigrant visas issued to orphans coming to the U.S. from Russia as compared to total intercountry adoption:

Fiscal Year	Number from Russia	Total Intercountry
1999	4,348	16,396
1998	4,491	15,774
1997	3,816	13,620

                                    *                Source: National Adoption Information Clearinghouse

Climate for Russian adoption

The aforementioned article in the April 2000 edition of Russian Life magazine, "Adopting from Russia: A Way of Perceptions," addresses the negative media attention that Russian adoption has received. As more Americans adopt their children, Russian national pride has become bruised and some Russians feel as though this trend implies that the state is unable to care for its children. According to the article, there is a war of perceptions and, "Much of the contention stems from a lack of understanding why people want to adopt children from Russia and from ignorance of what happens to the children once they come to the United States."

The orphanages

The 900 state-run orphanages across Russia suffer from insufficient funding. However, Russian Life magazine points out that adoptive parents and childcare experts who have visited the orphanages claim that, "It is not for lack of love or effort on the part of orphanage workers that the children are neglected."

The orphans

The director of Cradle of Hope (a large American international adoption agency), Linda Perilstein says that when children leave orphanages at the age of 16, "One third of children become homeless, one fifth commit crimes and ten percent commit suicide. There are more that 2 million unemployed orphans in Russia. Also, children with physical handicaps or even correctable disabilities are sometimes placed in state mental institutions after they graduate from the orphanages."