Today I came across this report from the Dave Thomas Foundation, which promotes foster adoption of the more than 114,000 children in the U.S. who are currently available for adoption.
Highlights of the report include:
* Nearly half (45%) of Americans believe that children who are wards of the state are in the system due to delinquency … When in reality the vast majority are in the system out of no fault of their own, having been abused, abandoned, or neglected.
* 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.
* The average age of a child available for adoption is 8-1/2 years of age. Each year, close to 25 thousand eighteen-year-olds “age out” without ever having found a family. Many children wait 5 years or more to find a family.
* 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.
For more information about the foster-adoption process or the Dave Thomas Foundation, click here.
Life on the Road Less Traveled 
Hi! I’m *so* glad you are trying to raise awareness about fost/adoption. Just yesterday one of our old social workers phoned to ask if we could take another sib group; unfortunately, we are maxed out here (according to *their* rules). I wonder where those two little fellows will end up..? Why do most childless Americans travel overseas to adopt when there is SUCH a tremendous need right here on our own soil?!?
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