Open Adoption A Growing Trend - 1440 Words

Open Adoption: A Growing Trend in the U.S. In the last four decades, the concept of the American family has undergone a radical transformation, reflecting society s growing openness. Among all segments of society, there is a greater acceptance of a variety of family structures from single parenting to blended families to same sex parenting of children. The introduction of openness into the process of adoption offers new opportunities for children in need of a parent or parents and prospective parents wishing to create or expand their families. Meeting the requirements to become eligible to adopt no longer means being constrained by the conventions of an earlier generation. Open adoption includes the birthparents and adoptive†¦show more content†¦Currently, there is only limited statistical information on U.S. adoptions. (Child Welfare Information Par. 2) The most complete statistics were gathered by the National Center for Social Statistics (NCSS) from 1957 through 1975. Most new statistical information about adoptio n is being gathered and analyzed by private organizations, through private surveys and research. (http://statistics.adoption.com/information/adoption-statistics-overview.html) States with the highest number of adoptions are states with greater populations, with California, New York, and Texas generally leading the nation. In 2000 about 9,054 adoptions took place in the state of California alone. (Child Welfare Information par. 1) In 2001, New York had the highest number of adoptions with 10,209 cases. In 69% of public and private agency adoptions, the birth parents had met the adoptive couple. (Berry) Societal attitudes toward adoption have made great advances since the 1900s, both in the understanding of the complexities of adoption and the acceptance of adoption as a positive path for children. It is estimated that about 1 million children in the United States live with adoptive parents, and that between 2% to 4% of American families include an adopted child. (Stolley) The majority of Americans are personally affected by adoption. A 1997 survey by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Insititute found that 6 in 10 Americans have had personal experience with ado ption,