According to the 2007 National Foster Care Adoption Attitudes Survey commissioned by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, many Americans have misperceptions about adoption from foster care.

Here’s the truth.

45% of Americans think children in foster care have entered the system because of juvenile delinquency.
Truth: Children enter the system after experiencing neglect, abandonment or abuse.

46% of Americans mistakenly think foster care adoption is expensive.
Truth: Foster care adoption is not expensive, and financial support is available.

67% of Americans considering adoption think the biological parents could take the child back.
Truth: Once a child is legally available for adoption, the birth parents no longer have parental rights to the child.

On any given day in North America, more than 500,000 children are in the foster care system, and nearly 145,000 of them are available for adoption, just waiting for the right family to find them.

• There are 423,773 children in the U.S. foster care system; 114,556 of these children are available for adoption. Their birth parent’s legal rights have been permanently terminated and children are left without a family.
• More children become available for adoption each year than are adopted. In 2009, 69,947 children had parental rights terminated by the courts, yet only 57,466 were adopted.
• Children often wait three years or more to be adopted, move three or more times in foster care and often are separated from siblings. The average age of waiting children is 8 years old.
• Last year, 29,471 children turned 18 and left the foster care system without an adoptive family.
• Adopting from foster care is affordable. Most child welfare agencies cover the costs of home studies and court fees, and provide post-adoption subsidies. Thousands of employers offer financial reimbursement and paid leave for employees who adopt and Federal and/or state adoption tax credits are available to most families.
• Nearly 40 percent of American adults, or 81.5 million people, have considered adopting a child, according to the National Adoption Attitudes Survey. If just one in 500 of these adults adopted, every waiting child in foster care would have a permanent family.

Learn more at the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Adoption World Publishing also has materials available for use with foster-to-adopt children.

Your Foster Care Memory Book

My Adoption Workbook

Foster-to-Adopt Information

Foster Care

The Wikipedia definition of Foster Care is:

A system by which a certified stand-in “parent(s)” cares for minor children or young people who have been removed from their birth parents or other custodial adults by state authority.

Sounds so cold…how about

A system by which a parent who enjoys being with children, is able to handle change and stress, has a sense of humor and is flexible; opens their home to a child and lovingly helps them through a difficult phase of their life. These parents provide structure, basic necessities and a great deal of comfort to a child that is in great need of these things.