Adoption, Adoption Seeking, and Relinquishment for Adoption in the United States

Advance Data 306.  This report presents national data on adoption and adoption-related behaviors among ever-married women aged 18-44 in the United States, according to selected characteristics of the women. Trends are shown in the prevalence of adoption and relinquishment of children for adoption. For 1995, the report shows demand for adoption and women’s preferences for characteristics of the child. Data are based on nationally representative samples of women aged 15-44 from the 1973, 1982, 1988, and 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

Data Highlights:
The prevalence of adoption increases with age, education, and income. Adoption by black women has remained relatively stable, but data suggest that adoption by white women has declined.
In 1995, 9.9 million women had ever considered adoption, representing over a quarter of all ever-married women in this age range. Of these women, 15.9 percent (1.6 million) had ever taken steps toward adoption.
In general, preferences are strong about the characteristics of an adopted child with regard to age of child, disability status of child, race of child, and number of children. Preferences are less strong for sex or religious affiliation of child.
Between 1989 and 1995, just under 1 percent of babies born to never-married women were relinquished for adoption. Never-married black women have been consistently less likely than never-married white women to relinquish their babies for adoption, and this likelihood has remained very low over the decades.

Keywords: adoption, relinquishment, population characteristics

This page last reviewed June 18, 2002