If you re a prospective parent new to the adoption process, the volume of information and variety of options can be very intimidating. We ve pulled together the following basic information to help you on your way to the best adoption experience possible. Our thanks to the Children Youth and Family Consortium Electronic Clearinghouse for much of this information.
Acknowledgments appear in each section where appropriate.
In the U.S., approximately 60,000 children are adopted annually by unrelated persons. Of this, approximately 30,000 adoptions are of healthy infants and 30,000 of older children and children with special needs. These children are primarily infants. Permission is granted to create and distribute copies of this document for noncommercial purposes provided that the author and Children Youth and Family Consortium Electronic Clearinghouse receive acknowledgment and this notice is included. Families choose intercountry adoption for a variety of reasons.