The survey results indicate to us that important sectors of American society are ambivalent about adoption and may not see how critical it is for tens of thousands of children in this country who need adoptive families. Those with first-hand experience are more supportive of the institution than those without such experience.
Women embrace adoption more fully than men.
On the other hand, Americans do not believe that children adopted internationally are any more likely to have trouble in school than children adopted in this country. If we are to place these children without parents in loving homes we need to educate segments of society who are not embracing adoption. The Benchmark Adoption Surveyed commissioned by The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute in New York was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. The margin of error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Its mission is to improve the quality of information about adoption, enhance the understanding and perception of adoption, and advance adoption policy and practice based on reliable information.