The Statistics on Adoption

They say that apart from mathematical data, there are many more unquantifiable aspects that need to be taken into consideration. The same can be said about statistics related to adoption, as these are incomplete and do not give the complete picture. The main reason for this is that there is no single organization that has been established to collect all statistics related to adoption.

On looking into the statistics currently available, we find that at least 60% of Americans have had an experience pertaining to adoption, according to a study by Evan B. Donaldson in 1997. This means that either the study participant or a family member or close friend had either been adopted or had placed a child for adoption.

Another study was meant to find out about women who placed their children for adoption before the child was even born. The probability of a woman placing her unborn child for adoption has inverse proportion to the level of education in her family as well as socioeconomic status (SES). If a woman's mother has completed at least one year of her college education, then she is three times more likely to place her child for adoption than a woman whose mother has not even completed high school. Researchers say that women belonging to educated families get more support from them than those belonging to uneducated families. A study in California however counters this theory by stating that women who were not well educated had a higher probability of placing their children for adoption.

But most of the above mentioned statistics are not accurate and not updated. But since financial records are kept methodically, it is easy to ascertain the costs involved in an adoption. The kind of adoption agency involved is the most important factor in the adoption process. An adoption through a public agency can cost up to a maximum of $2500 while a private agency charges from $4000 till over $30000. The public agencies get government funding while private agencies provide more value-added services, which can be slightly heavier on the pocket.

The above mentioned details only give an overview of adoption and not the real picture.

Source: statistics.adoption.com/ -