A Report to Congress on Interjurisdictional Adoption of Children in Foster Care

Administration for Children and Families

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VI. Study 2: Success Factors Study: Family Factors Associated With Successful Adoptive Families

A. Adoptive Family Structure

1. Number of Children Adopted by Family Structure

This section provides data related to the first research question: were there significant differences between the types of children adopted by single adopters and couples.

One hundred sixty-one families (270 individual adoptive parents) participated in the study. One hundred nine families (68 percent) were two-parent families, 47 families (29 percent) were headed by single females, and five families (three percent) were headed by single males.

Thirty-four percent of the families had adopted only one child; 29 percent had adopted one sibling group; and 37 percent of the families had adopted more than one unrelated child, including multiple sibling groups. Over time, these multiple adopters had adopted single children, single children and sibling groups, or multiple sibling groups. Couples and single females were almost equally likely to adopt more than one unrelated child, while no single males did so.

Table 13. Number of Children Adopted by Family Structure*

Family Structure	Couples**	Single Females	Single Males	Overall
Adopted 1 child	32%	38%	40%	34%
Adopted 1 sibling group	29%	23%	60%	29%
Adopted more than 1 unrelated child (including multiple sibling groups)	39%	38%	0%	37%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not always add to 100% due to rounding.

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2. Current Household Composition

Couples had a significantly larger number of biological children still in the home and a greater number of foster children than single adopters had. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the number of children adopted by family type.

Table 14. Household Composition by Family Structure

Household Composition	Couples	Single Females	Single Males	Overall
Mean number of adopted children	2.7	2.8	2.4	2.7
Mean number of biological children	1.5	1.2	0.0	1.3
Mean number of foster children	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.5
Mean number of total children in the home*	3.6	2.8	2.8	3.4

* p < .05; Significance level calculations do not include single males due to small sample size.

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3. Type of Child Adopted by Family Structure

While the data show that single women had adopted a slightly higher mean number of boys (1.57) than girls (1.26) and a greater percentage (23 percent) had adopted older children than couples (17 percent), the differences were not statistically significant. Nor was the extent to which couples and singles adopted sibling groups significantly different. There was, however, a statistically significant difference in the number of Caucasian single women who had transracially adopted (58 percent) compared to the percentage of Caucasian couples who had transracially adopted (30 percent). Caucasian single women were significantly more likely than couples to have adopted at least one child of color.

Table 15. Type of Child Adopted by Family Structure*

Type of Adopted Child	Couples**	Single Females	Single Males	Total
Mean number of adopted girls	1.32	1.26	0.60	1.28
Mean number of adopted boys	1.34	1.57	1.80	1.42
% adopted at least 1 sibling group	53%	51%	20%	53%
% adopted at least 1 child 11 and older	17%	23%	0%	19%
% adopted at least 1 child transracially (Caucasian families only) (*** )	30%	58%	75%	44.5%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages will not add to 100% as these items are not mutually exclusive.
*** p < .05; Significance level calculations do not include single males due to small sample size.

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4. Families' Level of Support for Adoption

This section provides data related to the second research question: are there differences in level of support for the adoption pre- and post-placement.

Parents were asked about the level of support they received from family and friends at the time of their initial decision to adopt and after the adoption. At the initial decision to adopt, 41 percent of families had received a positive reaction from both friends and family for their decision, and 17 percent had received mixed reactions from friends and family. Thirty-seven percent of the families reported that they either had support from their families or their friends, but not both. However, overall at post-placement, parents in the study reported fairly high levels of support from family and friends. Seventy-four percent of the families reported positive support for the adoption post-placement from both families and friends. Only four percent reported mixed support post-placement. This change in level of positive reaction to their initial decision to adopt and reaction at the time of the interview was statistically significant (p < .01).

Table 16. Families' Level of Support for Adoption*

Level of Support	Initial Decision to Adopt		Post-placement
Level of Support	n	%	n	%
Positive support from both relatives and friends	66	41%	119	74%
Positive support from relatives or friends, but not both	60	37%	34	21%
Mixed support	27	17%	6	4%
Unsupportive relatives and friends	4	2%	1	1%
Missing information	4	2%	1	1%
Total**	161		161

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not always add to 100% due to rounding.

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B. Post-Adoption Services

1. Utilization of Post-Adoption Services

This section provides data related to the third research question: what kinds of post-placement services were provided to the families and what were their needs.

Included in the family measures was a structured checklist designed to assess which post-adoption services families used and how helpful these services were to the families. Families rated helpfulness on a 5-point scale: 1) not at all helpful, 2) not very helpful, 3) somewhat helpful, 4) very helpful, and 5) extremely helpful. Families were also asked to check which services they needed but had not received.

Families reported using an average of 13 different types of post-adoption services. They also reported that they found the majority of services (76 percent) were either very helpful or extremely helpful. In addition, parents reported that they needed, on average, six services that they did NOT receive.

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2. Post-Adoption Services Received

The most commonly reported post-adoption services identified by families in this study were financial supports, including adoption subsidies (89 percent), and help with routine medical (79 percent) and dental (77 percent) care. Seventy-seven percent also reported receiving financial supports other than a subsidy, such as health insurance, medical subsidies, and social security benefits. The next most common set of services families used addressed the child's psychological and educational needs. Seventy-one percent of families reported using individual child therapy post-adoption; 60 percent had educational assessments completed; and 59 percent of the children had psychological evaluations.

In addition to utilizing post-adoption services for their children, many families also identified supports for themselves. For example, 56 percent of families reported spending time with other adoptive parents as a support mechanism, and 47 percent reported using family therapy. Only three percent of the families indicated they did not use any post-adoption services.

Table 17. Post-Adoption Services Received*

Type of Service	Number of Families Receiving this Service	Percentage of Families Receiving this Service **
Adoption subsidy	130	89%
Routine medical care	116	79%
Dental care	113	77%
Other financial supports	112	77%
Individual child therapy	104	71%
Educational assessment	87	60%
Psychological evaluation	86	59%
Time with other adoptive parents	82	56%
Special education curriculum	76	52%
Family therapy	68	47%
Time with other adopted children	58	40%
Time with experienced adoptive parents	57	39%
Adoptive parent support group	56	38%
Parenting skills counseling	56	38%
Adoption issues counseling	56	38%
Abuse issues counseling	56	38%
Separation issues counseling	52	36%
Respite care (overnight)	46	32%
Speech therapy	43	29%
Legal services¹⁹	41	28%
Social work service coordination	38	26%
Child development counseling	36	25%
Sexual issues counseling	35	24%
Daycare: out-of-home	32	22%
Daycare: in-home	32	22%
Physical or occupational therapy	30	21%
Child's future counseling	28	19%
Tutoring	27	18%
Support group for adopted child	26	18%
Psychiatric hospitalization	23	16%
Medical care for disability	19	13%
Out-of-home placement (residential treatment, group home, rehabilitation facility, etc.)	19	13%
Counseling to prevent outside placement	17	12%
Daycare for child w/psychiatric problems	13	9%
Transracial counseling	13	9%
Daycare for a disabled child	10	7%
Emergency shelter care²⁰	7	5%
Home health nurse	6	4%
Homemaker/housekeeper	5	3%
Drug/alcohol services	3	2%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families who responded to the survey (n = 146 of the original 161 families).
** Percentages do not add up to 100% as parents could report using multiple services.

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3. Most Helpful Post-Adoption Services

Over 75 percent of the families received an adoption subsidy or help with routine medical and dental care. Ninety percent or more of the families who received these three services found them very or extremely helpful. Other services were found to be helpful, but not as helpful as the subsidy or medical/dental care. For example, 63 to 79 percent of families found various types of counseling, trainings, and support groups helpful. Between 69 and 76 percent of the families who received counseling on parenting skills, abuse, separation, sexual, and adoption issues found the service to be very or extremely helpful.

About 67 percent of the families found their child's individual therapy to be very or extremely helpful. Two-thirds or more of families found that 10 out of 11 types of counseling were very or extremely helpful, while 50 percent of families found counseling to prevent an out-of-home placement to be very or extremely helpful.

Seventy-three percent of the parents who spent time with other adoptive parents found the activity very or extremely helpful, and 51 percent of the families whose children spent time with other adopted children found the activity very helpful. Although fewer parents (18 percent) reported that their children were in a formal adoption support group, 63 percent found the group to be very helpful for their children.

Table 18. Helpfulness of Services Received*

Type of Service	Number of Families Receiving Services	Percentage Finding Service Very or Extremely Helpful**	Missing Values**
Medical care for disability	19	100%	0%
Daycare: out-of-home	32	97%	3%
Legal services	41	95%	2%
Adoption subsidy	130	93%	2%
Routine medical care	116	91%	2%
Transracial adoption counseling***	13	91%	15%
Dental care	113	91%	4%
Daycare: in-home	32	90%	3%
Other financial supports	112	87%	1%
Speech therapy	43	84%	0%
Respite care (overnight)	46	83%	0%
Tutoring	27	81%	0%
Homemaker/housekeeper	5	80%	0%
Child development counseling***	36	79%	6%
Physical or occupational therapy	30	79%	3%
Special education classes	76	79%	0%
Family therapy***	68	77%	3%
Daycare for child w/psychiatric problems	13	77%	0%
Abuse issues counseling***	56	76%	4%
Adoption issues counseling***	56	75%	2%
Separation issues counseling***	52	75%	2%
Time with experienced adoptive parents	57	73%	2%
Time with other adoptive parents	82	73%	2%
Emergency shelter care	7	71%	0%
Educational assessment	87	71%	2%
Adoptive parent support group	56	70%	4%
Parenting skills counseling***	56	70%	4%
Psychological evaluation	86	70%	5%
Social work service coordination	38	69%	5%
Sexual issues counseling***	35	69%	0%
Home health nurse	6	67%	0%
Child's future counseling***	28	67%	4%
Individual child therapy***	104	67%	5%
Out of home placement	19	67%	5%
Support group for adopted child	26	63%	8%
Daycare for a disabled child	10	60%	0%
Time with other adopted children	58	51%	2%
Counseling to prevent outside placement	17	50%	6%
Psychiatric hospitalization	23	50%	4%
Drug/alcohol services	3	0%	0%

*Percentages in the second column are calculated on the total number of families who received each service, as reported in the previous table (Table 17) (e.g., n = 19 for medical care for disability). Percentages in the third column are calculated on the number of families who received each service, but did not provide data on how helpful the service was (i.e., 15% of the 13 families who had transracial counseling did not report whether it was helpful or not).
** Percentages do not add up to 100% as these items are not mutually exclusive.
***Helpful or very helpful counseling services for 50% or more of the respondents.

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4. Unmet Service Needs

The top five most needed services were accessed by over 80 percent of the parents reporting need. For example, of the 96 families who said they needed a subsidy, only four families (four percent) did not get it. Similarly, of the 104 families who said they needed dental services for the child, 15 (14 percent) were unable to get the dental services they needed.

There were, however, a number of other services that many of the families needed but were unable to access. For example, 86 families (59 percent of the sample) said they needed respite care (overnight), but 48 of those families (56 percent) were unable to get respite. Similarly, 80 families (55 percent) said they wanted counseling for adoption issues, but 39 families (49 percent) did not receive it. Equally needed but not received were a support group for the adopted child, tutoring services, in-home day care, out-of-home day care, time with experienced adoptive parents, and an adoptive parent support group. Close to half of all the families said they needed these six services, but only 50 percent or less of those families received them.

Among the services needed by a third or fewer families, the most unmet needs were for homemaker/housekeeper services (93 percent did not receive services), day care for children with psychiatric problems (70 percent did not receive services), and drug or alcohol services for children (67 percent did not receive services).

Table 19. Unmet Service Needs*

Type of Service	Number and % of Adoptive Families who Needed Specific Service**		Of the Families Needing a Specific Service, the Number and % Who Never Received It**
Type of Service	n	%	n	%
Dental care	104	71%	**15	14%
Adoption subsidy	96	66%	4	4%
Routine medical care	95	65%	6	6%
Other financial supports	88	60%	14	16%
Individual child therapy	87	60%	9	10%
Respite care (overnight)	86	59%	48	56%
Family therapy	81	55%	27	33%
Adoption issues counseling	80	55%	39	49%
Time with other adoptive parents	79	54%	27	34%
Educational assessment	78	53%	14	18%
Time with experienced adoptive parents	75	51%	39	52%
Adoptive parent support group	75	51%	39	52%
Psychological evaluation	73	50%	9	12%
Daycare: in-home	69	47%	44	64%
Special education classes	66	45%	8	12%
Time with other adopted children	65	45%	32	49%
Support group for adopted child	64	44%	51	80%
Daycare: out-of-home	62	42%	35	56%
Parenting skills counseling	62	42%	23	37%
Tutoring	62	42%	40	65%
Separation issues counseling	61	42%	26	43%
Abuse issues counseling	58	40%	21	36%
Social work service coordination	53	36%	23	43%
Child's future counseling	50	34%	32	64%
Legal services	50	34%	18	36%
Sexual issues counseling	48	33%	23	48%
Child development counseling	41	28%	17	41%
Homemaker/housekeeper	40	27%	37	93%
Speech therapy	38	26%	7	18%
Daycare for a child with psychiatric problems	37	25%	26	70%
Physical or occupational therapy	29	20%	4	14%
Counseling to prevent outside placement	28	19%	13	46%
Transracial issues counseling	25	17%	15	60%
Psychiatric hospitalization	25	17%	4	16%
Daycare for a disabled child	22	15%	13	59%
Out of home placement	22	15%	5	23%
Medical care for disability	18	12%	4	22%
Emergency shelter care	16	11%	9	56%
Drug/alcohol services	9	6%	6	67%
Home health/nursing	6	4%	2	33%

*Percentages in column 2 are calculated on the total number of parents who responded to the survey (n = 146 of the original 161 parents). Percentages in column 3 are calculated on the number of parents who needed each service, as reported in column 2 (e.g., 15 of the 104 parents who needed dental care did not receive it).
**Percentages across columns 2 and 3 will not add to 100% because column 3 is a subset of column 2. In other words, 14% (column 3) of the 71% (column 2) of families needing dental care services never received that service.

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5. Concerns Parents Have With Utilization of Post-Adoption Services

The most frequently named concerns with utilizing post-adoption services were lack of time and lack of confidence in service providers. Forty-one percent of families in the sample reported a problem with finding time to access services, while 40 percent reported a lack of confidence in service providers. Other concerns raised by approximately one-third of the 146 families who used post-adoption services were: insurance does not cover services (35 percent), lack of qualified providers in the area (34 percent), service providers do not understand problems (32 percent), families are unable to find the right services (32 percent), and services are not available at the right time (29 percent).

Table 20. Concerns With Utilization of Services*

Concern	Number of Families with this Concern	% of Families with this Concern**
Lack of time to access services	60	41%
Lack of confidence in service providers	59	40%
Insurance does not cover services	51	35%
Lack of qualified service providers in area	49	34%
Service providers do not understand problems	47	32%
Cannot find the right services	46	32%
Services are not available at the right time	42	29%
Family does not know where the services are located	35	24%
Focus child will not go for counseling	33	23%
Transportation is a problem	23	16%
The services are not culturally sensitive	22	15%
The family will not go for counseling	14	10%
Services are offered by a different religious group	10	7%

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C. Child Behavior Challenges and Parental Stress

1. Adoptive Parent Stress Measured by the Parenting Stress Index

This section provides data related to the fourth research question: how significant were the children's behavioral challenges.

The level of difficulty parents had in parenting the focus child was measured in several different ways. In the interview, one parent in each of the 161 families was asked to rate how difficult the focus child has been to parent. Parents rated difficulty on a 5-point scale, with one being very easy and five being very difficult. In the survey, out of a list of 35 behaviors and attributes, parents were asked to identify the number exhibited by their child. The parents also were asked to complete four Parenting Stress Index (PSI) subscales indicating whether their child gave them positive reinforcement, whether their child was adaptable, whether their child was demanding, and whether they were accepting of their child's behavior. High scores on the PSI subscales indicate high parenting stress in the measured domains. Abidin (1995, p. 5) has normed the PSI subscales and identified cut off points for each scale. The lower cut off is at the 15^th percentile or below. The higher cut off is at the 85^th percentile or above. He describes families whose scores are higher than the cut off point as manifesting high levels of stress on that scale. He suggests that the families who fall below may be underreporting their levels of stress due to social desirability pressures.

Children in the study exhibited an average of 10 difficult behaviors. Only 32 parents (20 percent) described the focus child as easy or very easy to parent. Thirty-six (22 percent) described the child as somewhat easy. However, over half, 93 parents (58 percent) described their child as difficult or very difficult to parent.

On each of the four PSI subscales, the responses of more than half of the parents indicated high parenting stress. The highest percentage of parents, 69 percent, identified high parenting stress associated with the demandingness of the child (subscale).

Table 21. Adoptive Parent Stress Measured by the PSI*

PSI Subscale Content	High**	Normal	Low	Missing
Child does not give positive reinforcement to parent	58%	36%	5%	1%
Child is not adaptable	61%	30%	9%	0%
Child is demanding	69%	23%	8%	0%
Parent does not accept child	64%	30%	6%	0%

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2. Child Behavior Challenges, Parenting Difficulty, and Parental Stress

As shown in Table 22, Pearson's correlation was used to measure the association between the parents' assessment of how difficult the focus child was to parent and the more objective measure, "Total Number of Behavior Problems," and with the four normed PSI measures.²¹ All of the measures were significantly, positively associated (p < .01) with the parent's assessment. The PSI score "Child is Demanding" and the "Total Number of Behavior Problems" scores had the highest correlations at r = .67 and r = .68 respectively.

Table 22. Child Behavior Problems, Parenting Difficulty, and Parental Stress

		Total Number of Behavioral Problems	PSI: Child Does Not Give Positive Reinforcement to Parent	PSI: Parent Does Not Accept Child	PSI: Child is Not Adaptable	PSI: Child is Demanding
Parent assessment of level of difficulty	r	0.68*	0.45*	0.51*	0.57*	0.67*
	N	146	145	146	146	146

* p < .01

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3. Children's Significant Behavior Challenges

This section provides data related to the fifth research question: what were the most significant child behavior challenges.

One parent from each family was asked to report on what types of attributes the children exhibited and behaviors in which the children engaged that made the children difficult to parent. Responses were received from 146 (91 percent) of the 161 parents. The most common child attributes parents addressed were: anger (64 percent), defiance (60 percent), impulsiveness (60 percent), and manipulation (46 percent). The most common types of behaviors were: violating rules of conduct (49 percent), lying (49 percent), arguing with peers (45 percent), and tantrums (45 percent).

Table 23 shows a fairly low percentage of the children described as "easy" to parent engaging in challenging behaviors, with the exception of lying (29 percent) and tantrums (25 percent). The group labeled by the parents as difficult had a much larger percentage of children who were engaged in more serious behavior problems such as: violating rules of conduct (70 percent), verbal aggression (55 percent), physical aggression (48 percent), stealing (48 percent), and vandalism (31 percent).

Table 23. Child Attributes and Behaviors Related to Level of Parenting Difficulty*

Attributes	Easy	Somewhat Easy	Difficult	Overall (n = 146)
Attributes	(n = 28)**	(n = 29)	(n = 89)	Overall (n = 146)
Anger	14%	66%	79%	64%
Defiance	18%	48%	78%	60%
Impulsive	14%	48%	78%	60%
Manipulative	25%	24%	60%	46%
Disobedient	0%	17%	61%	40%
Hyperactivity	7%	38%	49%	39%
Irritability	0%	3%	39%	25%
Depression	11%	14%	40%	29%
Inability to attach to family members	4%	10%	35%	24%
Rejects affection	4%	10%	25%	18%
Cruelty	0%	0%	13%	8%
Withdrawn	14%	3%	12%	11%
Behaviors
Violating rules of conduct	14%	21%	70%	49%
Lying	29%	34%	61%	49%
Argues with peers	14%	31%	58%	45%
Tantrums	25%	31%	56%	45%
Argues with siblings	11%	31%	56%	42%
Verbal aggression	0%	14%	55%	36%
Physical aggression	4%	14%	48%	33%
Stealing	18%	21%	48%	37%
Sabotaging relationships	4%	10%	43%	29%
Vandalism	0%	3%	31%	20%
Running away	0%	0%	27%	16%
Self abuse	0%	7%	26%	17%
Sexual acting out	7%	14%	25%	19%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number in each column (e.g., n = 28 parents who reported their child as "easy" to parent).
** Percentages do not add up to 100% as parents could report multiple child attributes.

In summary, children described as difficult to parent displayed behavior challenges including violating rules of conduct (70 percent), verbal (55 percent) and physical (48 percent) aggression, stealing (48 percent), and vandalism (31 percent). This group was also more likely to be defiant, manipulative and/or depressed. Children in this category also were reported to have an average of five disabilities/challenges.

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4. Children's Disabilities and Other Special Needs

Over half of the sample of adopted children had some type of attention deficit diagnosis (55 percent) and half had learning disabilities (50 percent). The two most commonly mentioned child challenges were behavioral problems and emotional problems. Over three-quarters of the children were characterized by the adoptive parents as having behavioral problems, while 68 percent of the children were characterized as having emotional problems.

Table 24. Children's Disabilities and Other Special Needs*

Child Disabilities & Other Special Needs	n	%**
Behavioral problems	111	76%
Emotional problems	100	68%
ADD or ADHD	81	55%
Learning disability	73	50%
Psychiatric problems	70	48%
Developmental delays	51	35%
Chronic medical, non-life threatening	26	18%
Mental retardation or handicap	21	14%
Motor disability	11	8%
Serious speech impairment or muteness	8	5%
Physical handicap (orthopedic)	7	5%
Serious vision impairment or blindness	7	5%
Autism	6	4%
Seizure disorder	6	4%
Serious hearing impairment or deafness	4	3%
Physical handicap (non-orthopedic)	4	3%
Cerebral Palsy	3	2%
Chronic medical, terminal	3	2%

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D. Parental Satisfaction with Parenting, Their Marriage, and Their Child's Adoption

1. Parental Satisfaction Measures and Scores

This section provides data related to the sixth research question: how satisfied are parents with their parenting, their marriage, and their child's adoption.

One parent from each family was asked to complete several measures of satisfaction that were used in this study. Satisfaction with parenting in general²² was measured using a 10-item scale from Reilly and Platz (2003). Marital satisfaction was assessed using a 5-item scale adapted from Fowers and Olson (1993). Parents' individual item scores were totaled, then averaged, in order to get marital satisfaction scores; scores fell between one and five, with five indicating the highest level of satisfaction. For parenting satisfaction scores, scores fell between one and four, with four indicating the highest level of satisfaction. Parents were also asked to rate on a scale of one to five, with five indicating very satisfied, how satisfied they were with the adoption of the focus child. Parents in the study reported being very satisfied with the adoption of the focus child (4.6 on a 5-point scale) and very satisfied with parenting in general (3.5 on a 4-point scale). For those who were married, parents were satisfied with their marital relationship (4.2 on a 5-point scale).

Table 25. Parental Satisfaction with their Marriage, the Child's Adoption, and Parenting

Satisfaction	Mean	Number of Parents*
Marital satisfaction	4.2 (of a possible 5)	94
Focus child's adoption	4.6 (of a possible 5)	161
Parenting in general	3.5 (of a possible 4)	141

*The number of parents varies on this table due to using married parents for one analysis and due to missing data.

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2. Relationship Between Parenting and Marital Satisfaction

Pearson's correlation was also used to examine the association between marital satisfaction, satisfaction with parenting in general, and satisfaction with the focus child's adoption.²³ Satisfaction with parenting in general was significantly, albeit modestly, correlated with satisfaction with the adoption of the focus child (r = .26) as well as marital satisfaction (r = .24). However, a statistically significant relationship was not found between marital satisfaction and satisfaction with the adoption of the focus child.

Table 26. Relationship Between Parenting and Marital Satisfaction

Satisfaction	Pearson's Correlation	Parenting in General	Focus Child's Adoption
Marital satisfaction	r	0.24*	0.15
	n	90	94
Parenting in general	r	―	0.26**
	n	―	141

* p < .05
** p < .01

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E. Adoptive Family Contact With Birthparents

This section provides data related to the seventh research question: are there differences in characteristics of families who have contact with the birthparents and those who do not have contact with any foster or birth family members from the child's past.

In the interview, the adoptive families (N = 161) were asked whether they have had post-placement contact with anyone from the child's past and to give reasons for the presence or absence of such contact. In addition, families who had post-placement contact were asked to describe the type and frequency of contact and whether the contact continued post-finalization. Coders gathered information from the interviews concerning contact with: birthparents; siblings; extended birth relatives; foster families; professional staff; and other important individuals such as teachers, neighbors, or friends. For the purposes of this report, two types of contact were compared—those families who have had post-placement contact with birthparents and those families who have had no post-placement contact with birth or foster families.

1. Demographic Characteristics of Families who had Post-Finalization Contact With Birthparents

a. Family Structure

Twenty-nine adoptive families (18 percent) in the sample had post-finalization contact with at least one birthparent. Although the majority of the adoptive families (n = 19, 66 percent) with contact were married couples, there were also 10 (34 percent) single female adopters.

Table 27. Family Structure*

Family Structure	Number	Percent
Married couples	19	66%
Single females	10	34%
Total	29	100%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in this sample (n = 29).

b. Age, Family Income, and Education

At the time of data collection, the average age of the adoptive mothers was 46 years and adoptive fathers was 47 years. The adoptive families had an average income of $52,060. The average income for couples was $68,314 and $32,042 for the single, female adopters. More than half of the sample of adoptive mothers had completed either a bachelor's or a graduate degree, whereas more than half of the sample of adoptive fathers had not completed college. Below is a detailed description of the parents' educational levels.

Table 28. Education Level of Adoptive Parents*

Highest Education Achieved	Mothers	Fathers
Grade school or some high school	1 (3%)	0 (0%)
High school diploma or GED	1 (3%)	5 (26%)
Some college (includes junior or community college)	6 (21%)	5 (26%)
Technical, vocational, or trade school	2 (7%)	1 (5%)
College graduate (Bachelor's degree)	11 (38%)	1 (5%)
Graduate school (Master's or Ph.D.)	8 (28%)	5 (26%)
Other	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Missing information	0 (0%)	2 (11%)
Total = 48 adoptive parents**	29	19

*Percentages are calculated on the total for each column (n = 29 mothers).
** Percentages do not add up to 100% due to rounding.

c. Family Race/Ethnicity

The majority of families (n = 21, 72 percent) identified their racial/ethnic background as Caucasian and (n = 4, 14 percent) reported their ethnic background as African American. In this sample, there were three interracial couples (10 percent) including Caucasian and African American, African American and Hispanic, Hispanic and Native American, and one couple (three percent) was of mixed race/ethnicity (e.g., both participants were Caucasian and African American).

Table 29. Race/Ethnicity of Families*

Family Race/Ethnicity	Number	Percent
Caucasian (non-Hispanic)	21	72%
African American	4	14%
Interracial	3	10%
Hispanic	0	0%
Mixed race/ethnicity	1	3%
Total**	29

**Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in this sample (n = 29).
** Percentages do not add up to 100% due to rounding.

d. Transracial and Same-race Adoptive Families: Family and Focus Child Race/Ethnicity

Overall, the majority (n = 21, 72 percent) of the 29 families adopted children of the same ethnic background as one or both parents. However, eight families (28 percent) transracially adopted. Of the transracial adopters, the majority were Caucasian families who adopted children of color.

Table 30. Family Race/Ethnicity by Child Race/Ethnicity*

Child's Race/Ethnicity	Race/Ethnicity of Adoptive Family
Caucasian	African American	Hispanic	Native American	Mixed Race/Ethnicity***	Interracial****	Total
Caucasian	16 (55%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (3%)	17 (59%)
African American	0 (0%)	4 (14%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	2 (7%)	6 (21%)
Hispanic	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Native American	1 (3%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (3%)
Mixed race/ethnicity***	4 (14%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (3%)	0 (0%)	5 (17%)
Total**	21 (72%)	4 (14%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (3%)	3 (10%)	29 (100%)

Child's Race/Ethnicity

Race/Ethnicity of Adoptive Family

Caucasian

African American

Hispanic

Native American

Mixed Race/Ethnicity***

Interracial****

Total

Caucasian

(55%)

(0%)

(3%)

(59%)

African American

(0%)

(14%)

(0%)

(7%)

(21%)

Hispanic

(0%)

(0%)

Native American

(3%)

(0%)

(3%)

Mixed race/ethnicity***

(14%)

(0%)

(3%)

(0%)

(17%)

Total**

(72%)

(14%)

(0%)

(3%)

(10%)

(100%)

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in this sample (n = 29).
**Percentages do not always add to 100% due to rounding.
***Mixed race/ethnicity includes biracial and multiracial individuals. The mixed race/ethnicity family includes two parents who are both similarly mixed (African American and Caucasian, for example).
****Interracial includes couples whose racial/ethnic backgrounds are not the same.

e. Number of Adopted Children

Of the 29 families who had contact with at least one birthparent post-finalization, 20 (69 percent) had adopted more than one child. Nine of the multiple adopter families (45 percent) had adopted two children (including the focus child), and five families (25 percent) had adopted between three and five children. However, six families (30 percent) had adopted six to seven children.

Table 31. Number of Children Adopted*

Number of Adopted Children	Number of Families	Percent
One	9	31%
Two	9	31%
Three	2	7%
Four	2	7%
Five	1	3%
Six	5	17%
Seven	1	3%
Total**	29

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in this sample (n = 29).
**Percentages do not always add to 100% due to rounding.

f. Type of Adoption by Family Status

Of the 29 families who had post-finalization contact with at least one of the birthparents, 11 families (38 percent) had adopted a child they had fostered, and 10 families (34 percent) were general adopters (not adopting a specific child they were fostering or knew before placement). Of the remaining families, four (14 percent) adopted a relative, and four (14 percent) adopted a specific child, but one who had not been placed previously in their home. In this latter group, families initially met these children due to the parents' roles as their therapist, teacher, residential treatment worker, or through family friends who were fostering the children. The families decided they wanted to adopt the children after meeting and interacting with them.

Table 32. Type of Adoption*

General Adopters	Foster Parent Adopters	Relative Adopters	Specific Child Adopters (non Foster Child)	Total Families
10 (34%)	11 (38%)	4 (14%)	4 (14%)	29 (100%)

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in this sample (n = 29).

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2. Demographic Characteristics of Focus Children in Contact With Birthparents Post-Finalization

a. Age at Placement

Children from families who had post-finalization contact with birthparents were an average of 7.6 years of age at time of placement (range = 0 to 17 years) in the adoptive home. Twenty-two children (76 percent) who had contact with their birthparents post-finalization were between five and 17 at placement. Of these children, four (14 percent) were between 13 and 17 when placed, nine (31 percent) were between nine and 12 at placement, and nine (31 percent) were between five and eight at placement. The other seven children (24 percent) were age four or younger. The average length of time between placement and the time of the interview was 5.8 years and between finalization and the time of the interview was 3.5 years.

Table 33. Age of Focus Child at Time of Placement*

Age at Placement	Number	Percent
0 – 1	4	14%
2 – 4	3	10%
5 – 8	9	31%
9 – 12	9	31%
13 – 17	4	14%
Total	29	100%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in this sample (n = 29).

b. Race/Ethnicity of Focus Child

Seventeen of the 29 families (59 percent) who had contact with the children's birthparents post-finalization had focus children who were identified as Caucasian (non-Hispanic) and 12 (41 percent) were identified as children of color. Six children (21 percent) were identified as African American, one (three percent) was Native American, and five (17 percent) were mixed race/ethnicity.

Table 34. Race/Ethnicity of Focus Child*

Race/Ethnicity	Number	Percent
Caucasian (non-Hispanic)	17	59%
African American	6	21%
Hispanic/Latino	0	0%
Native American	1	3%
Mixed race/ethnicity	5	17%
Total	29	100%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in this sample (n = 29).

c. Gender of Focus Child

Of the 29 focus children whose families had contact with at least one birthparent post-finalization, 18 (62 percent) were male and 11 (38 percent) were female.

Table 35. Gender of Focus Child

Gender	Number	Percent*
Males	18	62%
Females	11	38%
Total	29	100%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in this sample (n = 29).

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3. Experiences With Contact in Adoption

a. Types of Contact With Birthparents

Of the 161 families in the study, 27 families (17 percent) had no pre- or post-finalization contact with any birth or foster family members, and 48 families (30 percent) had contact with one or both of the child's birthparents either pre- or post-finalization. Of these 48 families, 19 had contact pre-finalization only, while 29 had contact post-finalization (including those who had contact both pre- and post-finalization). This report includes findings from an analysis of those 48 with birthparent contact and the 27 without contact with birth family or foster family members.²⁴

In general, families who had contact (either pre- or post-finalization) with the child's birthparents (n = 48) were more likely to have adopted a foster child already placed in their home, or a child with whom they had a previous relationship (child-specific or relative adoption), than the 27 families who had no contact with the child's birthparents or foster family members. Families who had pre-finalization only contact with one or both birthparents (n = 19) were more likely to have court-mandated visits with birthparents than parents who had contact post-finalization. Families who had pre-finalization only contact generally had more frequent pre-finalization contact (21 percent) than the families who had contact with the child's birthparents post-finalization (14 percent). Families with pre-finalization only contact were more likely to have supervised visits with the birthparents (58 percent with birthmothers and 26 percent with birthfathers), whereas families who had post-finalization contact had a variety of types of contact, including cards, letters, and emails (31 percent with birthmothers and three percent with birthfathers); phone calls (31 percent with birthmothers and 10 percent with birthfathers); and supervised or unsupervised visits (44 percent with birthmothers and 14 percent with birthfathers).

Table 36. Types of Contact With Birthparents*

	No Contact with Birthparents or Foster Families ( n = 27)	Contact with Birthparents (n = 48)
	No Contact with Birthparents or Foster Families ( n = 27)	Pre-finalization Only Contact with Birthparents (n = 19)	Post-finalization Contact with Birthparents (n = 29)
Type of Adoption
General adoption	16 (59%)	9 (47%)	10 (34%)
Foster child, child-specific, or relative adoption	11 (41%)	10 (53%)	19 (66%)
Mandated Contact
Mandated visits with birthparents while child was in foster care	0 (0%)	14 (74%)	6 (21%)
Frequency of Contact Pre-Finalization**
More frequent contact with birthmother pre-finalization	0 (0%)	4 (21%)	4 (14%)
More frequent contact with birthfather pre-finalization	0 (0%)	2 (11%)	1 (3%)
Type of Contact with Birthmother***
Cards/letters/emails	0 (0%)	1 (5%)	9 (31%)
Phone calls	0 (0%)	1 (5%)	9 (31%)
Supervised visits	0 (0%)	11 (58%)	10 (34%)
Unsupervised visits	0 (0%)	1 (5%)	3 (10%)
Type of Contact with Birthfather***
Cards/letters/emails	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (3%)
Phone calls	0 (0%)	1 (5%)	3 (10%)
Supervised visits	0 (0%)	5 (26%)	4 (14%)
Unsupervised visits	0 (0%)	1 (5%)	0 (0%)

*Percentages are calculated on the total for each column (e.g., n = 27 families who had no contact with birthparents or foster families).
**Percentages may not add to 100% under "Frequency of Contact" because only those families with more frequent contact pre-finalization are reported here.
*** Percentages may not add to 100% under "Type of Contact" because families could have reported multiple types of contact with each birthparent.

An analysis of the reasons the adoptive parents liked or supported contact with the birthparents reveals a similar trend regarding contact with the birthmother and the birthfather. Many adoptive parents reported that they did not like anything about the contact with birthmother (n = 12, 27 percent) or birthfather (n = 7, 35 percent).²⁵ Over half (53 percent) of these families had pre-finalization contact only. However, a large portion of adoptive parents said they supported the contact because they respected the child's birth heritage and understood the importance of the contact with the birthmother (n = 26, 58 percent) and birthfather (n = 60, 30 percent) to the child. Adoptive parents also supported contact because the child wanted contact with birthmothers (n = five, 11 percent) and birthfathers (n = one, five percent); the adoptive parent felt empathy for the child's birthmother (n = four, nine percent); the birthmother supported the child's adoption (n = two, four percent); and because it was the child's right to have contact with birthmother (n = one, two percent).

b. Families with No Contact with Birthparents or Foster Parents

The 27 parents whose families had no contact with any birthparents or foster parents were asked why there was no contact with the child's birthparents. The most frequent reason given was that the adoptive parents never considered contact because the birthparents had their rights terminated and/or were the child's abuser [n = 16 (59 percent) for birthmothers; n = nine (33 percent) for birthfathers]. The second most common reason was that the child never knew the birthparent [n = six (22 percent) for birthmothers; n = 11 (41 percent) for birthfathers]. Other answers included: birthparent is/was in prison [n = one (four percent) for birthmothers; n = five (19 percent) for birthfathers]; concerns for the child's safety [n = three (11 percent) for birthmothers; n = four (15 percent) for birthfathers]; and the parent is troubled [n = four (15 percent) for birthmothers].²⁶

Table 37. Reasons for No Contact with Birthparents*

Reasons for No Contact	Birthmother (n = 27)**	%	Birthfather (n = 27)	%
Adoptive parent never considered contact/parental rights were terminated or was abuser	16	59%	9	33%
Child never knew the person	6	22%	11	41%
Person was or is in prison	1	4%	5	19%
Concerns for the child's safety	3	11%	4	15%
Person is troubled	4	15%	0	0%
Person is deceased	1	4%	3	11%
Divided loyalties/contact will interfere with bonding	1	4%	1	4%
Bad influence on child	0	0%	1	4%
Child does not want contact	1	4%	1	4%

*Percentages are calculated on the total for each column (e.g., n = 27 birthmothers).
**Percentages do not add to 100% because parents could have reported multiple reasons for why they have no contact with each birthparent.

c. Variations in Contact Types

Families were asked to identify what types of contact that they were participating in pre- and post-finalization and with which birthparent they were in contact. The types of contact were letters, phone calls, day visits, and overnight visits. Comparisons were made between families who had contact with one or both birthparents during the pre-finalization time only and those who had contact pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only.

There were statistically significant relationships (p < .05) when the following types of contact were analyzed: birthmother letters, birthmother phone calls, and birthmother day visits. More families who had contact with birthmothers through sending letters participated in this contact post-finalization only or pre- and post-finalization (39 percent); only five percent of families had this type of contact pre-finalization only. Of families who reported birthmother phone contact, five percent had pre-finalization contact only and 39 percent had post-finalization only or pre- and post-finalization contact. Sixteen percent of families with pre-finalization contact only reported birthmother day visits while 48 percent of families with post-finalization only or pre- and post-finalization contact reported birthmother day visits. There were no statistically significant relationships when analyzing any birthfather contact.

There was a statistically significant relationship for families who were mandated to have contact pre-finalization and whether they had contact post-finalization (p < .05). For families who were mandated to have contact with one or both birthparents pre-finalization (n = 20), the majority did not continue the contact after finalization. Of the 20 families, 70 percent had contact pre-finalization only and 30 percent reported contact post-finalization. For the 28 families who were not mandated to have contact with birthparents pre-finalization, 82 percent of them had post-finalization contact with birthparents.²⁷

d. Contact and Race/Ethnicity of Adoptive Parents

When comparing families with no contact to families who had some type of contact with birthparents, there were no statistically significant differences between minority/interracial adoptive families and Caucasian adoptive families. Also, there were no statistically significant differences when comparing pre-finalization contact only with one or both birthparents and pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact. Among Caucasian adoptive families, 35 percent had no contact and 65 percent had some type of contact. Of the 65 percent with some type of contact, 43 percent had pre-finalization only contact, and 57 percent had pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact. Among minority/interracial adoptive families, 37 percent had no contact and 63 percent had some type of contact. Of the 63 percent with some type of contact, 33 percent had pre-finalization only contact and 67 percent had pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact.

There were no statistically significant differences between families who adopted transracially and those who did not when comparing no contact with one or both birthparents and contact (pre-finalization, post-finalization or pre- and post-finalization with one or both birthparents). There were also no statistically significant differences when comparing pre-finalization contact only with one or both birthparents and pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact. Among families who adopted transracially, 50 percent had no contact and 50 percent had some type of contact. Of the 50 percent with some type of contact, 54 percent had pre-finalization only contact and 46 percent had pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact. Among families who did not adopt transracially, 29 percent had no contact and 71 percent had some type of contact. Of the 71 percent with some type of contact, 34 percent had pre-finalization only contact and 66 percent had pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact.

e. Contact and Adoptive Parents' Education and Age

There were no statistically significant differences between levels of education of adoptive mother or adoptive fathers when comparing no contact and contact (pre-finalization, post-finalization or pre- and post-finalization with one or both birthparents). There also were no statistically significant differences when comparing pre-finalization contact only with one or both birthparents and pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact. There were no statistically significant differences in level of contact when looking at adoptive parents' age.

f. Contact and Adoptive Parents' Income

There were no statistically significant differences between family income of adoptive parents when comparing no contact (mean family income $56,893) and contact (pre-finalization, post-finalization or pre- and post-finalization with one or both birthparents) (mean family income $54,444). There were also no statistically significant differences when comparing pre-finalization contact only with one or both birthparents (mean family income $57,425) and pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact (mean family income $52,060).

g. Contact and Adoptive Parents' Satisfaction with Adoption

There were no statistically significant differences in the level of contact when looking at the level of satisfaction the adoptive parents felt about the adoption.

h. Contact and Age of Adopted Child

There were statistically significant differences (p < .05) in the level of contact when comparing the age at placement of the adopted child. For children whose families had no contact, the average age at placement was 4.69 years of age. For children whose families had some type of contact with birthparents, the average age at placement was 6.74 years.

i. Contact and Child's History

Families who adopted children who had experienced physical neglect in this sample were significantly more likely to have contact with one or both birthparents (75.6 percent) versus no contact (24.4 percent), regardless of whether physical neglect was the sole cause of the child's removal from the birth family or occurred in combination with other circumstances. There was no difference in this group when comparing pre-finalization contact only and pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact.

There was a statistically significant difference (p < .05) in likelihood of contact if children had experienced medical neglect. In this sample, children who had experienced medical neglect were more likely to have had pre-finalization contact only (66.7 percent) than pre- and post-finalization or post-finalization only contact (33.3 percent) (regardless of whether medical neglect was the sole cause of the child's removal from the birth family or occurred in combination with other circumstances). There were no statistically significant differences when comparing contact to no contact.

There were no statistically significant differences in levels of contact when comparing the following child history factors: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, drug exposure, parent incarceration, parents' drug abuse, abandonment, educational neglect, domestic violence, parents' mental illness, parents' homelessness, sibling death, parents' terminal illness, or child left with relatives. Each of these circumstances could have been the sole cause of the child's removal from the birth family or could have occurred in combination with other circumstances.

j. Contact and Type of Adoption

There were statistically significant differences in the level of contact when looking at the type of adoption for child specific adopters (20 percent no contact, 80 percent some contact); foster parent adopters (33 percent no contact, 67 percent some contact); and relative or kin adopters (0 percent no contact, 100 percent some contact). Half of general adopters had contact and half did not.

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F. Successful Adoptions

1. Adoptive Parents' Definition of Successful Adoption

This section provides data related to the eighth research question: how do parents in the study generally define a successful adoption.

One parent from each of the 161 families was asked to provide their definition of a successful adoption of a child with special needs. The five most frequently mentioned definitions were: 1) parents are committed to the child and the child's adoption into the family, which includes unconditional love and fully integrating the child into the family (29.8 percent); 2) child is still living in the home and not behaving negatively, such as having trouble with the law, smoking, drinking, or using drugs (21.7 percent); 3) child is showing progress in the adoptive home—the child's behavior is improving, the child is happier in the home, and physical and medical issues are being resolved or controlled (16.1 percent); 4) parent and child have bonded with each other, love each other (15.5 percent); and 5) parents were prepared to adopt a child with special needs and therefore had realistic expectations of the child (the most important part of the preparation is receiving extensive background information on the child) (14.3 percent).

Table 38. Definition of Successful Adoption*

Definition	Number	Percent
Parental commitment to child	48	29.8%
Child is not behaving negatively	35	21.7%
Child is showing progress in the adoptive home	26	16.1%
Parent and child bonding	25	15.5%
Parents are prepared for the child's adoption & have realistic child expectations	23	14.3%
Parents are working the system for the benefit of the child	14	8.7%
Parents have the necessary skill and temperament to parent a child with special needs	10	6.2%
Agency provides necessary services/Needs of child are met	10	6.2%
Family has support systems in place	9	5.6%
Agency provides moral support	7	4.3%
Family and child are a good match	6	3.7%
Child was prepared for the adoption	2	1.2%
Agency uses best practices with the adoptive family	2	1.2%
Family has legal support in the adoption process	1	0.6%
Agencies have screened out families unsuited to parenting children with special needs	1	0.6%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not add to 100% because parents may have reported more than one response.

One parent described success in terms of parental commitment: "Raising a kid to maturity where they are self-supporting. And not giving up. And also meeting all their needs no matter what those are. Hanging in there." Another parent described unconditional love and acceptance as important for success:

"...They come with all these diagnoses and it's kind of overwhelming at first. ... And when you get deep in the root of them in who they are, it's not so 'special needs' anymore. It's just—they're your kid. And that's who they are."

A third parent focused on the role of preparation as the key to success:

"I would define it as one that the adoptive parents goes in knowing everything that is known about the situation, that there's no secrets, there's no things that are held off until later, that they're told flat out before the placement everything that they need to know. I feel like at least some understanding of issues that could possibly be involved such as disorders that the kids might have ...And I think that any time a special needs adoption happens that the people who do the adoption should at some point have had some kind of contact with children similar to the children that they're going to adopt."

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2. Success Indicators in Focus Child's Adoption

This section provides data related to the ninth research question: why do families feel the adoption of the focus child has been a success.

When families were asked if the adoption of their focus child had been a success, 141 (88 percent) said yes; 17 (11 percent) said they were not sure yet/maybe; and three (two percent) said it was not a success. Parents were also asked about the reasons they felt their adoption had been successful. The largest group, 55 families (34 percent), indicated that the child's improvement was evidence that the child's adoption was a success. Thirty-seven families (23 percent) also pointed to the fact that bonding had occurred. While meeting minimal success criteria for participation in the study (parents were still committed to the child), the three families who reported that they did not feel the adoption of their child was a success were discouraged due to the child's lack of attachment, the child's challenging behaviors, and need for out-of-home placements. The following quote illustrates these concerns:

"We continue to be a family in crisis. And while I still love my daughter, I am very dissatisfied with or unhappy with her behaviors. Some of which relate back to her biological family, and behaviors that... I feel very let down. The promised post-adoption support never materialized."

Nearly one-fourth (24 percent) of families defined success in terms of their commitment to the child. This was often described in terms of how the child was viewed as a member of the family. Some stated that the child is "part of their family" or "is treated as if they were a biological child." Thirteen percent described their success in more minimalist terms such as the child is better off than they were before, the child is still in the home, or the adoption had not dissolved yet. Seven percent of families just said they were satisfied with how things were going or mentioned some of the rewards of adopting.

Table 39. Adoption Outcome*

Outcome	Number	Percent**
Child improvement	55	34%
Commitment	38	24%
Bonding/Attachment	37	23%
Minimal/Lesser evil	21	13%
Satisfied/Rewarded	12	7%
No answers given	35	22%
Defined adoption as unsuccessful	3	1%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not add to 100% because parents may have reported more than one response.

Other families pointed to the good nature of the adopted child (n = eight, five percent), or they described some parent characteristics that made the adoption a success such as having effective parenting skills (n = 10, six percent), seeking resources and information (n = six, four percent), and having had good training and information (n = six, four percent). Some families (n = seven, four percent) attributed their success to good matching on the part of the agency that placed the child with them.

Table 40. Success Factors*

Factors	Number	Percent**
Child
Good child/good disposition	8	5%
Factors	Number	Percent**
Parent
Effective parenting skills	10	6%
Seeking extra resources/information	6	4%
Good training/information	6	4%
Acknowledge child's history	5	3%
Agency
Good match	7	4%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not add to 100% because parents may have reported more than one response.

Return to Table of Contents

3. Families' Contributions to Success

This section provides data related to the tenth research question: what has the family contributed to the success of the focus child's adoption.

One parent from each of the 161 families was asked in what ways they believed that their family had contributed to the success of the adoption. One hundred seventeen families (73 percent) reported that commitment to the child and the adoption process was their main contribution. They gave examples of commitment as follows: "sticking it out through thick and thin" (n = 58); "fully integrating the child into the family/not treating them any differently" (n = 56); "giving the child unconditional love" (n = 29); and "willingness to dedicate extensive amounts of time to the child's development" (n = nine).

Forty-eight parents (30 percent) suggested that effective parenting skills contributed to success. The parenting skills most often identified included patience (n = 14) and consistent discipline (n = 13). Other skills mentioned included: the ability to provide routines and stability (n = seven); willingness to make changes in the family system/flexibility (n = seven); working as a team (n = six); and having good communication skills (n = six).

Thirty-three parents (20 percent) reported that they contributed to the success of the adoption by taking the initiative to expand their resource repertoire either by advocating with the public agency, schools, and the mental health system to get their children the resources they needed (n = 16) or by seeking new information on effective parenting through experts and trainings (n = 13).

Other contributions included having a support network of family and friends (n = 13, eight percent) and having realistic expectations of a child's strengths and weaknesses through participation in good training (n = 12, seven percent). Data were missing for nine families (six percent).

Table 41. Families' Contributions to Success*

Contributions	Number	Percent**
Commitment	117	73%
Effective parenting skills	48	30%
Seeking extra resources/information	33	20%
A support network	13	8%
Good training/information	12	7%
Missing data	9	6%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not add to 100% because parents may have reported more than one response.

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4. Focus Child's Contributions to Success

This section provides data related to the eleventh research question: what has the focus child contributed to the success of his/her adoption.

When one parent from each of the 161 families was asked to identify how the focus child had contributed to the success of the adoption, 82 parents (51 percent) felt that improvement in the child's behavior and evidence of trying hard contributed to the success. Seventy-two parents (45 percent) reported that the child accepting the family as their own and being able to bond contributed to the success. A smaller group, 27 families (17 percent), reported that the child contributed just by being a child. Twenty families (12 percent) reported the child contributed by being a great child and/or having a sweet disposition. Two families (one percent) could not think of any ways the child had contributed to the success of the adoption, and two families (one percent) said the child had not contributed to the adoption's success. There was missing data for eight families (five percent).

Table 42. Focus Child's Contributions to Success*

Contributions	Number	Percent**
Improvement/trying hard	82	51%
Bonding/initial openness to attaching	72	45%
Being a child	27	17%
Good child/good disposition	20	12%
Could not think of ways the child contributed	2	1%
Child has not contributed anything	2	1%
Missing data/question not asked	8	5%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not add to 100% because parents may have reported more than one response.

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5. Adoption Agency Contributions to Success

This section provides data related to the twelfth research question: what has the agency contributed to the success of the focus child's adoption.

Sixty families (37 percent) reported that the agency contributed by providing moral support, which included emotional support to the parents, a partnership approach, a willingness to advocate for the family, and timely communication with the parents. Fifty-three families (33 percent) said that the agency contributed nothing to the success of the adoption. Thirty-six families (22 percent) reported that the agency-provided resources or services were important to the success of their adoption.

Twenty-three families (14 percent) identified receiving good training and honest and thorough information about the focus child as important to the success of their adoption. Some examples of information parents appreciated knowing up front included that the child suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, schizophrenia, and attachment issues. Parents reported that knowing the problems up front helped them to identify the most appropriate therapist or medication right away. The services they appreciated receiving were special attachment therapies and respite care.

Twelve families (seven percent) reported that the agencies provided at least one really helpful worker or that the agency did a really thorough job. Twelve families (seven percent) mentioned the financial support provided by the agency as contributing to the success of the adoption.

Table 43. Agency Contributions to Success*

Contributions	Number	Percent**
Moral support	60	37%
Nothing	53	33%
Resources	36	22%
Good training/Information	23	14%
Competent practices	12	7%
Financial support	12	7%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not add to 100% because parents may have reported more than one response.

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G. Families' Advice to Prospective Adoptive Parents

This section provides data related to the thirteenth research question: what advice do adoptive parents give to prospective adoptive parents and agencies.

Participants were asked to provide advice to prospective adoptive parents concerning the adoption process and parenting an adopted child. Families most frequently said that they should display commitment to the child and the adoption process (n = 38, 24 percent). This included willingness to devote time and attention to the child, provide the child with opportunities to become successful, and a willingness to work with the agency. Thirty-one families (19 percent) specified the following important characteristics that adoptive families must have: flexibility, tolerance, patience, unconditional love for the child, and maintaining a sense of humor. Other responses included: the importance of advocating for the child (n = 22, 14 percent); maintaining realistic expectations of the child's strengths and weaknesses (n = 19, 12 percent); being open to discussing and/or contacting the birth family, foster family or other significant individuals from the child's past (n = 15, nine percent); interacting with other foster/adoptive parents while in the adoption process to better understand the process, as well as possible child challenges (n = 13, eight percent); the importance of fostering the child they are planning to adopt to understand the child's past and develop a relationship with him/her prior to the adoption (n = 12, seven percent); and openness to learning about and seeking available resources such as support groups, subsidies and other post-adoption services (n = 12, seven percent).

Table 44. Advice to Prospective Adoptive Families*

Type of Advice	Number	Percent**
Families must be committed to child/adoption process	38	24%
Flexibility, tolerance, patience, unconditional love, and a sense of humor	31	19%
Families need to advocate for child	22	14%
Families must have realistic expectations of child	19	12%
Families need to be open-minded regarding contact	15	9%
Meeting other foster/adoptive parents is important	13	8%
Families should foster the child before adopting him/her	12	7%
Families must be open to resources/services	12	7%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not add to 100% because parents may have reported more than one response.

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H. Families' Advice to Agencies

Based on their experiences with adopting, families were asked to provide advice to agency staff. They mentioned most often the need for adequate resources and services for both the family and child (n = 59, 37 percent). These included post-adoption services such as subsidies, respite, support groups, and counseling. Forty-eight families (30 percent) indicated that they needed information about the process and the child's background, as well as referrals for services. Other advice included: communicate with families in a timely and honest manner and provide parents with realistic information about the child's potential outcomes based on his/her history (n = 32, 20 percent); provide good training for agency staff members, prospective adoptive families and adoptive families, including useful parenting tools and adequate preparation for both the parents and child for the adoption process (n = 29, 18 percent); be supportive and encouraging to all types of families during the process as well as after finalization (n = 26, 16 percent); display a commitment to the process, including finding the best possible family for a child and placing the child's needs above standard agency practices (n = 20, 12 percent); and avoid displaying bias towards families and advocate for both the family and the child (n = 15, nine percent).

Table 45. Advice to Agencies*

Type of Advice	Number	Percent**
Have resources and services available	59	37%
Provide information and referrals	48	30%
Communicate in a timely/honest manner	32	20%
Offer good training and preparation	29	18%
Support and encourage families	26	16%
Commit to the adoption process	20	12%
Advocate for/be unbiased towards family	15	9%

*Percentages are calculated on the total number of families in the sample (N = 161).
**Percentages do not add to 100% because parents may have reported more than one response.

In summary, adoptive parents felt it was most important that families approach adopting a child or children from the foster care system with commitment to the child and to the process and a willingness to remain flexible, tolerant, and patient. Families need to maintain and display unconditional love for the child, as well as a sense of humor. Adoptive parents felt that agencies need to provide services and resources to support the child and the family. They also expressed that agencies should provide adequate information about the adoption process and the child's background, as well as referrals for services.

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¹⁹ Legal services might include assistance for families with a child involved in the juvenile justice system. back
²⁰ Emergency shelter care is a temporary, out-of-home placement for a child taken into State custody care. This is typically a short-term placement for a child while decisions are being made about where the child will live. back
²¹ Pearson's correlation measures the magnitude and direction of a linear association between two variables. Pearson's correlation can range between -1 and +1. The closer the correlation is to either -1 or +1, the stronger the association. A correlation of 0 indicates no association between the two variables. Positive correlations indicate that as one variable increases, so does the other, while negative correlations indicate the opposite, as one variable increases, the other decreases. back
²² For parents with more than one child, this measure applies to all children being parented (including adopted, biological and foster children). back
²³ Pearson's correlation measures the magnitude and direction of a linear association between two variables. Pearson's correlation can range between -1 and +1. The closer the correlation is to either -1 or +1, the stronger the association. A correlation of 0 indicates no association between the two variables. Positive correlations indicate that as one variable increases, so does the other, while negative correlations indicate the opposite, as one variable increases, the other decreases. back
²⁴ For categorical items (i.e., race/ethnicity), comparisons were conducted using either the chi-square test of independence or its non-parametric alternative, Fisher's Exact Test (used when sample sizes are small and expected frequencies are low). Continuous variables (i.e., age at placement) were analyzed using independent samples t-tests. back
²⁵ Forty-five adoptive families had contact with birthmothers, and 20 adoptive families had contact with birthfathers. Percentages are based on 45 when calculated for birthmothers and 20 when calculated for birthfathers. back
²⁶ Some parents answered this question with multiple reasons, so the percentages do not add up to 100%. back
²⁷ Eighteen percent of the 28 families had voluntary contact with birthparents pre-finalization that stopped after finalization. back