NEW YORK, March 7, 2005 – Every day, extensive (and often expensive) recruitment programs throughout our country strive to find loving, permanent families for the approximately 126,000 children who are living in foster care and are waiting to be adopted. Although such federal and state initiatives are increasingly successful, they have been unable to help the majority of these boys and girls.

The most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted, “Listening to Parents: Overcoming the Barriers to the Adoption of Children from Foster Care,” now identifies a major reason why so many children have not found homes: The vast majority of potential parents who are recruited – well over 90 percent – do not ultimately wind up adopting a child not because they don’t want to, but apparently because they decide not to deal with a system they perceive as too frustrating, bureaucratic and just plain unfriendly.

“What we found was that the most effective way to find lasting, loving homes for these children may not be to recruit more parents, which is where efforts are concentrated today,” said Jeff Katz, who conducted the groundbreaking research and is a Senior Fellow at the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. “Instead, we need to make critical changes to the system so that it welcomes and nurtures adults who are willing – and in some cases fervently trying – to adopt a child. Right now, too many just give up.”

The study, which Katz conducted with colleagues at Harvard University and the Urban League, lays out detailed recommendations to deal with the problems it identifies. Paramount among those problems are:

• Prospective parents too often have alienating or unhelpful initial contacts with child welfare agencies; for example, they cannot reach the right person when they call and/or discover the worker they talk to has inadequate knowledge about the process or is insensitive to their emotional needs.

• The emphasis is too often on weeding out unsuitable applicants rather than retaining good ones, especially at the start of the process. The result is that many adults who truly want to adopt do not receive enough information or support but, rather, get scared off or become exasperated and give up.

• The attrition rate of prospective parents rises sharply as they go from initial call to adoption. The research indicates states annually receive about 240,000 inquiries a year regarding the adoption of a child from foster care, but only a small fraction who call for information eventually adopt such a child.

“The study we’re releasing today could make an enormous difference for tens of thousands of children – if policymakers take it to heart,” said Adoption Institute Executive Director Adam Pertman. “Changing an entire system obviously isn’t easy, but it’s long past time for society to live up to its commitment to these kids.”

The Adoption Institute is the pre-eminent policy, research and education organization in its field. It provides accurate, unbiased information for journalists, researchers and policymakers. Its award-winning website contains extensive information on a wide range of adoption-related issues.

To arrange an interview or get additional information, please contact Katz at jkatz@adoptioninstitute.org or 617-325-8999, or Pertman at apertman@adoptioninstitute.org or 617-332-8944. To download the study or its executive summary, please go to the Adoption Institute website, www.adoptioninstitute.org.