In honor of National Adoption Month, Mathematica experts Roseana Bess, Lance Bitner-Laird, Olivia Kenney, and Dayna Gallagher have released a new issue brief and blog post. They shed light on how data can be used to streamline state regulations on private domestic adoptions of infants.
Many expectant parents across the country make the difficult decision to relinquish their newborn infants into an adoptive family of their choosing, but we lack consistent and reliable data about the number of private adoptions taking place each year. This can lead both to policy decisions that are not fully informed, and consequently to misconceptions about private infant adoption, with anecdotal information dominating public perception.
These new resources reveal several best practices that are necessary to safeguard the well-being of expectant parents: comprehensive counseling on the options available to birth parents, post-adoption services, and legal protections. Moving forward, more data collection and rigorous analysis of adoption practices can better inform policies and practices that support safe private adoptions of infants born in the United States.
Read more about Mathematica’s work supporting children and families.
