The process of adoption is in relation to the creation of a parent-child relationship between individuals who are not related by birth. The child adopted will be legally provided with privileges accorded to a child borne by birth to the parents.

Fact 1. According to statistics, the chances of children in foster care being adopted is slim with more than 60%  of such children spending between 2 to 5 years in foster care before being adopted. Almost 20% of such children are in foster care for 5 years or more before being adopted.

Fact 2.   There are 400,000 children of which 114,556 are not able to return to their natural families. A major proportion of these children are either males or African-Americans who are aged six or older.

Fact 3.    The race and ethnic distribution of  adopted children is different from the general population.  Adopted children are more likely to be black.

Fact 4.   Adoption is rare as between 1973 and 2002, the percentage of married women between the ages of 18-44 years who had adopted a child is between the range of 1.3 and 2.2%.

Fact 5.  Men are twice as likely as women to adopt a child.

Fact 6.  About 26% of women  between the ages of 40-44 years of age who used infertility services had adopted a child.

Fact 7.  Unmarried adults between the ages of 18-40 were less likely to have adopted a child compared to those who were married.

Fact 8.  A higher percentage of Hispanic women and black women were currently intending to adopt a child compared to non-Hispanic, white women.

Fact 9. The preferable profile of a child to be adopted is below two years old, without any disabilities, and a single child that has no siblings. Women prefer to adopt a girl.

Fact 10. More than two-thirds of women will not accept children over 13 years of age or a child with a severe disability.