The third episode in a trilogy is ALWAYS the best. Just ask Peter Jackson, Buzz Lightyear, and George Lucas twice. As you may know, this blog is the final part of a trilogy of posts each with 7 facts relating to adopt a child in Arkansas. The goal behind these posts has simply been to assemble and communicate statistics related to adoption while holding off on drawing conclusions from those stats. Each post has been followed by a blog in which we drew some conclusions for you but this one is simply about the facts.
7 Facts
- Multiple studies report disruption rates between 10 and 25%
- Studies report that only a “small level of completed adoptions dissolve”… estimated between 1-5%
- There were 2,041 adoptions (of any kind including step-parent adoption) in Arkansas in 2007
- International adoptions make up about 14% of all adoptions (2000-2008)
- Public adoptions make up roughly 40% of all adoptions (2000-2008)
- Other forms including private and stepparent adoptions make up about 46% (2000-2008)
- Arkansas had 102 international adoptions in 2008
*A disruption would be a circumstance in which an adoption falls through after a child has been placed in a home but before finalization.
** A dissolved adoption refers to adoptions that are finalized but, for some reason, don’t last forever.
I hope this series of posts help to give you a clear vision and scope of what adoption looks like to adopt a child in Arkansas or in the U.S. I also hope you have connected some dots to see where the great needs are and where our society can stand to improve on issues related to adoption.
Be sure to come back next week as we will go through these facts without restraints on my own personal conclusions.