Effectiveness of Georgia Policies to Support Adoptions from Foster Care

When parents are unable to provide a safe and supportive home environment, the child may be removed from the home and placed in out-of-home care, referred to as foster care. These placements are intended to be temporary solutions; however, increasing numbers of children are growing up in these placements without ever having a permanent family. These drifting children are more likely to exhibit behavioral problems, delinquency, and engage in substance use and other risk behaviors. The need for a more effective and permanent solution, such as adoption, is stronger than ever. As a measure of the effectiveness of Georgia’s policies to support adoptions from foster care, the state’s adoptions data were examined.  This study sought to determine if changes in Georgia's policies affect adoption from foster care rates, and whether characteristics of the foster child or characteristics of the adoptive family are associated with successful adoptions.  A secondary analysis of the 2007 longitudinal AFCARS dataset provided by the National Data Archives of Child Abuse and Neglect included adoption data for 1,283 children in Georgia.  The results of the analyses revealed that since the Adoptions and Safe Families Act of 1997, overall GA adoption rates have increased. While the Fostering Connections Act of 2008 gives states access to money for adoption incentives, Georgia’s own policies limit the number of children that qualify for state adoption subsidies. The result of this appears to be a dip in the number of adoptions, especially among older minorities. Children who are adopted in GA were more likely to be under the age of 7, with no siblings, and no disabilities.  Adoptive families were more likely to be married couples, former foster parents, and to adopt a child whose race matched at least one of the parents’. Recommendations include increased awareness of the types of children in need of adoption and increased recruitment efforts of relatives and non-traditional families.  Georgia should also increase the amount of incentives they can offer via federal funds received by participating more actively in the Fostering Connections initiatives.