All About Adoption – Adoption Information, Facts & More Get Started Read More Helpful Information Helpful Information Scroll to... Adoption is an amazing way to grow a family, and it’s becoming increasingly popular. Before deciding to pursue adoption, however — whether as a pregnant woman or a hopeful adoptive parent — it can be helpful to understand a bit about it. Facts About Adoption According to a 2000 census, nearly 2.5 percent of U.S. children were adopted, and that’s a number that has surely grown as time has passed. Of the children in the Midwest, 2.6 percent were adopted, making it the region with the highest population of adopted children. Alaska had the highest percentage of children who were adopted with 3.9 percent. Roughly 28 percent of adoptions were transracial, which refers to the adoption of a child of a different race. Frequently Asked Questions About Adoption Q: How much does adoption cost? A: For adoptive parents, private domestic adoption can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000. This can seem overwhelming, but there’s a lot that goes into adoption to account for the total. For pregnant woman, adoption is completely free to pursue; there’s no cost to you for making this decision for your baby. Q: What is private domestic adoption? A: Private domestic adoption is the adoption of an infant born in the United States. In a private domestic adoption, a pregnant woman chooses a family for her child and works with an adoption professional to complete the adoption process. Q: How long does the adoption process take? This can depend on a multitude of factors — what professional a family works with, how open they are to different adoption situations and more. Many large national adoption agencies can help adoptive families adopt within 12 months of going active. Q: What is an open adoption? An open adoption is one in which a child’s birth parents and adoptive parents remain in contact after placement. How much contact they have — and the methods they use to communicate — can vary. Every adoption situation is different, but maintaining communication helps a child to understand his or her adoption story and to always know how much love led to the adoption decision. Common Myths About Adoption “Adoption children resent their birth parents.” This is absolutely not true. Adoptions don’t have to be closed and secretive anymore, which means adopted children grow up knowing the sacrifice their birth parents made so they could have a better life. “Most adoptions are closed, and birth parents that choose adoption will never see their babies again.” This doesn’t have to be the case at all. By choosing an open adoption, birth parents are able to have a relationship with their baby that grows and evolves as he or she gets older. ”Adoptive parents won’t be able to love an adopted child as much as a biological child.” This is a common fear for adoptive parents, but it’s completely unfounded. Parents form a relationship with their children by bonding, not by sharing DNA. Every time a parent holds their baby, every time they rock him or her to sleep — or even change a diaper — they’re strengthening their relationship. Ask any adoptive parent; they have no shortage of love for their baby! Reliable Adoption Information Sources Perhaps the best way to learn about adoption is to keep up with resources that are continuously writing about it. Naturally, that’s what we do at Considering Adoption. But there are other resources to keep up with as well, such as: American Adoptions Adoptive Families magazine Adoption.com For more adoption resources, see “Adoption News” or speak with an adoption specialist today.