Finalized Foster Adoptions
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| State | Baseline Total* | FY 98 Estimated Total+ | Number Change | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 139 | 142 | 3 | 2.2% |
| Alaska | 108 | 95 | -13 | -12.0% |
| Arizona | 357 | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Arkansas | 138 | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| California | 3,287 | 4,298 | 1,011 | 30.8% |
| Colorado | 417 | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Connecticut | 207 | 314 | 107 | 51.7% |
| Delaware | 39 | 55 | 16 | 41.0% |
| District of Columbia | 110 | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Florida | 987 | 1549 | 562 | 56.9% |
| Georgia | 493 | 664 | 171 | 34.7% |
| Hawaii | 85 | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Idaho | 44 | 57 | 13 | 29.5% |
| Illinois | 2,200 | 4,423 | 2,223 | 101.0% |
| Indiana | 495 | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Iowa | 350 | 537 | 187 | 53.4% |
| Kansas | 349 | 529 | 180 | 51.6% |
| Kentucky | 211 | 217 | 6 | 2.8% |
| Louisiana | 308 | 221 | -87 | -28.2 |
| Maine | 108 | 112 | 4 | 3.8% |
| Maryland | 342 | 444 | 102 | 29.8% |
| Massachusetts | 1,116 | 1,115 | -1 | -0.1% |
| Michigan | 1,905 | 2,234 | 329 | 17.3% |
| Minnesota | 258 | 416 | 158 | 61.2% |
| Mississippi | 114 | 188 | 74 | 64.9% |
| Missouri | 557 | 727 | 170 | 30.5% |
| Montana | 115 | 145 | 30 | 26.1% |
| Nebraska | 185 | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Nevada | 149 | 138 | -11 | -7.4% |
| New Hampshire | 45 | 51** | 6 | 13.3% |
| New Jersey | 621 | 801 | 180 | 29.0% |
| New Mexico | 147 | 201 | 54 | 36.7% |
| New York | 4,716 | 4,790 | 74 | 1.6% |
| North Carolina | 467 | 576 | 109 | 23.3% |
| North Dakota | 47 | 79 | 32 | 68.1% |
| Ohio | 1,287 | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Oklahoma | 338 | 485 | 147 | 43.5% |
| Oregon | 445 | 662 | 217 | 48.8% |
| Pennsylvania | 1,224 | 1,522 | 298 | 24.3% |
| Rhode Island | 261 | 217 | -44 | -16.9% |
| South Carolina | 256 | 473 | 217 | 84.8% |
| South Dakota | 56 | 58 | 2 | 3.6% |
| Tennessee | 328 | 338 | 10 | 3.0% |
| Texas | 880 | 1,548 | 668 | 75.9% |
| Utah | 225 | 328 | 103 | 45.8% |
| Vermont | 75 | 120 | 45 | 60.0% |
| Virginia | 298 | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Washington | 607 | 766 | 159 | 26.2% |
| West Virginia | 182 | 187 | 5 | 2.7% |
| Wisconsin | 467 | 640 | 173 | 37.0% |
| Wyoming | 15 | 29 | 14 | 93.3% |
++Total Number of Adoptions that Fall Beyond the Baseline Total in each state 7,859
*Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services as reported to NACAC, December 22, 1998
+Source: Preliminary reports from states to NACAC, January and February 1999.
**New Hampshire includes Federal Title IV-E children only.
++To determine the baseline for each state, HHS averaged the number of finalized adoptions for federal FY 1995, 1996 and 1997.
The North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) began polling states last December to obtain their data on the number of finalized adoptions completed during Fiscal Year(FY) 1998. NACAC found that during FY 1998, finalized adoptions of children from the U.S. foster care system increased significantly. Some states that had seen dramatic changes were Illinois, Texas, Iowa and Wyoming. These states attributed the increase in adoptions that were finalized to many factors:
- reduced caseloads of workers
- streamlined court processes
- state laws that limited the time children spend in foster care
- administrative reforms where more staff were assigned to moving children to permanence
- an increased focus on terminating rights of parents were reunification was not possible
- expanded recruitment activity
- the creation of adoption specialist positions
SOURCE: Adoptalk, Winter 1999; a publication of the North American Council on Adoptable Children
Credits: Child Welfare Information Gateway (http://www.childwelfare.gov)
