Keep Siblings Together
Finding qualified homes for families might be easier than you think.
Nearly half of the 22,000 children and youth placed after being listed on AdoptUSKids since 2002 were part of a sibling group.
Of these 9,365 placed children and youth:
- One-third were part of a sibling group of three or more
- One-third had at least one disability
- More than half were 9 or older (3% under 3 years; 41% between 3-8 years; 35% 9-12 years; 20% between 13-19 years; and 1% over 19 years old)
84% of the 3,800 families actively registered on AdoptUSKids in 2014 are open to adopting more than one child.
Of these 3,200 qualified families:
- Half are interested in adopting children over 10.
- Two-thirds are open to adopting a child with a mild or moderate disability.
- More than one-third have been foster or adoptive parents.
- 81% are two-parent families (75% were male/female couples; 3% were female/female couples; and 3% were male/male couples).
- 19% are single-parent families (13% were women and 6% were men).
There are registered families in every state who are open to adopting siblings.
- Florida has the greatest number of registered families open to siblings — more than 201.
- Tennessee, Ohio and Virginia have between 151 and 200.
- South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Texas have between 101 and 150.
- California, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Maryland and New Jersey have between 51 and 100.
- The remaining states have up to 50 registered families open to siblings.
AdoptUSKids has two publications that provide resources to help interstate adoptions:
- Key Elements and Strategies for Effective Interjurisdictional Work, a 2.2 MB PDF
- Dollars and Sense: A Guide to Achieving Adoptions Through Public-Private Contracting, a 264 KB PDF
With more than 3,000 registered families looking to adopt more than one child, the AdoptUSKids photolisting is a valuable resource for finding qualified families for sibling groups.
AdoptUSKids - Together we hold their future
AdoptUSKids is operated by the Adoption Exchange Association and is made possible by grant number 90CQ0003 from the Children’s Bureau.
The contents of this infographic are solely the responsibility of the Adoption Exchange Association and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Children’s Bureau, ACYF, ACF, or HHS. The Children’s Bureau funds AdoptUSKids as part of a network of National Resource Centers established by the Children’s Bureau.
About the Data:
Statistics are based on data as of March 31, 2014, queried from the April 1, 2014, data transfer provided to the AdoptUSKids Evaluation Team by the AdoptUSKids Digital Media Team. Summary characteristics are based on the group of 3,194 families actively registered on the AdoptUSKids website who were waiting to adopt as of August 7, 2014. Although the AdoptUSKids website does not collect information about registered families’ interest in adopting sibling groups, families have the option to indicate the minimum and maximum number of children they are willing to adopt.