Adoption​ - Introduction to Adoption and Fostering

Every year, tens of thousands of children find loving homes in the U.S. through domestic infant adoption, international adoption, and adoption from the foster care system. While all of these pathways can provide wonderful opportunities to build a family, there are important differences between them, including the steps involved, the age and characteristics of the children, and, as illustrated in the chart below, the costs and timelines associated with each option.

This course will primarily focus on domestic infant adoption, while providing high-level insights into intercountry adoption (which occurs less frequently) in the final lesson. Adoption from foster care, including navigating the child welfare system, is covered in a separate, dedicated course designed to bring you up to speed.

Adoptive parents often face questions about if, when, and how to share their child’s early life story—from birth until joining the family. Research shows that children who learn about their origins at an earlier age tend to have higher quality-of-life scores as adults. We will explore the benefits, degrees, and challenges of “openness” in a later lesson.

Unfortunately, negative stereotypes and stigmas around adoption still exist. Additionally, many adoptive and foster families are transracial or multicultural, which means children and parents may encounter microaggressions, taunts, or biases.

For this reason, it is essential for parents to equip their children with tools to understand and appreciate their identity, handle prejudice, and build strong self-esteem. As we’ll discuss in a later lesson, when families actively engage in “social culturalization” or “preparation for bias,” children and the family as a whole benefit significantly.

Adoption can be a successful path to building a family regardless of sexual orientation. While intercountry adoption can pose challenges for single or LGBTQ+ parents, fostering or adopting through the child welfare system generally involves fewer barriers. Evidence and experience show that children thrive in all kinds of adoptive families.

Single women pursuing adoption often report experiences similar to co-parenting or married women, despite generally having lower household income or less built-in support.

Children raised in LGBTQ-led adoptive families report feeling exceptionally supported and loved. While they may face more microaggressions—often moderate in nature—they also demonstrate greater resilience and stronger coping skills.