“Expanding Resources For Children: Is Adoption By Gays and Lesbians Part of the Answer for Boys and Girls Who Need Homes?” – Gays and Lesbians are More Likely to adopt Children from Foster CareExamines relevant issues, laws and practices relating to gay and lesbian adoption and parenting. Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute (Oct. 2011)

Interesting findings from an extensive survey by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute of adoption by the LGBTQ community.

  • Despite laws in some states that impede the practice, a growing number of lesbians and gay men are adopting children in the United States – at least half of them providing families for boys and girls from foster care and 60% adopting transracially, according to the results of an extensive new survey by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
  • About one-third of the adoptions by lesbians and gay men were “open,” and the birth families’ initial reactions regarding sexual orientation were very positive (73%). Interestingly, male couples more often reported having been chosen because of their sexual orientation than did lesbians, explaining that the birthmothers expressed a desire to remain the child’s “only mother.”
  • Over 10% of the children adopted were 6 or older – a population generally perceived as more difficult to place – and 25% were at least 3 years old. Interestingly, the household incomes of respondents were high – and more so for the male parents, $212,380 vs. $115,467, indicating (among other things) that more lesbians adopted as individuals and more gay men as couples.