Two Million GLB People Want to Adopt, Study Says
A major new study on GLB adoption and fostering has found that an estimated two million GLB people are interested in adopting. More than half of gay men and 41 percent of lesbians want to have a child. The study, Adoption and Foster Care by Gay and Lesbian Parents in the United States, by the Williams Institute at UCLA, also concluded that:
- More than one in three lesbians have given birth and one in six gay men have fathered or adopted a child.
- An estimated 65,500 adopted children are living with a lesbian or gay parent.
- More than 16,000 adopted children are living with lesbian and gay parents in California, the highest number among the states. [New York is second, with 7042.]
- Gay and lesbian parents are raising four percent of all adopted children in the United States.
- Same-sex couples raising adopted children are older, more educated, and have more economic resources than other adoptive parents.
- Adopted children with same-sex parents are younger and more likely to be foreign born.
- An estimated 14,100 foster children are living with lesbian or gay parents.
- Gay and lesbian parents are raising three percent of foster children in the United States.
(The study does not look at transgender parents. Given its extensive use of government data sets (like the U.S. Census) that do not indicate gender identity, the omission is likely because of the limits of the data, not the inclusiveness of the researchers. There is clearly more work to be done here, however.)
The researchers reiterate many older facts about the negative effects on children when they are moved among many foster placements. They estimate that banning same-sex couples from fostering or adopting could displace 9,300 to 14,000 children nationwide, testing a system already strained for resources. (This is a worst case figure; it is unlikely all states would enact such bans. Still, even a fraction of this number is disturbing. We’re talking about children’s lives here.)
The economic impact of anti-GLB laws is striking:
- A national ban on GLB foster care could cost from $87 to $130 million.
- Costs to individual states could range from $100,000 to $27 million.
I don’t have to convince most of my readers that bans on LGBT adoptive and foster parents benefit no one, least of all children. If you are involved in any kind of activism, however, or feel motivated to write to your politicians about this issue, a few well chosen stats from this study could lend weight to your arguments.
(Thanks to PinkNews.co.uk for the sighting.)
Filed under: Family Creation, Parenting
The priority ought to be on recruiting adoptive homes that provide children both mothers and fathers, not one or the other.
There is no shortage of such homes.
The fostercare system is not supposed to be used as a GLB-affirmative action program.
I disagree strongly that the priority should be on opposite-sex couples. Neither opposite- nor same-sex couples should be favored over the other.
As far a a shortage, there is much evidence that the U.S. needs more foster and adoptive parents. See, for example, “We Need More Foster Parents,” and “‘National Birthday Party’ for More Than 500,000 Children in Foster Care.”
Placing children with same-sex couples is not a matter of affirmative action. It is a matter of placing children with two adults who want to be loving parents to a child who needs a home.
[...] Thanks to Mombian for the link [...]
[...] Filed under: Adoption, Child Development, Gay and *** parentsI don’t know how many kids there are out there waiting to be adopted, but I can tell you there are at least two million adults waiting to adopt them, according to a new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA. The problem is, there are those who would like to see laws passed that would prevent these people from ever adopting or becoming foster parents. Why would they want to stop such an obviously good thing? Simply because the prospective parents are gays and lesbians.According to the study [pdf], more than 65,000 adopted kids are living with a gay or *** parent — that’s about one in every twenty-five adopted children. Further, another 14,000 foster kids are living with gay or *** parents. The impact is clear — GLB parents are a significant, positive force in the caring of future generations.Aside from the cold, hard numbers, however, this is all about the desire for family, the need to love a child. Jared and I just finished reading a book last night that talked about “everyday magic,” including the magic of family. We have some neighbors — two men — who have adopted a little boy. The love they have for their son is so clear, so strong, so powerful, that it makes me want to rush home and hug Jared and Sara. With this huge pool of potential parents waiting to adopt — and, in some cases, waiting to be able to adopt, — it is amazing that anyone would want to deny children such a loving, caring home.Thanks to Mombian for the linkRead | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments Published Tuesday, April 03, 2007 5:27 AM by ParentDish Filed under: gay, homosexual, FosterCare, glb, foster care, Child Development, Gay and lesbian parents, lgbt, adoption, lesbian, parents Anonymous comments are disabled [...]