Independent Adoption Center - 10 Things You Didn't Know About Adoption

26 October 2006 – Pleasant Hill, CA: Independent Adoption Center, the nationally recognized nonprofit education and counseling agency, will mark November as “National Adoption Month” by issuing monthly fact sheets as an education vehicle for the media and general public. A leader in open adoption, Independent Adoption Center (IAC) is nationally recognized as a leader in the field having facilitated almost 4,000 successful adoptions in 35 states. Headquartered in the Northern California town of Pleasant Hill, IAC has southern California offices in Los Angeles, and also operates centers in Indiana, North Carolina and Georgia. IAC will celebrate its 25 anniversary with a gala benefit in May 2007.

“With November as National Adoption Month, this is a perfect time to help dispel many of the myths and mis-perceptions about open adoption,” said Ann Wrixon, Executive Director of the Independent Adoption Center and herself the mother of an adopted child. “Domestic adoptions are on the rise in the United States. In fact, placements have increased by 8% in the last five years.”

Founded in 1982, IAC has successfully facilitated more than 3500 adoptions in 35 states and is licensed in the states of California, Indiana, Georgia and North Carolina. As a nonprofit organization, the IAC’s mission is to create open adoptions: that is, a completely voluntary adoption where birth parents select the family they want to adopt their child. It is a viable and accessible alternative to untimely pregnancy throughout the United States.

Following is this month’s “Top 10” list: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Adoption:

There are over 110,000 children waiting to be adopted throughout the United States.
Nearly 10% of all children are adopted in California, second only to New York at nearly 11%.
Over 40% of all adoptions are private agency, kinship or tribal adoptions annually.
The average age of a child in the foster care system waiting to be adopted is 6.9 years old.
As many as 100 million Americans have adoption in their immediate family (adopting, placing a child for adoption, adopted themselves).
Open adoption means birthparents and adoptive parents choose each other, share information and can choose to have life-long relationships.
At any given time in America 79% of adults report they would consider adoption as an option to building their family.
In 69% of public and private agency adoptions, the birthparents had met the adoptive parents.
Over 2% of American children are adopted.*
Famous adoptees include Nancy Reagan, Steve Jobs and President Gerald Ford. Famous adoptive parents include Barbara Walters, Michelle Pfeiffer and Senator John McCain.

*U.S. Census Bureau (Apr. 2001)

For more information, please call 1-800-877-6736 or visit www.adoptionhelp.org.