Adoption Dissolutions and Instability
Before the state work group on “strengthening and standardizing” the negotiation of adoption assistance adjourned last May, the Department of Children and Youth Services distributed statistics on adoption dissolutions from 2019 through 2023. Dissolutions refer to finalized adoptions that were legally dissolved in each of those years.
Adoption Dissolutions in Ohio
Type of Adoption
Ohio Private Agency/
International PCSA Independent
2019 <10 39 <10 57
2020 <10 61 <10 72
2021 <10 51 <10 62
2022 <10 56 <10 70
2023 <10 37 <10 52
As far as Ohio is concerned, dissolutions occur in a very small percentage of adoptive families in a given year. That encouraging news, however, is not the entire story. Effectively incorporating an adoptive child with special needs into a stable, nurturing family is often challenging as well as rewarding. What portion of adoptive families experience periods of instability, even when the adoption itself remains legally intact?
The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) Adoption Follow-Up Study (referred to as the NSCAW Adoption Study) tackled this question by collecting data on 383 adoptees from foster care, ranging in age from 15 to 36. “Instability” described a situation in which the adoptee did not live with his or her adoptive family. Here are some of the findings.
Nearly 10% of the adoptees experienced formal instability. 8% were placed back into foster care. In 2% of the cases, the rights of the adoptive parents were terminated, or the child was emancipoated at the age of 18.
30% of the adoptees experienced informal instability by running away (18%); leaving home prior to turning 18 (17%); living with a non-relative (9%); or living in a state of homelessness (8%).
Factors Associated with Both Formal and Informal Instability
A less nurturing adoptive family during childhood.
The existence of behavior problems early in the adoption.
Factors Associated Only with Informal Instability
Children adopted at a relatively older age.
Female child.
Less parent-child closeness prior to the adoption.
Less nurturing adoptive family relationships was the most significant factor in both formal and informal post adoption instability.
When the issue of adoption instability is added to adoption dissolutions the case for outreach to support for at risk adoptive families becomes more persuasive. The cost of failed and unstable adoptions is high, both in dollars and in diminished life chances for adoptees.