In our experience, there has never been a better time for single parents to pursue domestic adoption. Approximately one-quarter of child are growing up in single-parent households and approximately one-quarter of adoptions are single-parent adoptions.

Single parent adoption is not only validated by the numbers of single parents who are adopting children domestically, numerous research studies have shown that adopted children raised by single parents experience outcomes that are as good, if not better, than those for children adopted by couples.

The number one reason single parents want to adopt is the fact that their own childhood was fulfilling and happy and they are ready to share that experience. Single parents approach adoption with the same commitment and devotion as a married couple. Adoptive single parents use family and friends for extended support. They give their child their full attention and all of their love. Financially, they have planned for the future and the majority of single adoptive parents are settled in their careers.

Across the country, adoption laws and regulations are supportive of single parent adoption. While laws of each state vary and change over time, single parents are generally permitted to adopt in all fifty states. This is true whether it is a single mother or single father who petitions the court to adopt a child.

In domestic private placement adoptions, birth parents select the adoptive parents with whom they want to place the baby. Some single parents fear that this will put them at a disadvantage because they think a birth parent would be more likely to choose a couple to adopt. It always has been our experience that some birth parents express a preference for two-parent families and some birth parents express a preference for single-parent families. The majority of birth parents, however, do not express a preference either way. They are open to considering all family types and ultimately decide on an adoptive family based upon the connection they feel towards the adoptive parent or parents.