Adoption outcomes for children with mental retardation in the custody of state child protective services systems: Policy and practice implications for long-term well-being

Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, child welfare professionals have increasingly paid attention to disability issues in child protective service, yet little is known about adoptees with mental retardation (MR). This topic is especially important to consider as the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, which had wide-ranging implications for reducing waiting times between foster care entry and termination of parental rights, created the potential for “hard to place” children to remain in state care for longer with potentially worse longer-term quality-of-life outcomes. Using a cross-sectional design, data from the 2003 national Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System were examined to learn about adoption outcomes for 47,041 children, 2.6% of whom had MR diagnoses (N=1,323). Co-occurring disabilities were more prevalent among children with MR, including visual or hearing impairments (OR=16.8***), physical impairments (OR=16.1***) or diagnoses of emotional disturbance (OR=7.5***). Children with MR experienced longer times between TPR and adoption, with longer waits for children of color with MR (2.1 vs. 1.4 years, t=2.0***). Children with MR were also less likely to be adopted by family members (OR=0.7***) than other children. Children of color with MR were more likely to be adopted by families of color (OR=2.9***). Families adopting children with MR received higher adoption subsidies ($1,517 vs. $1,139, t=2.4***) but were less likely to receive means-tested Title IV-E funds (OR=0.76***). Implications for inter-agency collaboration in support of pre and post-adoption support services for the promotion of longer-term stability and well-being are discussed.