A law recently adopted in Butler County, Ohio, gives "traditional" married couples preference over others who are interested in adopting foster-care children.

"The new rule... would not exclude [other people] from adopting, but it clearly states that when all other things are equal, married couples would be given the advantage."

The law has prompted claims that it discriminates against single parents, as well as gay and lesbian couples. Children Services Director Mike Fox responded by saying that studies have shown that children are more likely to succeed if they're raised in a traditional family setting. Source: Cincinnati Enquirer

Labels: couples, parents

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The sponsor of the bill says it's a common-sense measure to help children of single parents. Focus on the Family says the bill is a back-door effort to legalize adoption by gay couples. Read more online.

Labels: legislation, adoption rights, parents

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Adoptive parent Mark Schneider wrote a tender story for his two children to help introduce to them the concept of adoption in the most loving way possible while avoiding the use of loaded terms. You are invited to read "You Came from My Heart" along with your child, and we thank Mark and his family for allowing us to reprint this story in its entirety. Read more online.

Labels: communication, parents

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Couples who adopt children spend more time and money on them than biological parents do, according to a new study published in the February 2007 issue of American Sociological Review.

Brian Powell, a sociologist at Indiana University, led a team of researchers who studied 13,000 families with children in first grade. Of that group, 161 were two-parent families had adopted children. They scored high on helping children with homework, being involved in their schools, taking children to religious and cultural activities, reading to them, talking over problems with them, and eating meals together.

At first, the researchers believed that adoptive parents spent more time and money on their children because they were older and wealthier than most biological parents included in their study. However, when they reanalyzed the data with the income levels as a factor, the adoptive parents still scored higher, especially compared to single parent and stepparent families.

Labels: research, parents

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