It feels like a wonderful twist of fate that our blog is launched today, November 20, 2010, on the tenth annual National Adoption Day, an annual event that has resulted in the adoption of more than 30,000 children into their “forever” families between 2000 and 2009.

For our first blog entry, we would like to highlight some important statistics on adoption in the U.S.

Currently, in the United States, more than 114,000 children are living in foster care and are available for adoption.

Who are these waiting children?

There are an estimated 463,000 children in foster care in the United States, and more than 114,000 of them are waiting to be adopted.
These children enter foster care as a result of abuse, neglect and/or abandonment.
The average child waits for an adoptive family for more than two years.
19 percent spend 5 years or more waiting for a family (24,300 children).
The average age of children waiting for an adoptive family is 8.
More than 29,000 children reach the age of 18 without ever finding a forever family.

If you are interested in more information on the California adoption process, or would like to schedule a consultation with The Kesten Group, please call 310.598.6428 or email info@TheKestenGroup.com

*Statistics are provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration and Families Administration on Children, Interim Estimates for FY 2008