IAC in the News  |   Blog  |   Newsletter  |   Events  |   Public Relations  |   Adoption Conferences

Nationally-Acclaimed Independent Adoption Center Issues Monthly Fact Sheets as it begins 25th anniversary year of service

5 March 2007 – Pleasant Hill, CA: Independent Adoption Center, the nationally recognized nonprofit education and counseling agency, continues this month with its "10 Things You Might Not Know About Adoption" monthly fact sheets as an education vehicle for the media and general public. A leader in open adoption, Independent Adoption Center (IAC) is nationally recognized as a leader in the field having facilitated almost 4,000 successful adoptions in 35 states. Headquartered in the Northern California town of Pleasant Hill, IAC has southern California offices in Los Angeles, and also operates centers in Indiana, North Carolina and Georgia. IAC will celebrate its 25 anniversary in May 2007.

“These ‘top 10’ lists are the perfect vehicle to help dispel many of the myths and mis-perceptions about open adoption,” said Ann Wrixon, Executive Director of the Independent Adoption Center and herself the mother of an adopted child. “Domestic adoptions are on the rise in the United States. In fact, placements have increased by 8% in the last five years.”

Founded in 1982, IAC has successfully facilitated open adoptions in 35 states and is licensed in the states of California, Indiana, Georgia and North Carolina. As a nonprofit organization, the IAC’s mission is to create open adoptions: that is, a completely voluntary adoption where birth parents select the family they want to adopt their child. It is a viable and accessible alternative to untimely pregnancy throughout the United States. 

Following is this month’s “Top 10” list: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Adoption:

1. Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (July 14, 1913– December 26, 2006), the 40th Vice President and 38th President of the United States, was adopted.
   
   
2. All domestic non-relative adoptions require the adoptive parent(s) to successfully complete an adoption home study in their state of residence.
   
   
3. What is an adoption homestudy? The homestudy consists of education and training for the adoptive parents, interviews, various forms of paperwork, background checks and a home visit.
   
   
4. All states permit state-licensed private agencies to place children with adoptive parents.*
   
   
5. Nearly 40% of American adults, or 81.5 million people, have considered adopting a child.*
   
   
6. What is an open adoption? Open adoption is where birthparents and adoptive parents choosing each other and give the adoptive child the potential of developing a one-on-one relationship with his or her birth family.
   
   
7. 2% of the U.S. population, or 5-10-million Americans, are adoptees.*
   
   
8. The Independent Adoption Center (IAC), a licensed open adoption agency, has formed nearly 4,000 successful families through open adoption.
   
   
9. 1 in 6 adopted children is of a different race from their adopters.*
   
   
10. 95% think adoptive parents should receive the same maternity and paternity benefits from employers as biological parents.*
    
    
    

---

* (4) Source: www.adoptioninstitute.org
* (7) Source: Adoption Factbook, National Council For Adoption
* (9) Source: US Census 2000
* (10)Source: statistics.adoptions.com

For more information, please call 1-800-877-6736 or visit www.adoptionhelp.org.