Differences and Similarities Between Kinship Adopters and Nonkinship Adopters: An Examination of Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Data

Background and Purpose: During the last 30 years, an extensive body of research has emerged regarding informal kinship care/kinship guardian arrangements; however, little is known about the characteristics of children who exit care through kinship adoption or the families who receive these children (Hegar & Scannapieco, 2016). While some scholars have speculated about the differences between kinship adoption and other forms of adoption (Child Focus, 2010), few studies have empirically evaluated these differences. This study examined characteristics of children who exited the child welfare system through kinship adoption and their adoptive families, as well as differences between kinship, foster parent, and non-relative adoptions.

Methods: Using data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), a total of 88,654 adoption cases were identified between 2011 and 2013 from the 32 states allowing pairing of adoption and foster care data. Multinomial logistic regression was used to explore differences between cases of kinship, non-relative, and foster parent adoptions as predicted by child- and adoptive family-related characteristics.

Results: Children adopted were predominately white (43.0%), followed by Hispanic (27.5%), and African-American (20.7%).  Children were an average of 5.77 years old at time of adoption (SD=4.34). A vast majority (83.5%) were special needs adoptions. A majority of adoptive families were married couples (66.9%), followed by single women (27.3%). Adoptions were predominantly foster parent (51.8%), followed by kinship (33.8%) and non-relative (13.4%).

Multinomial logistic regression models found kinship adoption cases, when compared to foster parent adoption cases, were significantly more likely to involve female children and special needs children. Furthermore, kinship adoption cases were less likely to involve children with mental (53.7% less likely), physical (51.9% less likely), and medical disabilities (12.8% less likely) compared to foster care adoption cases. Child’s age at adoption was not predictive of likelihood of adoption type.

Results indicated significant racial/ethnic differences between adoption types. Hispanic children were 64.9% more likely and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander children over two times as likely to be adopted through kinship, whereas white and African-American children were significantly less likely. With regard to adoptive caregivers, Hispanic, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaskan Native adoptive caregivers were each approximately twice as likely to be involved in kinship adoptions compared to foster care adoptions while White adoptive caregivers were 30% less likely. Finally, non-relative and foster care adoption cases were more similar compared to cases of kinship adoption across child- and adoptive family-related characteristics (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, and physical disabilities). 

Conclusions and Implications: The findings point to critical social work practice and policy implications for those who serve children and families in kinship adoption. Kinship adoption arrangements may look somewhat different from other forms of adoption with regard to child and adoptive family characteristics. Specifically, kinship adoptions appear to be more likely among female children, children of minority race/ethnicity, and those with fewer disabilities. The findings suggest that additional efforts may be needed to help remove barriers to kinship adoption for children with specific racial/ethnic characteristics, those categorized as special needs, and those with physical and developmental disabilities.