Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Coe, Richard

Area of Concentration

Economics

Abstract

This paper examines the factors that most influence a foster parent’s choice to adopt their foster child. To determine whether adoption subsidies, age, and race are influential factors in adoption choice we did a data analysis using data from 2015. We also conducted an in-depth literature review and created a supply and demand model to observe the effects of subsidies on adoption rates. Our results showed that older children and minorities, especially African American children are the least likely groups of children to be adopted. There was no obvious connection between subsidy rates and adoption rates. We conclude that this is most likely a result of foster care maintenance payments and subsidy payments being close in value creating a disincentive for foster parents to adopt. From a policy perspective, we recommend that subsidy payments be raised relative to foster care maintenance payments. We also recommend states create programs that target the recruitment of diverse families in order to increase the likelihood that black children and older children be adopted.

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