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The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute develops and implements a range of ethics-based policy and practice initiatives to address the critical issues facing the field of adoption. Efforts have focused on legal and policy issues including the relationship between welfare reform and the adoption of children in foster care, interstate barriers to adoption, and the law related to access to identifying information.

The mission of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute is to provide leadership that improves adoption laws, policies and practices – through sound research, education and advocacy – in order to better the lives of everyone touched by adoption.

In order to achieve its goals, the Institute conducts and synthesizes research; offers education to inform public opinion; promotes ethical practices and legal reforms; and works to translate policy into action.

Specifically, the Institute improves the lives of people touched by adoption through many avenues:

  • Offering lawmakers reliable information and practical perspectives to improve adoption laws;
  • Providing the media with a trusted source of information;
  • Encouraging employer support for adoption;
  • Reducing barriers that impede adoption of children who need permanent families;
  • Researching policies and practices that affect adoption;
  • Educating policymakers and the public about the importance of giving adopted people access to information about their origins;
  • Developing a legal framework to ensure access to genetic information and a clear delineation of parental responsibility for children born through reproductive technology;
  • Promoting ethical standards for adoption professionals.