Here are adoption statistics for the state of OH that were printed in the Akron Beacon Journal on line. The link to the article is if you would like to read for yourself.

I find it interesting that the number of adoptions is declining. I wonder what the state of Ohio contributes this to. I wonder if there are state wide programs available to mothers who may consider adoption to encourage them to keep and raise their children.

Another thought I had was that I think it would be interesting to see these statistics compared to various years of the closed adoption era such as 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970, and even into the era of the mid seventies, eighties, and nineties when adoption practices started to change and open adoption became more widely accepted.

Also I think it would be interesting to compare these OH statistics to say NH or DE adoption statistics. What bearing do the the laws on adoption records and original birth certificate have on the practice of adoption if any? I chose DE and NH as examples in comparison with OH because these are three states with very different adoption record/original birth certificate access laws.

•The number of children waiting for adoption in Ohio decreased from 3,200 in 2003 to 2,800 in 2005.

•The number of adoptions in Ohio declined from 2,260 in 2004 to 1,989 in 2005.

•About 1.4 million children were born to unmarried women in 2003 in the United States.

•Mothers who put their children up for adoption are disproportionately white. They also have higher education and income levels, and higher future career and educational aspirations, according to research.
More details about Ohio's adoption law and statistics are available at these Web sites:

• http://jfs.ohio.gov/oapl/ This web site takes you to the OH Department of Job and Family Services.

• http://jfs.ohio.gov/ocf/ This website link takes you to the OH Office for Children and Families It appears from the website that they work for children, adults and families by mutually educating and engaging communities and systems to jointly provide services to achieve safety, permanency, self sufficiency and well being.

• www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/consentall.pdf This is a link to an Adobe PDF file that is a summary of state laws for consent of adoption. The document is broken down by state and is alphabetical