United States Adoption Photolistings

Adoption photolistings in the United States are also called domestic photolistings. These can be found online for infants and older children on websites, e-magazines and agency sites. Some adoption-related organizations may also publish photolistings with their annual reports or newsletters.

The majority of these photolistings will be geared toward people looking to adopt an older child. Older children are more difficult to place due to emotional or physical needs. Photolistings of older children are posted by public agencies, by the state, and the majority of these children are in foster care or institutions. Over 100,000 children come into the foster system every year and about just as many are adoptable after two years of being in the foster system. There are simply too many children to have photolistings of them all. This is why adoptive parents may want to use them as a survey of the kind of children available in their state. Reading the bios is not enough to get to know the reality of older child adoption, however, which can be complicated by special needs and the child's history with their biological parents and the foster care system.

Photolistings of infants for adoption in the United States are going to be less helpful than those for older children simply because infants have not developed personality traits or shown developmental issues that may manifest as they mature.