Some children are especially difficult to place with adoptive families because they have “special needs.” Many of these children have physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. Others wait longer in foster care because they are older, belong to a group of siblings who should be kept together, or come from minority ethnic backgrounds. The challenge of finding adoptive parents able to care for special needs children may delay their chances for adoption.

Conventional policies are geared to facilitate adoptions by married couples and same-race placements. Many adoption advocates contend that this approach shrinks the pool of potential parents for special needs children. As a result, they have promoted adoptions undertaken by nontraditional families, which include transracial adoptions and adoptions by gay, lesbians, and single parents. For instance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources reports that in...